Remnant: A Daily Verse-by-Verse Devotional

Paul quotes 1 Kings and the story of Elijah in making the point that when we feel like God has forgotten His people, we just need to remember that God is at work, in some way beyond our vision.

Paul answers his question from verse 1 with the premise of the point he's making in this section: that God has not rejected His people. He introduces his example here of Elijah, and he'll quote scripture about Elijah in coming verses.

Paul starts chapter 11 with a question, and then offers up himself as an example as why God has not rejected His people. Implied in Paul's answer is that God is fulfilling his promise by using Paul for Kingdom purposes, the highest calling there is.

Paul ends chapter 10 by explaining that even though people reject God, God is still waiting for those rejecting him with hands held out, all the day long.

Paul quotes a third straight Old Testament verse to finish his point that the Jewish people's rejection of Jesus and the Gentiles' acceptance of Jesus was foretold in the Word.

Paul cleverly quotes from Deuteronomy in explaining to the church in Rome that Moses himself foretold that the Jewish people would be disappointed that God would act through a people who are not of a nation (the Gentiles).

After having said that faith comes from hearing, Paul returns to the major issue in these chapters: the unbelief of the people of Israel, who despite having heard (and even seen) the good news, rejected Jesus.

Paul sums up the point he's trying to make with a simple verse: that faith comes from hearing the Word. We talk about faith.

Paul again quotes Isaiah to make the point that not all will respond to the free offer of salvation.

Paul finishes his reverse roadmap here in verse 15, stating that we're called to go, to be sent. And Paul quotes Isaiah as proof. We dig into verses that make clear that our proclaiming is supposed to be on our audience's turf.

Paul starts a roadmap to salvation in verse 14 by asking three questions. We dig into Paul's reverse roadmap and how it aligns with our calling from the gospels.

Paul cements his point of salvation to all by quoting a verse from Joel. We dig into Joel and what Paul meant by quoting Joel 2:32.

A critical corollary of Paul's point that we obtain right standing with God by faith is that that faith is available to all humans, regardless of lineage.

Paul again quotes Isaiah 28:16 to make the point that God will reward our faith with love instead of shame. We explore the concept of shame and how that's not God's plan for us on judgment day.

Paul gives us a second verse that clearly paints our path to being saved: through belief and confession.

Paul gives us a gift of a verse, which tells us how simple it is to be saved. It doesn't involve works. It just involves faith.

Paul quotes a third straight verse from Deuteronomy to let us know that the Word is near us. The Word of truth is Jesus. We explore that concept as it was used by Moses and now used by Paul.

Paul carries on his quotes from Deuteronomy and remarks that Jesus has actually fulfilled the prophesy of Deuteronomy by being raised from the dead.

Paul quotes two verses from Deuteronomy in his contention that righteousness has always been based on faith. We dig into the context of those two verses.

To start this next section, Paul summarizes a verse by Moses in Leviticus that he will contrast in the coming verses. We explore how we are incapable of living by the law as Jesus did.

Paul explains why efforts to work your way into right standing with God always fall short: not only are we incapable of abiding by the law, but Jesus also came to end or fulfill the law.

Paul makes a hugely important point in verse three: that when we seek to establish our own right-standing with God, we're attempting to inflate ourselves to God's level. We talk about how so many of us try to do this through works today.

Paul vouches for the Jewish people's zeal for God in verse two, but that zeal alone is insufficient for salvation. We explore how our zeal can get in the way of relationship.

Paul kicks off chapter 10 with his key point from these chapters: that his people of Israel would be saved. We explore salvation and its simplicity, and the Jewish people's rejection of it.

Paul ends chapter nine by quoting two verses from Isaiah that foretold that the houses of Israel would reject the cornerstone that God had promised. In other words, the church in Rome shouldn't be surprised that their family were not accepting Jesus.