Romans 11:2-6
God's Grace
2 Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3 "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"? 4 And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
St. Paul tells us that God saves us by His grace and not by what we do...Eight hundred years before Jesus, Elijah preached against the idol Baal...Many followed this idol, but there were a few faithful people in Elijah's day who were true followers of the One God of Israel...This remnant was saved by God's grace...
St. Paul also knew that there were a faithful minority in his time that would be saved by God's grace...For if we had the ability through our deeds to be saved by God, we would no longer need God's grace to save us...We could be saved then by our deed's...But St. Paul makes it clear that we are saved by His grace...