How Have Christians Been Circumcised?
25For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
Romans 2:25–29 (ESV)
As we come to the end of Romans 2, Paul reminds us that true circumcision, true belonging to God, is not something external or self-achieved. It is “of the heart … not by the written code,” and it is done “by the Spirit,” not by men (v. 29). But what is the significance of circumcision, and how does it relate to our salvation?
In Genesis 17:9-14, when God gave Abraham circumcision as a sign of their covenant relationship, it was a visual representation of the penalty for breaking that covenant. In ancient times, covenant-makers would act out the curse they would accept if they broke their promises. Circumcision, a cutting off in a very intimate way, symbolized the complete cutting off from life and from God that would result from breaking the covenant.
But as Paul has made clear throughout Romans 2, no one keeps the covenant perfectly. So how can anyone be right with God? The answer lies in the truth that the “cutting off” symbolized by circumcision has already happened – not to us, but to Christ.
Paul tells the Gentile Christians in Colossae, who had not been physically circumcised, that they were circumcised spiritually “in him [Jesus] … not … by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ” (Colossians 2:11). On the cross, Jesus was cut off. He was forsaken by his Father (Mark 15:34), “cut off from the land of the living” (Isaiah 53:8), bearing the curse of covenant-breaking that we all deserve. In him, we were circumcised.
When the Spirit works in someone, he applies to them the circumcision of Christ. Our religious performance or lack thereof doesn’t matter. Through the Son’s work and the Spirit’s application, the Father sees us not as objects of condemnation, but of praise (Romans 2:29). We don’t need to praise ourselves or live for others’ approval. Our Father sees us as beautiful in Christ.
The “written code” (the law) leaves us under the covenant curse, never able to earn its blessings. But God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. In the finished work of his Son and the internal work of his Spirit, he has provided the circumcision that saves us.
How does the truth that Jesus bore the “cutting off” we deserve change the way you view your standing before God? How can you rest in his finished work today, rather than trying to earn God’s favor through your own efforts? Talk to God about it.
[The ideas for this week’s materials on Romans 2:17-29 were drawn from Tim Keller’s book “Romans 1-7 for You“]
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The other day at a meeting, someone shared that they were “working on their character defects.” Though I get what he was saying, another gentleman, (an older AA with about 35 years,) pointed out that we “do not work on our character defects,” (or sins.) In the program, step 6 states, “were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character,” and step 7 is “humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.” In and of myself, I am completely powerless to “earn God’s favor,” or to make myself righteous in any way! Only through Christ, and His finished work on the cross, can I be made right. The truth that Jesus bore the “cutting off” that we deserve means that I don’t have to “work on it.” His Spirit is at work within me as I continue to “turn my will and my life over to His care.” Prayer is an important and vital part of the program of AA, and so too in the Christian life. For me, prayer is a helpful reminder that I cannot rely on my own power, but rather, on God’s continued grace at work in my heart and life. What happens as a result is all a manifestation of this work, not a means to earn my own salvation and righteousness. It is all truly a matter of “God doing for us that which we cannot do for ourselves.”
This is a super hard distinction for me. For a while now both Bumble and Don have tried to explain to me the distinction. It’s not by work that we are saved. Meaning we can not work at being good to somehow deserve God’s salvation. On the other hand a person who’s acting contrary to God’s laws maybe be demonstrating that he’s not saved. Also even if you outwardly behave flawlessly by the law, God sees your heart and you aren’t guaranteed salvation without demonstrating/reflecting His characters. I had a hard time with this – even when I thought I understand it before I still didn’t really feel it’s truth.
I think it wasn’t until I see evidence of the Spirit at work in me and in others that I finally have a glimpse of what this distinction means.
Not by work as I’m not capable of doing anything to meet God’s standard – or to be honest my own moral standards. But by giving up the authority to the Lord and listening and stop resisting the Spirit work, the Lord changes me so I reflect His beauty and goodness and others observe not my work but His work through me.