PDF – Public Displays of Faith      Romans 2.25-29.

In the 70s, we put IXOYE (fish) stickers on our bumpers.

In the 80s, we put WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) stickers on them.

We baptize, share Communion, join a church, and even carry fat Bibles.  We wear crosses around our necks.

Each of these makes a statement about our Christian faith, right?

Observant Jews circumcise their baby boys. (as do many Gentiles, of course)  It all started with Abraham when God introduced the rite of circumcision1 and then commanded it be carried out.  But we must understand the full picture, as it is quite beautiful.  God appeared to Abraham (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2017&version=NIV) and charged him to walk faithfully before him; then he invited him into a covenant relationship. “I will be your God, and you will be my people.”2 That covenant worked two ways—Abraham was to live faithfully and blamelessly before God, and because of his obedience, God would then ‘make of him a great nation.’  Yes, though he was 99 years old, he was going to have a son!  The sign of the covenant was circumcision—the removal of the (male) foreskin at eight days of age—and is a Jewish custom/tradition/rite to this day.

For the Jewish people, quite obviously, the rite of circumcision represents far more than a medical procedure; it signifies the unique relationship between a Jewish boy and God.  At the Bris, (the ceremony), there are prayers and blessings spoken over the child, and the child is named.  Particularly within the Jewish community, everyone knows (and celebrates) the event.

Now, with that in mind, let us read Paul’s strong words to the Roman Jews: “Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.  If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?  

The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.   No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”  Romans 2.25-29

Paul was trying to show the Jews, God’s chosen people, that while their ceremonies and traditions set them apart, they did not make them righteous. 

When a baby boy is circumcised, it does not set his course for righteous living—as that is an individual’s choice.  Similarly when a baby is christened or baptized, it does not guarantee he or she will live a holy life.  The infant’s ceremonial dedication to God is more closely a covenant between the child’s parents and God that they will raise him up to know God.

Back to God’s covenant with Abraham--God promised to bless Abraham and his descendants after him--in exchange for their faithfulness to him.  Male circumcision also served as a physical distinction between God’s people, and those who were outside of the covenant. It was used to separate out foreigners from the Jews. But as important as it was, it was still secondary to God’s requirement of holiness from his children.  The physical alteration was intended to be mirrored in the heart—a sort of spiritual circumcision. 

Simply stated in Deuteronomy 10: “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” And, "Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart." Jeremiah 4:4. The message of repentance is intimately tied to the lesson of circumcision.

“Be holy, even as I am holy,” says the Lord. 

“But how, Lord?”

to be continued…. tomorrow

But in the meantime, let me ask you—Has your heart been circumcised??

Christine

1  Genesis 17.12

2  Genesis 17.7