OK, Genesis chapter 17. Genesis chapter 17. I'm going to try to make this light and brief. However, this
is a deep subject. A difficult subject, but may the Lord make it understandable
to us and a blessing to us. I realize I have an advantage
over you in being able to study these subjects for hours, and
therefore anything that you look at, the longer you look at it
and study it more, it means more to you than it does to other
people that you speak with for a short period of time. They
cannot enter into it or enjoy it like you have since you've
been studying it for so long. I know it's the same thing. I
talk to my wife at times, and she talks to me, and she's dealing
with a subject that she has been studying for her Bible class,
and she is enthusiastic about it. More so than me, because she's
been she's entered into it longer. I mean, she's been studying it.
It means more to her. But tonight's subject is still
difficult, but I'll endeavor to make it. Like one of the ladies,
Sherry, was teaching Vicki's class a couple of weeks ago,
and I said, how'd it go? She said, well, I just tried
to make the kids come out with Understanding one word. Substitution. It's the only thing I understand
now. That's good. One word. So, if we can come
out here understanding this one word, circumcision, then I will
have done my job. Humanly speaking. It takes the
Holy Spirit, doesn't it? When Abram was ninety years old
and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram. Just stop there just a
moment. Remember what all we've been studying.
And Abram was eighty-six years old the last time we heard about
him there in chapter sixteen. And now it's thirteen years later
that the Lord spoke to him. It was, uh, it was eighty-six
when the mass happened. Thirteen years. Now, uh, think
about that. Believers can get out of communion
with God, can't they? Their sin will separate Him from
them. Not permanently, no, no. But,
uh, it certainly will make a breach. There's a little mini-sermon
right there. Well, let's read on. That's not
our subject. Abrams ninety-nine. The Lord appeared to Abram and
said unto him, I am the Almighty God. Walk before me. Be thou
perfect. I will make my covenant between
me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. Abram fell
on his face. God talked with him. God will
talk to a man that's on his face, saying, As for me, behold, my
covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, or father, but
thy name shall be Abraham, father of a great multitude. For a father
of many nations have I made thee, and I will make thee exceeding
fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come
out of thee. I will establish my covenant,
my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, and
their generations, for an everlasting covenant to be a God unto thee."
Now, pay attention to these words, everlasting covenant. "...to be a God unto thee, and
to thy seed after thee." I will give unto thee, and to thy seed
after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, and all
the land of Canaan, for an everlasting, everlasting possession. I will
be their God. God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt
keep my covenant therefore, thou and thy seed after thee, and
their generations. This is my covenant which you
shall keep between me and you and thy seed after thee. Every
man child among you shall be circumcised, and you shall circumcise
the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant
betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old
shall be circumcised among you. Every man child in your generation,
he that is born in the house or bought with money of a stranger,
which is not of thy sin. He that is born in thy house,
he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised. And my covenant shall be in your
flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man, child,
whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall
be cut off from his people. He hath broken my covenant. Alright, what is this covenant
of circumcision, and why did God order it? Why? Well, this is the law that God
laid down. Let's look at the law briefly. Colossians chapter three. Colossians
chapter three. Whatever God says is the law. thy word is settled, thy law,
his precepts, his commandments. That's the way to keep his commandments,
so you could call this his law. And then you have God's moral
law, ten commandments people call it, Levitical law, priesthood, sacrifices, the way
of worship, all the law of God is good. It's holy, it's just,
and it's right. God who—and we've discussed these
things before—God who is infinitely wise and just set forth numerous
directions for men and women to follow.
All of them were good, all of them were beneficial, many laws
of sanitation. He told the people to wash their
hands to wash their eating utensils that's just good practical common
sense it was law. And there were some people that
took that and made it salvation. And my salvation cleanliness
is not godliness in the physical sense He told him to abstain
from certain meats back in that arid climate. There were certain
meats that were more prone to spoilage than others. Pork is
one of them. We even know in our day that
pork is more prone to be infested with things than some other meat. God said avoid these things.
Some people made salvation out of it. Setting aside a day of rest. The Lord instituted a day of
rest to keep man from working himself to the grave. He set aside a day of rest. We
ought to rest. A man works himself to death.
A woman working. But listen. We're talking about
the law and I'm not making light of the law. I just said the law
is good. It's holy. It's just. It's right.
But God is spirit. He is understood spiritually. Salvation is a spiritual thing. It's a saving of the soul. 1
Corinthians 2 says, He that is spiritual understands all things. How? In a spiritual way, with spiritual
understanding. Are you still with me? Let me
lose you five minutes into this message. Paul said in Romans
7, the law, we know that the law is spiritual. We know now, we ought to know
this, the law is spiritual. Now, since God is spirit, he must look on the heart first,
mustn't he? He does. The outward is just
a manifestation of the God looks on the heart. Out of the heart,
he said, proceed the issues of life. God's law, which is spiritual,
requires spiritual obedience, inward obedience. OK? Are you still with me? First,
this is what it requires. All right? Verse 13 says, "...you,
though, are dead, you being dead in your sins, and the uncircumcision
of your flesh. Hath he quickened together with
Christ?" Look up at verse 11. He says, "...you are also circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands, putting off the body of sins
of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Read on down, verse
thirteen. You have he quickened together
with Christ, made you alive with or in Christ, having forgiven
you all trespasses. blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us.
Now, I tell you, Paul said in Galatians, Oh, you that desire
to be under the law. And I wish that this tape could
go out to some who obviously desire to be under it and think
they are keeping it. He said, oh you that desire to
be under the law, don't you hear it? It's against us. It's not for us. The handwriting
of ordinances are innumerable. And a dear lady in here and I
have been discussing this lately. Some people who are very strict
in their observance of the law And we have both heard tapes
by this one's so-called pastor. And I contend that these people
and they contend that we're confused. They said I'm confused concerning
the government and the law. Well, I contend that they desire
to be teachers of the law, but understand they don't understand
what they say nor whereof they affirm. That's what I say. Because if they did, they wouldn't
want to be under it, wouldn't they? No, if they heard the law,
usually the desire to be under the law, don't you hear it? Paul
said, the day I heard it, it killed me. It just made me be
a sinner. He said it didn't puff me up
and make me say, oh, I've kept it. As before he heard it, wasn't
it? He said concerning the righteousness of the law, blameless. He said
when the law came, when he saw what the law was saying, blameless. He said, I was guilty. Do you
see that? He used to think he was perfect
with the law, but when the law came, the commandment came, revive,
sin, revive, die. was blameless now guilty as charged. Thou shalt love the Lord guilty
as charged. On every and to offend he said
in one point is to break it off. Philippians 2. Well read on it
says that Christ blessed God this is the best news an old
lawbreaker ever heard. He blotted out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us. Contrary to us, took it out
of the way. What a stumbling block. Don't
mind a stumbling block. The law meets us head on. Right? Thank God Boaz jumped
in front of me. You got somebody to deal with,
don't deal with Ruth, deal with me. I'll marry her. I'll take care of her. I'll fulfill
it for her. I'll take off my shoe. Or take
off your shoe. Took it out of the way, nailed
it to the cross, having spoiled principalities and powers, made
a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it, in himself.
Look at verse 16 and 17. Look at this. I wish more people
to see this. Let no man therefore judge you
in meat, for eating and drinking, or not, in drink, or in respect. of an holy day, or of the new
moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things
to come. But the body, the substance,
is what? Which, now he's talking about
the law, isn't he? Ordinances against us are a shadow. And I've said so many times that
I do not hug up to my wife's shadow. I never do. There's no warmth in a shadow. There's only warmth in the body. All right? A shadow, a shadow
is a dark, a dark symbol of something that's coming, isn't it? And
you know you can't tell a lot about the one who's coming by
their shadow, can you? The other day I had a cowboy
hat on. And I was outside, had the cowboy
hat on. And I looked down at the ground,
and my shadow looked ten feet tall, and that hat. And I thought, if I didn't know
who the shadow represented, in other words, if somebody just
saw my shadow, they'd think, John Wayne's coming. But when you see the sentence, Shadow is a fearful thing. Shadow
is a dark thing. You can't tell much about the
body by the shadow, can you? Huh? Little children can cast
a long shadow. The body, you see, the shadow
is a dark, mysterious thing. The thing I'm trying to bring
out here from this verse seventeen is the law, everything about
it, is dark and is mysterious until you see the body. Christ is the law giver. He's the one who wrote it, the
law fulfiller. He's the one who sheds light
on it all. It's all dark and mysterious
till he shows up and he sheds light on it all. The scripture
says he magnified it and made it honorable. Now turn back to
the text in Genesis 17. And there's another key verse
there in Galatians, not there, but over in Galatians 3. Listen
to this as you're turning to Genesis 17. Galatians 3.24 says,
The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to the law. To make sure we keep the law. The law, now it doesn't say that,
the law says, the scripture says, Galatians 3, 24, the law is our
schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The one that wrote it. He's the
one that wrote it. Brother Todd and I were talking
on the phone just now and he says, hello, by the way. He said, you ever looked up the
word schoolmaster there? I said, no I haven't. He said,
what it means is school pedagogue, and that's a big word for meaning
a tyrannical ruler, one who does nothing but punish the children. Never rewards them, never speaks
well to them, never comforts them, never really instructs
them, just punishes them. all the time. I said, you know,
if I had a schoolmaster like that, it'd make me go hunting
for a kind master, wouldn't it? You see, the law makes you run
to Christ. Lord, Lord, help me. Genesis 17 and verse 2, he says,
I will make my covenant. What all that have to do with
the law and all that? What have to do with this covenant? Because
this is a law. Like I said, everything God says is law. Forever, O Lord,
thy word is settled in heaven, right? All right, he says, I'll
make my covenant. There's a key word right there,
my covenant. Did that sound familiar to you?
Over in Genesis In chapter six verse eighteen he said to Noah,
he said, With thee will I establish my covenant. My covenant. And thou shalt come into the
ark. And here he says, With thee I will make my covenant. And
you shall be circumcised. My covenant. That's a key word
statement. My covenant. Verse four he says,
Behold, my covenant is with thee." In other words, I've revealed
to you my covenant. Verse seven, I will establish
my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, for
an everlasting..." If I know anything about English, it means
forever, doesn't it? Like that old country preacher
said, I don't know much about the English language. He said,
I know all, and all means all. And that's all it all means. Oh, well, everlasting means everlasting. Doesn't it? Never ending, everlasting. All right, verse nine, he says,
God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant. Therefore thou and thy seed after
thee in their generation my covenant by C. Now we've already seen
in Galatians four who this seed is haven't we? Who is the seed? Let's just see if you're awake.
Who's the seed? Christ. Galatians four sixteen
or twenty six. I forget which verse it is. I
could look it up real fast. Galatians four it says Christ
is the seed I will look it up, in case somebody does. Galatians 3, 16. Thy seed, which
is Christ. We've already seen that, haven't
we? Christ is the promised seed. Every mention now, previously
and afterward, of the seed of Abraham is talking about who?
Christ. Now, that is a spiritual understanding.
Right? Seed by seed. That's what Paul
said. This Paul didn't say it. This
Paul said. Apostle Paul, through the Holy Spirit. Galatians 3,
16. Christ is the promised seed. He is the heir of all things. Abraham's not the heir of all
things. Isaac's not the heir of all things. Who is the heir
of all things? Jesus Christ is the heir of all
things. To this end Christ both died
and rose and was revived and about the Lord over all heaven
and earth and heir of all things. He's the heir of all things.
He's the woman's seed. He's Abram's seed. These are
just different pictures of him. He's David's seed, seed of David. He's the seed. He's the heir. He's the only begotten of God.
He's the heir. And we're joint heirs with him.
All right, verse 10 now, in Genesis 17. Here's my covenant, he said. Are you with me? Deborah, are
you with me? I just wanted to pick on somebody.
This is my covenant. Are you with me? This is my covenant, which you
shall keep. This is it. Henry, he's going
to describe it. This is my covenant. which you shall keep between
me and you and thy seed. Every man child among you shall
be circumcised." Circumcised. Circumcision. This is the covenant. This shall be a token, he said,
a token. Verse eleven, be a token of the
covenant between me and you. Verse thirteen, he says He that
is born in thy house, says this in twelve and thirteen, he that
is born in thy house, he that is bought with thy money, must
needs be circumcised, and my covenant shall be in your flesh
for an everlasting, never-ending covenant. All right? All right. What is this covenant and circumcision? What is it? Very briefly, turn
over to Romans 2. Very quickly. Turn over there. I'm trying to make it understandable. Trying to make it brief. Just
a little bit more here. Romans 2. Romans chapter 2. Briefly now. A covenant. Say brothers, a covenant, the
word means agreement, a testament. Now at the mouth of two or three
witnesses the thing is established right it's not a covenant I don't
make covenants. It's got to be somebody with
me. Covenant is between two people
or three people. The mouth of two or three witnesses.
Stan and I can make a covenant or Charles and I can make a covenant
or Vicki and I can make a covenant. I can't. It's got to be two.
You understand that? It's between more than one party.
An agreement. God's company said my government. I'm going to stay with my government.
With it. Well who made this government.
God and Abraham. But did God ask Abraham Abraham. Did Abraham contribute. No my government got to my government
I was damaged with you. No it was that between God and
Noah. That's what people were saying. They call it the Abrahamic
covenant. God says it's my covenant. My
covenant is the key word there. A lot of people don't understand
it. My covenant. Who made this covenant? What is this covenant? When was
it made? Who carries it out? Whose covenant is it? When was
it made? Who carries it out? Well it's a cooperative effort
between God and Abraham. No, no. This covenant now, God's covenant,
he said, my covenant, was between God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. The mouth of two or three witnesses.
It's called the everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure. David said, God made with me.
Now, what he's saying there, John, what he's saying there
is the same thing he said to Noah, the same thing he said
to Abraham. He said, I'm going to make with you. I'm going to
reveal it to you. My covenant. Do you all understand
that? You understand, don't you? My
covenant. The only one I understand is
God's covenant. God's very eternal purpose. Same
thing in Ephesians 2 and Ephesians 1. His purpose. which he purposed
in Christ Jesus for the world began a covenant he made with
his son with the Holy Spirit. You see, they're the ones that
made this covenant. It's a covenant of grace. It's
a covenant of mercy. It's a covenant of going to have
a surety of it. It's going to have a seal of
it. The blood of the everlasting. It's going to have a head of
it. It's going to have a mediator of it. It's going to have Somebody
to carry it out. God purposed it. God's the one
that wrote it. God the Son's the one that came
and fulfilled it, carried it out. All the stipulations of
the covenant. God the Holy Spirit's the one
that applies it. Goes looking for the ones that apply it to.
And circumcision's a type of that. Romans 2 verse 28. Look at it. He is not a Jew which is one
outwardly. Neither is that circumcision
which is outward in the flesh. He is a Jew. What's a Jew? Who's a Jew? Christ said to that
woman at the well, He said, You don't know what you worship.
Salvation's of the Jews. Remember that when Christ said
that to her? She said, Well, our fathers worshiped. Here,
your father's saying Jerusalem. He said, You don't know what
you worship? Salvation is of the Jews. Why
did he say that? Jews are a type of God's chosen
people. Salvation is for the elect, he
was saying. Elect. This is what he's saying
here. He is an elect of God, a chosen
one of God, not because he has his body circumcised. Read on. He is a Jew which is one inwardly. Circumcision is of the heart. Do you remember reading that
in Deuteronomy 30, verse 6? God says, I will circumcise. Ladies, you all need to be circumcised
to be in the covenant. There's no mention of ladies,
are there? Does that mean there are no ladies saved? You've got
to be circumcised to be in the covenant, don't you? That's a
stipulation of the covenant. I'll circumcise your heart, he
said. Your heart, that's circumcision,
which male and female. In Christ there's no male or
female. Jew or Gentile, right? But everyone of them are circumcised.
It's of the heart. And it's in the spirit. Read
on now, it's also relevant. In the spirit, not in the letter
of the law. Never has been, never will be. Never has been, never will be. Over in Colossians 2, he says
this, in our heredity, he says that Christ blotted out those
things that were against us. And he said there, I read this
to you. Let me ask you a question. This circumcision, who does it?
Who does this circumcision, anyway? Well, Deuteronomy 30, verse 6
says, I will circumcise your heart. And in Colossians 2 I
read to you says that we're circumcised for the circumcision without
hands by the circumcision of Christ. He's the one that does
the work. He is the great physician. In
our day circumcision is done on a little male child by a physician,
right? See, everybody that's in the
covenant that God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
made together concerning who He would save, His chosen people,
are circumcised, male and female. But it's not outward, it's inward. It's heart circumcision. Y'all
understand that? This is clear to you. All right, what is this circumcision
of the heart, then? Ezekiel 36, verse 26, he says,
I will take away that stony heart and give you a heart of flesh, that hard outward covering that
renders your heart insensitive. And I'll take it away, remove
it." And that's what actual circumcision does also. It takes away a covering
that reveals sensitive areas. And that's what he says that
I'll do to your heart. I'll take away this stony heart
and give you a heart of flesh. I'll cut it away. And all little
things will pass away. I'll cut away the dross. I'll
put away the enmity. I'll remove the fleshly, he said
to be carnally minded, his dad. I'll take away carnal minded
way of thinking about things. Are you with me, Jeanette? Hey,
Jeanette. She was. I was really thinking about somebody
else. Are you with me? As you're taking away fleshly
minds, you cut away the carnal reasoning and give you spiritual
understanding. You see that? Cut it away. We are the circumcision, Paul
says in Philippians 3 verse 3. We have been circumcised. How
do you know? We have been circumcised. How? We worship God in what? Spirit, not the letter. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. Rejoice
means to put all your trust, all your care, all your belief,
all your hope, your whole life, your soul, your everything on
Him. Casting all your care on Him. He's all your righteousness.
He's all your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption. He's
your hope. He's your acceptance. He's your
perfection. He's your holiness. He's your
sanctification. He's your justification. He's
your all and in all. We rejoice in Christ. A man that's
been circumcised has had this hard, stony—stone represents
the Lord, doesn't it? God wrote the law on tables of
stone. He says, I'll give you a new
heart. I'll write on your heart my law. We rejoice in Christ Jesus and
put no confidence in the flesh. What does that mean? That means
no confidence in anything that has to do with me doing something.
Flesh. Please hear this somebody by
tape. Hear this. Hey, you sitting there that's
going to hear this, that's trying to keep the law, by the deeds
of the law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. By
the laws and knowledge of sin. And they that are circumcised,
or they that are worshiping God in the Spirit, not the letter,
rejoicing in Christ Jesus, Him and Him alone, not what they
do, in what He has done, and put no confidence in what they
do, have done, ever will do, their baptism, their confession,
their doings, their strivings, their prayers, their tears, their
anything, but in Jesus Christ alone. No confidence in Him. Fleshly
ordinances are shadows. Well, let me ask you a question
then. Are we still to be circumcised? Should we circumcise our male
children? It's the law. We've got to keep it, don't we?
What did Christ say? What did he say about it? You know, the scripture says
that Christ, when he was eight days old, his Mary and Joseph
brought him in to be circumcised according to the law. He had
to fulfill it, every jot and tittle. He had to fulfill it. He had to be circumcised. Henry,
if he hadn't of been, we're yet in our sin. He had
to fulfill it all for the law. Well, what does he say to us
about it? He never said anything about
it. Do you ever recall Christ mentioning
it? Well, he didn't put it away,
did he? Do you see what I'm getting at?
He didn't put it away, did he? No. Well, he didn't say any time
or anything about doing it. He didn't say anything any time
about putting away the sacrifices either, did he? Did he? John, you ever remember him saying,
now don't offer any more sacrifices? Did he? Ed, did he? He's the mediator of the covenant. And a covenant's not fulfilled
except by the death of the testator. Testaments not ordered, except
by the death of the testator, and he can't change a thing after
he's dead. It's all settled, right? Did he change that? The sacrifices? Did he? You see what I'm getting at?
He fulfilled it all. You see, here's the point I'm
trying to make. Christ is the lawgiver. He's the lawgiver. He walked
this planet. He's better than the law. In so much as the builder of
the house is better than the house, right? He's better than
the law. The lawgiver walked the planet,
didn't he? Christ is the fulfiller of the
law. He's the fulfiller of the law.
He's the lawgiver. Christ, in the Sermon on the
Mount, dealt with the law, didn't He? We went through that, verse
by verse. He dealt with the law in depth. He said, You've heard it said
by them of old time, I say unto you. Remember that? Who's them of old time? Well,
it's God. God made the law of old time.
He says, I say unto you. Now, here it is. Here's the law.
I'm the lawgiver. Here's what you're to do. Isn't
it? And whatsoever he saith unto
you, do it. Did he tell us to keep a Sabbath? Do you tell us to be circumcised? Huh? Do you understand what I'm trying
to say? Christ is the lawgiver. He's better than the law. I remember
one time where a woman was caught in the act of adultery. Now,
the law says, stoned her. They brought her into Christ
and cast her at His feet. And they said, Now the law, Moses
in the law, says, Stoney, what do you say?" He's the lawgiver. I say, Justify! You see? What? He's guilty. Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. He's able to justify freely without
keeping the law. The ungodly. Who does Christ
justify? You read that in Romans. He justifies
ungodly. Romans 4. Not law keepers. And he went
to great lengths in Romans 2 to say how that you that are trying
to keep the law, you're plumb guilty. And they that are not
keeping it, justify it. How can he do that? He's the
lawgiver. He's the one that wrote it. He
said, I've fulfilled it now, whatever I say. And whatever
he says, what's our law, Ed? Christ is our law. Whatever he
says, that's what we're to do. Does that make sense to you? It does
to me. Now, if you want to study the
law, it's good, it's fine, it's holy, it's just You better study
it in light of the lawgiver, though, in Christ. What it means,
the spirituality of it. And you better remember, you
better remember that the law is spiritual. It demands perfect
obedience in heart. You that are listening might
take. It demands obedience of heart. That's what God looks upon. And
if anybody ever desired to be under it or thought they were
keeping it, they'd realize, I've broken it in my heart. Now, what does this lead a man
to do? Hey, you mean we don't have to keep the law? We can
go out and sin? That, oh, oh, nay, oh, man. God forbid, how shall we that
are dead to sin live any longer therein, he said in Romans 6. redeemed us from our sins. Say
that what it does make me want to do, though, is cling to Christ.
Worship Christ. Thank Christ. Appeal to Him. Appeal to Him. And the early
church, we looked at this in our study in Colossians, how
that the early, or Acts, how that the early church sent out
letters to the Gentile churches and what did they include in
that y'all better be circumcised you better keep the Sabbath and
you know it's saying those things. Did. Just abstain from meats
offered to idols and fornication. The early church didn't write
for the Gentiles and tell them this and that and the other,
keep this and that and the other. Here's the conclusion of the
matter. That's what Paul said in Romans 3. Let's hear the conclusion
of the matter. This thing of circumcision and
all of it, all the law, the full... A man or woman is not justified
by the law. We're only condemned by it. The
law is a curse. The just shall live. faith. Faith. Faith. And Paul said the
faith of Christ. The faith of Christ. His faithfulness. If you be, listen to this, if
you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Remember
that? If you do anything according
to the law, thinking that God's going to accept you because of
it, Christ profits you nothing. And verily, that's exactly what
these denominations are doing. Christ doesn't mean... Christ
is not all to them. These other things are. Right? But to them which believe. Christ
is all he's all he's all. And. In Christ we're in the covenant. In him and keepers of the covenant
we keep it I've kept this covenant because God circumcised me in
the heart in the heart. And. You know even circumcision I could say concerning the Sabbath
and dietary laws and. Laws concerning cleanliness and
so forth washing of hands and all that even circumcision was
a good sanitary law one good law for the wealth of the health
and well-being of the people. back then. It was God's mercy
to institute that way. It's more than a symbol. It's a good practical observation,
physical, for their physical well-being. But the law is spiritual. Circumcision is spiritual. It's
of the heart, just like all the rest of the law. It's of the
heart. It's spiritual, because God is spiritual. And you want
to understand the law and the covenant, these things, you've
got to understand it all in light of Christ. Or else you'll be
so, you talk about confused. You'll be plum confused. Which
one do we keep, Rick? That's what'll lead a man or
woman to confusion. Which can we keep? Which can
we, no, which, we under Levitical and Mosaic or Abrahamic or which,
we, this, that and the other. What shall we do? Well, I'm going
to the lawgiver. I don't know about you, but I'm
going to the lawgiver and ask him face to face, Christ, what
do you say? Trust me. Come on to me. I'll give you a rest. I brought
it up and writing ordinances against you. Trust me. I'll get you there. I'll get
you there. Trust me. I've kept the law.
All right, stand with me.