| “Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9).
God works with a remnant of people who believe. Isaiah speaks of a remnant of real believers among the many with a Gallup-Poll faith. A Gallup-poll faith is a faith that is wishy-washy. It’s the total amount of people who say but do not behave. Their living contradicts their position. It takes the grace of God to preserve a trusting remnant among those who identify outwardly with Him. The remnant is not a super-spiritual elite looking down on others, but they do dare to live by faith in God. The rest are careful not to risk too much on Him. The difference does show. Jonathan Edwards describes a true Christian: “As he has more holy boldness, so he has less self-confidence…As he is more sure than others of deliverance from hell, so he has a greater sense that he deserves it. He is less apt than others to be shaken in faith, but more apt than others to be moved by solemn warnings, God’s frowns and calamities of others. He has the firmest comfort, but the softest heart; richer than others, but poorest of all in spirit. He is the tallest and strongest saint, but the least and tenderest child among them.” That beauty marks God’s true people. |