Behold, thou art called a Jew,
and rest in the law, and make thy boast of God, and knowest
his will, and approveth the things that are more excellent, being
instructed out of the law, and are confident that thou art thyself
a guide of the blind, a light to them which are in darkness,
an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast
the form of knowledge, and of the truth in the law. Thou, therefore,
which teacheth another, teachest thou not thyself? You that preach that a man should
not steal, do you steal? Thou that sayest a man should
not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest
idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that maketh thy boast of
the law, through breaking the law dishonoreth thy God. For the name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. For circumcision
verily profiteth if thou keep the law, but if thou be a breaker
of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore, if the uncircumcision,
that is the Gentile, 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, I have two things to say before we embark on our
way. Number one, you realize that
we're retreading some ground that we covered last Sunday morning
as we were in the third chapter of Romans. And number two, unless
you are fairly well acquainted with the Jewish history and with
their conduct and religion and such like, this may be a mysterious
thought unto you. But it has to do with type and
anti-type. Perhaps the first thing that
we ought to do is to get our contextual bearing and to check
it by the compass of the scripture in order that we may know where
it is that the course that Paul has marked out in his argument
in this particular place. but also seek to determine some
other things, such as who are these things spoken to and who
are they spoken about? Who are the intended recipients
of these words about circumcision in its historical setting? There
can be little doubt that the premise of the apostle is clearly
stated in the Roman epistle in chapter 1, verse 16 and 17, as
we stated last week. that the gospel is the power
of God unto salvation to both the Jew and the Gentile, because
therein, in the gospel, is revealed the righteousness of God, a saving
righteousness of God's providing in and through Jesus Christ. And this is a necessity in the
case of both the Gentile and the Jew, because in chapter 1
and verse 18, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all unrighteousness and all ungodliness of men. Then, as we saw last
week, chapter 1, verse 18, through verse 32, Paul catalogs the Gentile
depravity, tracing their apostasy from the knowledge of God that
he had given unto them to the depths of the sin described in
verse 26 through verse 32. Then in chapter 2 we also saw
that he does the same thing with the Jew because, as we just read,
they also had greatly transgressed the law of God and violated the
knowledge that they had or that they claimed to have. And so
then, in chapter 3, verse 1 through 18, he lumps both of them together,
Jew and Gentile, we covered that last week, and shows that there
is no difference. Now look at chapter 2 and verse
13. He states a true premise. And that true premise is this. It is not the hearers of the
law that are justified in the sight of God, but it is the doers
of the law that are justified in the sight of God. In other
words, the mere possession or the mere knowledge of the law
will not ensure God's favor upon either a Jew or a Gentile. And then beginning in verse 25,
he makes the same application regarding circumcision, and as
Haldane said, Paul here pursues the Jew into his last retreat
in which he imagined himself secure. And that is their fleshly
circumcision after the manner of Abraham. This the Jew considered
his great stronghold. He considered it a right that
gave him a special standing and a special privilege in the sight
of God. A right that preceded even Moses
and the giving of the law. For this they considered to be
their refuge. This they considered to be their
right unto eternal life, their Abrahamic ancestry, and their
fleshly circumcision. For they were circumcised, they
bore in their flesh the token that was given to Abraham. Genesis
17 and verse 11. And of the covenant made between
God and His friend Abraham. They received that which was
to Abraham a seal of righteousness according to Romans 4 and verse
11. Which God gave to Abraham of
the faith that he had before He had the right of circumcision,
or the sign of circumcision. It was a token, Paul calls it
a seal, of Abraham's covenant with God. And by the way, that's
called in Acts, chapter 7 and verse 8, the covenant of circumcision
by Stephen. Now the Jews and the Gentiles
were at that time distinguished by the denomination circumcised
and uncircumcised. And if you I'd like to turn with
me to the Galatian epistle and read two or three verses here.
We can see very clearly in these passages that it was a distinction
that was recognized in the early history of the church. So Galatians
2 and verse 7 through verse 9. But Paul's talking about when
he visited the leaders in Jerusalem. Verse 7, But contrarywise, when
they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed
unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter,
For he that wrought affectionately in Peter to the apostleship of
the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles. And when James, and Cephas, and
John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was
given unto me, They gave unto me and Barnabas the right hand
of fellowship, and listen, that we should go unto the heathen,
and they to the circumcision. Now, there it is very clearly
stated. Looking back over that passage
in Galatians 7, the gospel of the uncircumcision unto me, that
is Paul, and the gospel of the circumcision that is unto Peter. In verse 8, notice again the
distinction. The circumcision and the Gentile. That's how he distinguishes the
Jew and the Gentile. He does it again in verse 9.
that we should go to the heathen, that is, the Gentiles, and they,
under the circumcision, are performed their ministry mainly among the
Jews. Now, we want to caution ourselves
here, because this is not an excuse, nor is it a proof text
to say that there are actually two separate and distinct Gospels. One for the Jew and the other
for the Gentile, containing different principles and differing in their
nature. Oh no! For although Paul was
the apostle under the Gentile, yet he often preached the Gospel
under the Jew. Same one. And although Peter
was the apostle unto the Jew of the circumcision, it was he
that first preached the gospel to the Gentiles, as we see in
Acts chapter 10. For circumcision and uncircumcision
speak of a different sphere, not a difference in type, or
of kind, or of gospel, or of the Word of God. Paul uses that
same distinction in our text in Romans 2 and verse 26, as
he calls the Gentiles, again, the uncircumcision, or the uncircumcised. Now, Scripture uses this designation
regularly, and I'm going to give us some text in passing. Acts 10 and 45. They of the circumcision
which believed, now that would be Jews, were astonished at what
they heard and saw. Acts 11 and verse 2, they that
were of the circumcision, that is the Jews, contended with him. That is, they took Peter to the
woodshed. Titus 1 and verse 10, For there
are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially of
the circumcision, that is, among or of the Jew." Now, from this
we see the whole of their religion and religious position was summed
up by the designation, the circumcision. We are the circumcision. These were Jews. They were zealous
for the ceremonial law. They were strict adherents to
the prohibition of any close contact or communion between
the circumcised and the uncircumcised, that is, the Jew and the Gentile. For the Jew at that time wedded
to the ceremonial law, circumcision became to them the identifying
badge, what James A. Alexander called, and I'm quoting,
the distinct right, R-I-T-E, unquote. For in their minds,
It not only connected them unto Abraham, but was to them the
assurance that they were covenant children of the Almighty God. Now at the same time, the Gentiles
were by way of derision called, as we said, the uncircumcision. And this is how the Jew directly
referred to the Gentile the uncircumcision. And it was a designation of longstanding. You can see it in Judges 14 and
verse 3, and 1 Samuel 17 and verse 26, 1 Chronicles chapter
10 and verse 4, and many others. At this point, let us confess
that Scripture recognizes two circumcisions and two uncircumcisions. Our text is very clear that we
have read so far, so I will repeat. There are two ways to be circumcised. There are two ways to be in uncircumcision. Number one, to be circumcised
or uncircumcised in the flesh, made with hands or done by hand. Number two, to be circumcised
or uncircumcised in the heart. Sometimes also call the ear. We'll say more about that later
on. But let us now consider the commencement
of fleshly circumcision and the very first recipient of God's
command. Let's look at its institution,
and I'm turning to Genesis chapter 17, if you'd like to go there
and follow along. It was the token of the covenant
with Abraham as we saw in Acts chapter 7 and verse 8 called
the covenant of circumcision. Now in Genesis 17, let's begin
in verse 9 and read through verse 14. And said unto Abraham, Thou
shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou and thy seed after thee
in their generation. This is my covenant which ye
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, or of any
stranger which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy
house. He that is bought with money
must needs be circumcised, and my covenant shall be in your
flesh, Abraham, for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised
man whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul
shall be cut off from the people. He hath broken my covenant. Now here are some facts about
that text and about the scripture. Number one, we read, it pertained
unto males only, in verse 10. Every man, child among you shall
be circumcised. You see it again in verse 12
and again in verse 14. Second, it included such males
as were, verse 12 and verse 13, either born in the house or strangers
and foreigners that were bought perhaps as slaves, every male
and any male that without it was to be cut off from the blessing,
verse 14, treated as an apostate. Number three, we read there that
for infants it was to be performed on a set day. And that was the
eighth day. You see it in verse 12. You have
it in Luke 1, 59, John the Baptist on the eighth day. Our blessed
Lord Christ, Luke 2 and verse 21, in the case of our Lord. And remember what Paul said boastingly
in Philippians 3 and verse 5, among his qualifications to glory
in the flesh, he mentioned circumcised on the eighth day. Literally
he's saying he was an eighth day one. Did not come early,
did not come late. And you can check that in Leviticus
chapter 12 and verses 1 through 3. Number four we see from that
text that we read, In the case of proselytes, those Gentiles
who crossed over to worship the God of Israel, and those slaves
that were bought or captured in war or whatever, it was to
be performed on grown men, of which there were not a few in
this situation in Israel at that time. Including, by the way,
Abraham, who was 99 years old when he received the right of
circumcision. Genesis 17 and verse 24. 99 years
old. Now, as a sidelight, To this being performed on a
grown man, I want us just to notice some scripture, consider
some passages that have to do with it. Genesis 34 and verse
25. Kind of delicate, but it says,
"...when they were sore on the third day." Joshua 5 and verse
8, "...they journeyed not till they were whole." That is, they
had healed from their circumcision. And there's a wonderful demonstration
in connection with this of the providence of God in that God
made their enemies to be still and not come against them or
attack them while the men were incapacitated for or from their
circumcision. Now, back in Genesis chapter
17, we consider the circumcision of the man Abraham and what it
signified and accomplished first and foremost in the individual
man Abraham, ye shall circumcise your flesh. It shall be a token
of the covenant betwixt me and you. And as Paul states in Romans
4 and verse 11, and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal
of the righteousness of the faith which he had being uncircumcised."
That is, he had faith and so was justified while he were yet
himself personally in an uncircumcised state. Abraham was justified
by an imputed righteousness before God gave him the ordinance of
circumcision. Genesis 15 and verse 6, quoted
in Romans 4 and verse 3, Abraham believed God. and he counted
it to him for righteousness. Not his circumcision, but his
faith. Now the Jews, most of them, many
of them, rested only and solely in their fleshly circumcision
as the ground of their justification before God and as putting them
in the favor of the Almighty God. So Paul must destroy this
notion in their head, and Romans chapter 4 is the great place. He does so by using the case
of one who was surely just before God, that's Abraham. He believed
and was just before God prior to and separate from his circumcision
in the flesh. Therefore, for the time being,
we restrict our attention for good reason, to the circumcision
of Abraham, the private individual, and then moving on to his offspring. We have already proved that not
even Abraham was by circumcision justified before the Almighty
God. Well, then we raise the question,
or it might come up in our mind, what then was the significance
of this slashing of the flesh of Abraham? Why was it required
of him? What was it unto him personally? What did it signify, first and
foremost, unto Abraham? Now, we've already read it. But
to seek these answers, let us line up, if you might, a few
scriptures, all being such as we have already used and mentioned
in this study. The first being Genesis 15 and
verse 6. And he, Abraham, believed in
the Lord, and he, that is, the Lord, counted it. That means
reckoned it or imputed it to him, that is, to Abraham for
righteousness. Here is justification by faith
in the Old Testament in the first book of the Bible. Secondly,
we notice again Genesis 17 and verse 11. And ye, that is Abraham,
shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be
a token of the covenant betwixt you and me. That is between God
and Abraham. Then that verse again. Thirdly,
in Romans 4 and 11, And he, that is Abraham, received the sign
of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith which
he had being uncircumcised. Now please let us be clear on
what scripture and what Paul are teaching us that Abraham
had faith, that is, he believed God, he was justified, he had
an imputed righteousness given unto him before he received circumcision. And for that matter, apart from
works of any kind and prior to the giving of the law, that is,
the Ten Commandments. Now circumcision had a unique
and a peculiar significance to Abraham that I believe it did
not have unto others and those that followed. Now say this clearly,
to him and to him only was it a definite token of being in
covenant with God. To him and to him only was it
a sign and a seal of the righteousness of faith that he would have a
numerous seed But circumcision was not a sure guarantee to any
other that they were an heir of promise or a father of a covenant
child. For as Alexander Carson said,
a circumcised man might be childless or like Isaac, father of reprobate
by the name of Esau. Now, I think we can prove this
even further by two truths that pertain unto thousands and thousands
of people. A, who were descendants of Abraham
after the flesh. You hear him in the New Testament,
the Jew, telling our Lord Jesus, we be Abraham's seed. We are the lineal descendants
of Abraham's seed. And yet, says Paul, in Romans
9 and verse 8, all of them were not. children of promise. He makes that distinction between
Jacob and Isaac and those that followed. And then B, who were
circumcised in the exact like manner, there were those, of
Abraham, yea, most of them are many on the eighth day as prescribed,
while Abraham was not so until the scripture said he was ninety-nine
years of age. who nevertheless, despite being
direct descendants of Abraham, and they being themselves circumcised
after the flesh, it did not make them a covenant child of God
or a promise. And that stands good even if
their parents were true and covenant children of Abraham. I think more light will be shed
upon this subject when we come to the realization that one can
be a fleshly descendant of Abraham or, for that matter, of any believer,
yet not a child of God and not a child of promise. Or one can
be circumcised with a token or the seal of the covenant, yet
not in covenant everlastingly with Almighty God. Furthermore,
Scripture tells us of many who submitted unto circumcision simply
for the sake of necessity or expediency. Some of them are
slaves and strangers in Genesis 17, 12, and 13 as we read. God
said they must needs. be circumcised. And then B, there
were some such as the Shechemites in Genesis chapter 34. In order
to marry with a daughter of Jacob and Diana, all the men submitted
themselves under circumcision, and when disabled by it, were
killed by the sons of Jacob. Then see, in Exodus 12 and 43,
strangers and foreigners, those not Jews, who wished to eat or
partake of the Passover, all of the males of their house were
required to submit themselves under circumcision. Now these
texts conclude, as Mr. Alexander and Mr. Robert Haldane
have stated in their writing, that such as the Shechemites
were circumcised, quote, not only without evidence of faith,
but even without a profession of it, unquote. Think about that for a minute.
No evidence of faith, no profession of it yet submitted under circumcision. Furthermore, we learn in the
scripture that other persons such as Esau, and Ishmael, who
were cast out and excluded from the covenant, who would never
obtain an interest in the covenant. So that the two gentlemen are
right, those two writers, that fleshly circumcision was the
same whether upon Esau, Ishmael the Shechemite, a bought slave,
or a true Israelite descendant of Abraham. It had its true and
full application to none but the man Abraham himself. Now, let's take up a question
which might trouble our mind. Why was circumcision, the seal
of the covenant to Abraham, performed upon that particular part of
the anatomy, that is, the foreskin, as it is mentioned. Why not the
ear? Or why not the hand? Or the forehead? Or the big toe? Or the tongue
or the nose? In Exodus 21 and verse 6, We
read that a slave was bored through the ear as a mark of his servitude. In Exodus 29-20, in Leviticus
8 and 23, Aaron was sprinkled with the blood of consecration
upon his right ear, his right thumb, and the great toe of his
right foot." That's what that rite consisted in. Why then the
circumcision and the token of Abraham's covenant relation upon
that particular part? Some say because of procreation. But first let us remember Abraham
begat Ishmael while yet uncircumcised, and he begat Isaac after receiving
the right of circumcision. And these are called, contrasted,
and compared as the flesh and the spirit in Galatians 4, 21-29. Also, in Romans 9, 6 through
9, we read there of children of the flesh and children of
promise. In reading Robert Candlish in
Genesis, perhaps Mr. Candlish is headed in the right
direction in saying that it has an obvious reference to Abraham's
approaching paternity, a sign of the symbol of the remarkable
birth of Isaac, the seed soon to be begotten. Though some see
depravity as connected with it, that we are conceived, that we
are born in sin and shapen in iniquity. Now, could it be that
Abraham's circumcision, which to him and him only, was a token
and a seal of his being in covenant with Almighty God, it was also
a symbol that the spiritual promised seed were descended from the
father of them that believe, that is, of Abraham? Circumcision
cannot be a guarantee of covenant status upon two grounds, I think,
on any beside Abraham. Number one, as shown before,
many over the course of history were circumcised who had no right,
no part, no interest in the covenant, yea, who were excluded from the
covenant and is privileged. And I mentioned this in passing,
that no females ever, whether Jew or stranger, were ever circumcised. Thus, if circumcision is a sure
sign of covenant status, then one half of Israel was denied
that assurance, being incapable of receiving the covenant token
or the seal. And what Paul says in our text,
but that an ungodly life makes circumcision as if it were uncircumcision. And God willing, we'll pick this
up in our second study of the evening. Paul is teaching here. He's laying the groundwork. He's
knocking the foundation and the prop out from under the Jew in
his time that an ungodly life Great transgressions, frequent
transgressions of the law of God make one as to be as uncircumcised. And that true circumcision is
not that of the flesh. It is that of the heart. And that's the true circumcision
that we'll look at, God willing, in our second study. That everyone
who is in Jesus Christ, Everyone who is born again, everyone
that is regenerate, everyone that believes on and worships
the Lord Jesus Christ has had the true circumcision, inward
spirit wrought circumcision that the New Testament and, by the
way, the Old Testament also teaches us about. An ungodly life makes
circumcision to be uncircumcision. Faith in Christ makes uncircumcision
to be as circumcision. So thank God for this word and
may He bless it to our heart and to our understanding if we
continue our study in the second service this afternoon.