Circumcision Of The Heart

Alba 7-25-2021

CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART

Romans 2:25-29

There is that old saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” That doesn’t really work does it? Lately we have had some politicians live by that motto.

They gave various restrictions for their communities, but didn't live by them, themselves. Some are even facing a recall because of that fact. We don't like to see hypocrisy in our leaders.

The same is true about people in the church. The only pleasure the unchurched get from hypocrites in the church is to have an excuse not to bother about things of faith.

There is a poem that starts: “I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day…” That could be the heading of the section of scripture that we will look at today.

The apostle Paul writes in Romans 2:25-29 that the Jewish Christians needed to live their faith, not just rely on the rituals of their past. Among those rituals was circumcision that was given to Abraham as a sign of the covenant God made with him. Lets read:

25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?

27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law?

28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

The primary purpose of circumcision was to identify the Jews as those with whom God had established His covenant and who therefore belonged to Him.

It was to be a reminder of their covenant relationship with God. And an important part of that relationship was that they were to be set apart from the other people around them in the way that they lived their lives.

It was a ritual God had commanded. But the significance was not in the circumcision, it was in the covenant relationship. They were identifying with the covenant, yet violating the covenant when they did not live their lives the way that covenant required.

The problem was that the Jews had come to rely upon this physical act of religious ritual instead of seeing the spiritual significance behind the physical rite of circumcision.

This scripture is saying is that the outward act only has value if you observe the law. To go through some religious ritual when it is only an outward act with no inner spiritual significance is foolishness.

If they were not willing to do what God had commanded, why should they think God would accept them based upon some religious ritual.

One of the subtle traps of religion is the idea that somehow, if we participate in religious activity or ritual, that will gain us favor with God.

But God is not impressed with any of our outward displays of religious signs and symbols. He is not interested in the empty morality of man. God is interested in the heart of a person.

Is there a difference between being “religious” and being “godly”? Truthfully, the answer should be “No”. Religious people should be righteous and godly people.

But unfortunately, for some people, the more religious they are, the less righteous or godly their lives. The word “hypocrite” is one that aptly applies to a person who is living that way.

The 16th century French Renaissance philosopher, Michael De Montaigne (“Mon-tane”) wrote: “I find no quality so easy to counterfeit as religious devotion.”

I am sure that none of us here today want to fall into the category of hypocrite. And yet the more religious we claim to be the easier it is to end up falling into that category, and we misrepresent our Lord.

You know, membership in a religious community, whether the covenant nation of Israel or the visible Church, does not guarantee that we have obtained God’s favor.

It is not that belonging to the visible community of God’s people is unimportant. It is. But salvation is not won by any external associations. When we depend on such things, we become less than what God wants us to be.

Have you noticed how companies are shrinking the size of their products while keeping the packaging the same? The result is less product while the price stays the same or goes up.

Marketing experts argue that consumers are more sensitive to price changes than they are to size changes so companies can get away with less quantity. Let me demonstrate.