True Circumcision
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True Circumcision
True Circumcision
For circumcision benefits you if you observe the law, but if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore if an uncircumcised man keeps the law’s requirements, will his uncircumcision not be counted as circumcision? A man who is physically uncircumcised, but who fulfills the law, will judge you who are a lawbreaker in spite of having the letter of the law and circumcision. For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter. That man’s praise is not from men but from God.
Romans
What is circumcision?
Literally, it was a cutting away of the male foreskin.
What was it for?
What was it for?
There were some health benefits. It’s cleaner for the male and historically, Jewish women have had the lowest rate of cervical cancer.
This is a divine command and revelation.
It had a special religious and theocratic significance that identified the circumcised as belonging to the physical and ethnical lineage of Abraham.
You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
As a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
It was a sign, that is it symbolized something — But What?
It symbolized the need to cut away sin and be cleansed. It was the male organ that most clearly demonstrated the depth of depravity because it carried the seed that produced depraved sinners. Thus, circumcision symbolized the need for a profound deep cleansing to reverse the effects of depravity.
We’re in the section of Romans on Condemnation. The need for the Gospel. In verse 17, Paul began to address the Jew. He said, “You’re a Jew who has the law, why do you teach others the law and don’t keep it yourself?
And now in verse 25, Paul goes for the jugular. He addresses the one issue that the Jews took most pride in. And so, Paul addresses this most important issue of Circumcision because it is a part of our understanding of the Gospel. So, he begins by making a distinction of true and false circumcision.
So, for us to understand this section, I want us to do a walkthrough, kind of quickly, of Circumcision in the Bible.
The flesh of his foreskin must be circumcised on the eighth day.
This was for purification.
This was a part of the Law for purification.
Therefore, circumcise your hearts and don’t be stiff-necked any longer.
Deuteronomy
What do you notice here?
Now the Lord is talking about hearts being circumcised. What could that possibly mean?
Any way this could be physical in nature?
Stiff-necked — this pictured an ox who bowed up against it’s master. The idea is that you will not submit to the yoke of your Master, the Lord God Almighty. You are resistant and will not humble yourself — you will not submit to God. You will not come under the Lordship of God.
Therefore, circumcise your heart. Pierce your heart with that piercing comes the conviction of sin. Do you see how this involves the Gospel message — Repent and believe.
This is the way into the kingdom of God.
The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.
Deuteronomy 30:6
You actually need God to circumcise your heart.
And look at the result — AND you will LOVE HIM with all your heart and all your soul — and notice this
so that you will live! Unless the Lord circumcise your heart — you are spiritually dead! You have no life. You have no spiritual eternal life.
In other words — this is an absolute necessity — Heart Circumcision.
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to extinguish it because of your evil deeds.
Jeremiah 4:4
Not physical, surgical procedure. He’s talking about real circumcision.
How do we do this?
Notice what the Lord commanded. Look how He phrased it.
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord! This is a humbling and submission to the Lordship of God. Imagine submitting yourself as a grown man to the one with the knife — Ouch, right? This would take submission — real submission.
And notice what happens if you do not — Circumcise yourselves to the Lord?
Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire!
NOT PHYSICAL!
What’s the only instrument that is sharp enough to penetrate the thick rhinoceros hide foreskin of your heart?
The Word of God!
For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
Now let’s move forward.
Jeremiah 9:25
This is what the Lord says: The wise man must not boast in his wisdom; the strong man must not boast in his strength; the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth. But the one who boasts should boast in this, that he understands and knows Me — that I am Yahweh, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things. This is the Lord’s declaration. “The days are coming”—the Lord’s declaration—“when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised: Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples. All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
This is like those today who have been baptized, or walked an aisle, or made a profession of faith, or signed a card, or joined a church, or prayed a prayer.
There must be this spiritual circumcision.
There’s coming a day when God will punish those who are circumcised yet uncircumcised.
And look at verse 26.
Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples. All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
The nations are physically uncircumcised and the house of Israel is uncircumcised spiritually. That means they are in the commonwealth of Israel, but they are not in the spiritual kingdom of God. They have gone through the ritual but never had the reality in their heart.
“Say to the rebellious people, the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I have had enough of all your detestable practices, house of Israel. When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in both heart and flesh, to occupy My sanctuary, you defiled My temple while you offered My food—the fat and the blood. You broke My covenant by all your detestable practices.
Ezekiel 44:6-7
“This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter My sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites.
In order to be a true worshiper of God — you must have a heart that has been converted, cut, pierced by the word of God to bring you into submission to the Lord so that you are no longer stiff-necked of heart.
New Testament
“You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit; as your ancestors did, so do you.
Acts 7:
For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.
Galatians 6:15
Notice what matters — a new creation.
Now what is a new creation? What is he talking about?
The new birth.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.
In the Galatian churches, people came in after Paul left — Judiasers who were saying, “You have to be circumcised (physically).” What was symbolic and pointing to the reality was taken as the reality. Paul began Galatians by saying “This is another Gospel and those who teach another Gospel, “Let them be cursed!”
So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands.
Ephesians 2
There is a note of sarcasm. This was a so-called circumcision. Paul was saying you have only been physically circumcised of your flesh — You need circumcision of your heart! You’ve had the circumcision done by “human hands.” You need the circumcision of the heart done by the spirit of God.
Philippians 3:2
Watch out for “dogs,” watch out for evil workers, watch out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh— although I once also had confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
Paul boasts and look what he boasted in first:
regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.
circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee;
Philippians
You were also circumcised in Him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of the Messiah. Having been buried with Him in baptism, you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses.
Colossians 2:11
Look at
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
This is an analogy of circumcision — cutting — of the heart.
What’s the whole issue of Circumcision?
It’s a matter of the heart.
Now let’s go back to .
For circumcision benefits you if you observe the law, but if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
The only way you can observe the law is to have a new heart. The only way to have a new heart is to be spiritually circumcised.
He goes on to say:
Therefore if an uncircumcised man keeps the law’s requirements, will his uncircumcision not be counted as circumcision?
What he means here is your circumcision is of no value. If there is no heart change and no life change, that circumcision was of no value. That’s the argument.
The uncircumcised is the Gentile.
How does an uncircumcised Gentile keep the law?
Only if he has had a spiritual circumcision — that is, been given a new heart. So, the argument is, though he has never been physically circumcised, he knows the reality of what circumcision pictured.
A man who is physically uncircumcised, but who fulfills the law, will judge you who are a lawbreaker in spite of having the letter of the law and circumcision.
who fulfills the law” — is present tense verb and the idea is an ongoing daily life pattern and he will judge you. In reality God judges you, but by him standing with God in the manner of circumcision with this new life stands in judgment against those who have physical circumcision, but never have had a spiritual circumcision. That’s the point.
True Circumcision
For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter. That man’s praise is not from men but from God.
Who is the real Jew? The real child of God?
It’s the one who is the real Jew, not ethnically, or physically, but the one spiritually circumcised of heart — who has the new birth.
Look at the way verse 29 concludes.
“That man’s praise is not from men but from God.”
What does the word Jew mean?
It means praise. It comes from the tribe of Judah.
True praise can only come from a true Jew and it’s God who gives praise for that.