All right, here's that reading
again concerning the two kinds of circumcision and the true
circumcision. Verse 25, Romans 2. For circumcision
verily profits if thou keep the law. But if thou be a breaker
of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore,
if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall
not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not
uncircumcision, which is by nature, If it fulfill the law, judge
thee who by the letter and circumcision does transgress the law. For
he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision
which is outward in the flesh, But he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit
and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of
God." Now, pardon a couple of three minutes of review and rehearsal
from our first study. We learn that there is the circumcision
and the uncircumcision of the flesh. Secondly, we learn there
is the circumcision and the uncircumcision of the heart. And Paul mentions
all four of them in this text in Romans chapter 2. We also
declared the institution of fleshly circumcision in Abraham's flesh
from Genesis chapter 17, which assured Abraham that he was in
covenant with God. So now it follows that the mere
act of circumcision in the flesh does not at all indicate that
one is a child of God or belongs in the covenant. Circumcision
in the flesh in and of itself is not a justifying act at all. Because Paul shows in Romans
chapter 9 This is only accomplished by the sovereign work of God,
working regeneration. It is divine election. It is
not fleshly circumcision that puts one in the kingdom of God. Grace does not run in the blood. And this is proved by two examples
from Paul in Romans chapter 9. First of all, it said there,
Abraham had a son. His name was Ishmael, but he
was not A, are the son of promise, even though he was fathered by
Abraham personally in Genesis chapter 16, and even though he
was circumcised at being 13 when the rite was instituted, Genesis
17 and verse 25. Yet was this son cast out of
the house of Abraham and of Sarah. We learn a second thing there
in Romans chapter 9, and that is that Isaac, who was the promised
seed, he was the son of promise, had twin sons himself with his
wife, and the firstborn was a reprobate. That's in Romans 9, 10-13. So some might seek to negate
the point and overturn Paul and the distinction that he makes
between Ishmael and Isaac by showing some things they think
favor them. For example, they had different
mothers. They were born years apart. So Paul brings forth the case
of Jacob and Esau, born of the same mother, conceived at the
same time being twins. Esau was even the firstborn in
this set of twins and yet was a reprobate and hated by God,
not loved by the God of heaven. So the conclusion to be drawn
from that is the fact that neither Abrahamic ancestry or circumcision
in the flesh puts one in the kingdom of God or in the grace
of God. Now here in Romans chapter 2,
25 through verse 29, Paul tells the Jew that living the way that
he described in verse 17 through 24. That is, teaching one thing,
doing another. Requiring one thing of the Gentiles,
doing another. Pointing out the sin of the Gentile,
and yet committing those same sins. And he says that this negates
the benefit of their circumcision. He connects the prophet of circumcision
with obedience unto the law and the worship of God, and disobedience
to the law make their circumcision as if it were uncircumcision. Verse 25 has two halves or two
parts as we look at it. A, it says, for circumcision
verily profits if thou keep the law, if thou believe God, as
did Abraham, and yet all of the previous part of chapter 2 is
to show explicitly how the Jew had transgressed also the law
of God, and in this case his circumcision aggravated, rather
than alleviated, his guilt before God. Circumcision was an obligation
to keep the law and to keep the covenant. Listen to what Paul
says to the Galatians, who also were champions of circumcision,
in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 3. Paul said, I testify to every
man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole
law. Those circumcised were obliged
to imitate Abraham and walk in the steps of that faithful man. Then Moses also inculcated circumcision
into the ceremonial law. Therefore, it is only the practicing
of the precepts, or as the word is doing the law in verse 13
of Romans 2, that gives profit to their circumcision and by
which they might claim any. And then be, on the other hand,
verse 25, the last part. If thou be a breaker of the law,
thy circumcision is made, or is become, uncircumcision. Now, I'm told that a rather literal
reading of this last phrase would be something like this, quote,
but if a transgressor of the law thou art, the circumcision
of thee, uncircumcision has become. So then, As John Murray put it
in his commentary on Roman, the outward sign by that action is
bereft of its significance. It's lost. It's taken away completely. It is all just the same as if
they had it not. It is as if they were not circumcised
at all. In fact, he was no different
from the uncircumcised Gentile living under idols and worshipping
false God. His circumcision had taken on
the same meaning as uncircumcision because of the transgression
of the law. And since the weightier matter
is keeping the law and not circumcision, therefore verse 26 says unto
us, If the uncircumcision, that is, the Gentile, the pagan, or
the nation, keep the righteousness of the law, his uncircumcision
is counted for circumcision. It is in relation to the unrighteousness
of the law, or the righteousness of the law, that it has its significance. Number one, that a Jew's circumcision
becomes uncircumcision. Number two, that a Gentile's
uncircumcision becomes as circumcision. But not only so, but now look
also at verse 27. Circumcision, which is by nature,
if it fulfilled the law, will act as a judge and contend the
Jew with his letter of the law. and is bringing his circumcision
to bear upon the salvation of his soul. For consider, uncircumcision
is the natural. By that I simply mean none are
ever born circumcised. This is true of both the flesh
and of the heart. Both circumcision, they are naturally
uncircumcised at the beginning. For even the Jew, he was by birth
and he was in nature uncircumcised, though he was a child of Abraham
and a child and progeny of that great man. He was by birth and
nature uncircumcised, For circumcision is that made by hand. It is one
done after one is born. It is a cutting away that with
which people are born. So that even the Jew was naturally
or by nature uncircumcised both in the flesh and in the heart. It is, if I may say, the natural
condition of man. Now, let's take up verse 28.
In verse 29 of Romans chapter 2, where Paul declares what constitutes
one a true and a real Jew in the sight of Almighty God, and
also what is real and what is true circumcision. Notice, he
treats it both negatively in verse 28 and then positively
in verse 29. And watch the opening words,
both of verse 28 and of verse 29. Verse 28. He is not a Jew
witch. Then look at verse 29. But He
is a Jew witch. And in both cases, He goes on
to explain. Without a doubt, this flashes
us back to verse 17. And the statement, Behold, thou
art called a Jew, as well as what follows that. And rest in
the law, and make your boast of God, including down through
verse 20, as He charges them. Thou art called, thou art named
a Jew, thou art known as a Jew, thou art denominated as a Jew,
thou bearest indeed the name of a Jew, which was a theocratic
title in the mind of the Jew. It was a theocratic honor to
themselves they had taken. They were the people of God.
As to their religion, they were Jews. This designation of them
as Jews. Have you thought about this?
Appears first in Scripture, I think. in 2 Kings chapter 16 and verse
6. And its usage is frequent in
such books as Esther, the Gospel of John, the Book of Acts, and
other of the New Testament epistles. It might have been derived something
from Judea or even from Judaism. It was a name that they were
very proud of and wore honorably. So Paul says, In verse 17 of
Romans 2, you have added to yourself the name Jew, for they considered
it as a name of honor. And sometimes they even had it
put upon their tombs. when they were deceived, that
they were identified as having been a Jew. It was a name in
which they boasted. It was a designation or title
that they thought set them above and beyond other people. And
Bidey held himself out as morally superior to those non-Jews, as
did Paul, by the way, before his conversion in Philippians
chapter 3. But in verse 17 again, you proudly
take to yourself the name Jew. Romans 2, I mean. Verse 28, He
is not a Jew which is one outwardly. That is, not just a visible Jew. Outwardly. in name only, in appearance. And the literal words are, I
think, in the open, outwardly, to be known by as such. What
may be seen, as John Gill wrote, not by mere name, or descent,
or notion, or nation, or religion, or profession, but that which
is by nature. And in verse 29, the contrast
is made. But he, on the other hand, is
a Jew which is one inwardly. He's not a Jew that's one outwardly. He is a Jew which is one inwardly. That is, in the heart, in the
soul, internally, in secret, invisible, the hidden man of
the heart, as Paul calls it in Philippians 3 and 3. Worship
God in the Spirit. is another thing attached unto
them. So we know most religion, like that of Judaism even today,
consists in mere outward observances, rites and rituals and that sort
of thing with pomp and with show and pageantry and beauty and
buildings and costumes and everything imaginable loaded down with all
kind of do's and don'ts and formalism and making an outward show as
if it were a beautiful act of worship that they might glory
in the flesh, as Paul said in Galatians 6 and verse 12. Having a form of godliness. We see that on every hand. 2
Timothy 3 and verse 5. But notice again back in Romans
2, next Paul makes the contrast with circumcision. that you boasted
in their circumcision. So Paul says unto them, verse
28b, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. Verse 29, the last part, circumcision
is that of the heart. True circumcision, not the circumcision
that is outward in the flesh, performed upon the flesh by someone
else, but true and real circumcision is that of the heart, inward
and invisible to the eye. In Colossians 2.11, Paul describes
it this way, not made with hand. In other words, it is not done
by hand. anything a man can do or a man
can give unto another. The carnal Jews, those Jews outwardly,
were very content with their outward fleshly circumcision
just as Rome is satisfied with their sacraments and the Campbellites
are content with their baptism and the modernists are content
with their goodness and their morality and their good deeds
and their charity. But even alongside their fleshly
circumcision, there was an antitype that was waiting to be revealed
and found. There is something that answers
the antitype and calls for even under the Mosaic institution. God never would have them rest
in their outward circumcision, even in the old economy. There was an additional circumcision,
more prominent and preeminent, even under the Mosaic economy,
and that is the circumcision of the heart. Listen to Leviticus
26. In verse 41, as they lament,
is made their uncircumcised hearts. Not their flesh, but their uncircumcised
hearts. Listen to Deuteronomy 10, verse
16. Circumcised therefore the foreskin
of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked. Moses draws there
upon the analogy. A great text to preach on is
Deuteronomy 30, verse 6, where it is said, Moses says to the
people, And the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart and
the heart of thy seed to love the Lord thy God with all of
thy heart. Jeremiah 4 and 4, Circumcise
yourself to the Lord and take away the four skins of your heart."
Jeremiah 9.26. All these nations are uncircumcised. All the house of Israel are uncircumcised
in their heart. It is also applied to the lips.
in Exodus 6 and 12, 6 and 30, and the ear in Jeremiah chapter
6 and verse 10, Acts 7 and verse 51. The word circumcised literally
means a cutting around, a circum, a cutting, a circle cutting away
and around, severing it and casting it away. And Paul speaks of the
true or the spiritual or the higher circumcision in Romans
2.29 and in Colossians 2 and verse 11. making it in both places
the antitype of the literal fleshly circumcision, and marking one
as a worshipper of God and having a renewed heart. In Romans 2.29,
circumcision of the heart. Now we ask, how can the heart
be circumcised? What is the manner of this? What
is the instrument that might accomplish it? And what is cut
away and removed and cast away? J. B. Lightfoot listed some distinction
between the two circumcisions such as, A, one is external the
other is internal. One is of the flesh, the other
is of the heart. b. One is wrought with a hand,
the wielding of a knife. The other is wrought by the Spirit
of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. c. One cuts
away a portion of the flesh, the other cuts away that carnal
mass of affections that cleave to us in our unregeneracy. D, one is the command of Moses,
the other is the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is the
difference between the one circumcision and the other. Let's turn to
a statement by Paul found in Philippians chapter 3 and verse
3. He writes this, For we are the
circumcision which worship God in spirit and have no confidence
in the flesh. Now, there by we, does Paul intend
fleshly Jews converted? Are we the recipients of true
circumcision? I think the latter is seen by
the contrast with what he calls the concision down in the end
of verse 2. Beware of the concision. We are the true circumcision,
worshiping God in spirit and in truth. And he just said beware
of the concision. I think this is the only place
where this word appears in the New Testament. And Paul definitely
uses it in order that he might pour contempt upon those who
would make circumcision a part of salvation. The word means
down or to cut. And he considers such a mutilation. Some have rendered it the slashers. Beware of the slashers. Those who go around slashing
the flesh that they might glory in that flesh. Galatians 6 and
13. As a comparative analogy, we
might call those who make baptism a necessary part of salvation,
beware of the slashers or of the soakers. But Paul says we
are the circumcision. We are the true circumcision. One, we worship God in spirit. Two, we rejoice in Christ Jesus. And three, we have no confidence
in the flesh. Now how he uses flesh is explained
in verse 4 through verse 6 of Philippians chapter 3. Thus Paul
said that the true spiritual circumcision is inward, and this
agrees with Romans chapter 2 and verse 29, that true circumcision
is, number one, that of the heart, not the flesh. Number two, that
of the spirit and not in the letter. Circumcision is that
of the heart. There's a parallel between the
two circumcisions in that, in both cases, the uncircumcision
is natural and must be cut away. The heart is by nature corrupt,
enclosed about, encircled about with a mass or a body of sin,
as Paul sometimes calls it, desperately wicked. original sin from the
womb, and corruption encircles the heart, making the heart a
seat and a habitation of sin. Sin cleaves to the heart so that
it actually is a part of our nature. It is the iniquity of
the particular individual. So let us consider one of the
premier verses on the subject of circumcision of the heart,
and that would be Colossians chapter 2, and let's just read
verse 9 through 11 of that passage from the Apostle Paul. Colossians chapter 2, verse 9
through 11. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him, which is
the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are
circumcised with a circumcision made without hand, in putting
off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ. So let's note, this was a circumcision
made without hand. A circumcision not hand wrought. None but the Spirit of God is
ever able to cut away that mass of sin from our heart. Notice something else, that this
circumcision that Paul sets forth here consists in what? Not putting away the flesh, but
in putting away the body of the sins of the flesh. In circumcision made with hands,
only a portion of flesh is cut away and put off. But in spiritual
circumcision, it is the body of the sins of the flesh. It
is the old man. It is the denomination of the
fleshly appetites and unregenerate. The power of sin is broken and
is stripped away with the power of what Paul calls carnal affection. Number three. This is by the
circumcision of Christ. Christ is the circumciser. Christ is the author. Christ
is the performer. Nor is this different from regeneration
and is a part thereof and accompanies it. There is one striking parallel
between the two circumcisions of the flesh and the heart. That
is that neither one of them ever needs repetition. Neither one
is ever repeated. It is all the life. It is once
and forever. Neither will ever grow back and
encircle again. And another parallel, as Abraham's
circumcision was a token and a seal of his covenant status,
So a circumcised heart is evidential proof that one is in Jesus Christ. It marks one as a true spiritual
seed of Abraham and a child of God, a true son or daughter of
Abraham. And though fleshly circumcision
was only accommodated to the male, Heart circumcision is suited
to all that are called, men and women, and the two are circumcised
with a circumcision not made or enacted with hands at all. Heart circumcision should correspond
with the outward sign and the outward confession. Many today
have done with baptism what the Jews had done with their circumcision. The Jews said, oh, we're the
circumcision. How many in Christendom today
say, oh, we are the baptized, making it a part of the salvation
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But as with the Jew, without
regeneration, apart from faith and obedience, without a circumcised
heart, baptism becomes as non-baptism as if it existed not. And then there's that argument,
I shouldn't get into this and I won't, that baptism replaces
the Old Testament ordinance of circumcision held by many covenant
people today. That cannot be right because
the anti-type of fleshly circumcision is the circumcision of the heart. And this was taught in the Old
Testament as well. So I'll close with three points.
The circumcision of the heart is. Number one, a most needful
and necessary work. Without it, we cannot have a
heart to know God. Number two, it is a divine work. Only a divine hand can affect
it and bring it to pass and give it reality. Number three, it
is a wonderful work. A wonderful, amazing work to
cut away the mass of sin that cleaved to us from our very birth
and see them, as it were, cut away and rolled away the body
of sin. Not to say that any are sinless.
but to say that the heart has been circumcised and the instrument
is the Holy Spirit and the one authorizing it is the Lord Jesus
Christ and God his Father. So thank God that there is a
true circumcision, that of the heart. This is the real, lasting,
marked circumcision for the children of God. He is one who has the
circumcision of the heart.