Romans 2: 25-29
For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law;
Paul is talking to the Jewish believers in Rome. But the principle he is teaching us all here is applicable to all of us.
Today we circumcise our sons as a simple health measure. But the Jews circumcised their sons to obey the rule God gave them, to be different from the rest of the Nations around them. It was an act of obedience.
So if we consider ourselves to be Christians, then we need to be very careful to actually think like Jesus thinks, and have His attitudes as our own. Practice the Law that is written on our hearts.
but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
But if we're harboring worldly attitudes, thinking like our society around us thinks, then our Christianity is being nullified.
So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?
This is a new concept. Those from other Nations who came to Israel as proselytes and became Jews did so by obeying the Law and becoming circumcised. Now Paul is saying that one who is not circumcised can be regarded as if he were. Let's see what he means by this.
And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?
Paul elevates this uncircumcised person, a Gentile, to have authority over the Jew, who is circumcised.
For he is not a [true] Jew who is one outwardly, nor is [true] circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
But he is a [true] Jew who is one inwardly; and [true] circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter (Jeremiah 4 :4);
So Paul is saying that to be a true follower of God, which used to be following the Mosaic Law; is now following the Law that is written in our hearts, regardless of what our physical condition is.
And this is what God intended all along. All the outward, physical signs and actions are supposed to show what has already been experienced inwardly, in our souls; our hearts and minds; and in our spirits, having been made alive by God's Spirit in us, spiritually "cutting away" the attitudes and ideas that disobey His Law.
and his praise is not from men, but from God.
God is Spirit, and those who are His have received His Spirit into their spirits. This happens when a person admits that they are the criminal who deserves death, repent, and turn around from the life they used to live. And, in times past, would bring their personal animal to the priest to sacrifice, dying in their place (Leviticus 1).
Now Jesus has come as our Lamb of God, and has sacrificed Himself on the altar of His Cross, fulfilling that personal sacrifice; so we don't offer animals on an altar any more.
Now, Jesus has rendered the Old Covenant of Law to be obsolete, having ushered in the New Covenant that was promised in Jeremiah 31: 32-33, written on our hearts, not carved in stone.
So we are not bound to the letter of the Law any more, but actually are moved to go way beyond the letter. We not only don't commit adultery, but we don't even allow our thoughts to entertain an unclean idea about another. We not only not murder a person, but we don't even let our attitude toward that person to be uncharitable.
This is an impossibly high standard, that we are woefully unable to live up to on our own. That's why God gives us His Spirit. The Spirit gives us the power and ability to do what He commands, to actually love one another the way He has Loved us.
O my Father, You always did Love all people, and give all people a chance to come to You in every time and place in the World.
Today, You have pulled out all the stops, and You want every person alive to hear Your Good News, so that they can be rescued from their sins and tangled lives, and know Your peace and Love. Through Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the voice of Your message has gone out over all the World. O Father, please send us all out to cover the Earth with the Knowledge of the Lord! Let every person hear and understand how much You Love them, and what You have already accomplished and finished to draw them out of the miry clay to place their feet on the Solid Rock!
Let every person alive hear and understand well enough to make an informed decision to either accept Your gracious gift, or to reject You.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess in every language that Jesus is our Lord God Almighty, the King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
