What does Romans 11:6 mean?

Though the vast majority of Israelites have rejected Christ and were still trying to receive God's righteousness by following the law, Paul insists that a remnant of Israelites are in Christ. Paul wrote in the previous verse that God has chosen them for Himself by His grace.

Now Paul restates what grace means. He wants to dispel any notion that any Israelites stand with God because of their own works. They don't. Grace means receiving an unearned gift. It is always given and never paid for. The idea that a person's work—such as keeping the law—could in some way contribute to receiving God's grace is a self-contradicting idea. If that were possible, grace would not be grace, Paul writes.

Those who remain as the remnant of faithful Israel understand that they have not been saved by their works. They have come to God by faith in Christ.

While this verse is meant to prove a point about God and Israel, it also draws a clear line in terms of theology. There is no gray area between works-based salvation and grace-based salvation. None. Any dependence on works—adherence to the law, undergoing rituals, performing sacraments, or good deeds—is a rejection of grace. This is an often-resisted truth, but it is the clear teaching of Scripture. If works, in any sense, contribute to salvation, then that salvation is no longer "by grace." Paul's point, here, is that because salvation is, in fact, by grace, works have absolutely zero part to play in securing it