Q170_110226 Rom. 11:1-5 Do You Really Know What A Remnant Means?

Q170_110226 Rom. 11:1-5 Do You Really Know What A Remnant Means?

What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This episode of *How it Happens with Colin Cook* turns to Romans 11 to answer that question in a surprising way, focusing on what it means to be a “remnant” and why that matters for anyone struggling with alcohol, drugs, food, sex, or even obsessive worry.

Colin walks through Paul’s words in Romans 11:1–5, asking with Paul, “Has God cast away his people?” and repeating Paul’s strong reply, “Certainly not.” Using the stories of Paul himself and Elijah’s 7,000 who “had not bowed the knee to Baal,” he shows how a small group—the remnant—stands as proof that God hasn’t given up on the whole. You’ll hear Colin explain that a remnant isn’t a tiny elite club rescued while everyone else is written off.

Instead, “God has chosen a remnant to represent the whole.” If you’re that one Christian in a family steeped in addiction or unbelief, he says, you’re not there to feel superior, but to be a living sample of the grace that God intends for everyone around you.

He ties this into the bigger story of Israel and the Gentiles: Israel’s stumbling over Christ leads to mercy for the Gentiles, and that mercy in turn is meant to spark mercy back towards Israel.

Colin highlights the line, “For God has committed them all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all,” calling it “an astounding gospel.” Towards the end, he shares honestly about his radio broadcast coming to an end because of finances, thanking those who have supported the ministry and expressing his desire to keep sharing the good news.

If you’ve ever felt like the odd one out in your family, church, or community, this reflection on being a “representative remnant” might help you ask: what if your sobriety and faith are meant as a first taste of healing for those around you?