beginning in verse 24 of Exodus
chapter 4. And it came to pass by the way
in the inn that the Lord met him, Moses, and sought to kill
him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone
and cut off the foreskin of her son, and casted his feet, and
said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he the Lord
let him go. Then she said, A bloody husband
thou art, because of the circumcision. I've entitled this message, Circumcision. The Bible has only one message,
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you believe that?
It really does only have one message. This is not a book about
ethics and morality. It's not a book trying to prove
things about God. It's not an instruction manual
about how to live. This is the book of Christ. This
is the true hymn book of the church. And this one message
is told in a variety of different ways. One of the challenges in
preaching the gospel is preaching the same message over and over
and over again in a fresh way with different ways the Bible
teaches, but it's still one message, only one message. Now, tonight,
the message of Christ and him crucified will be told through
the subject of circumcision. Who among us has not wondered
about circumcision? You know, it's kind of a strange
ceremony, isn't it, if you think of it what it is by itself. Why
did God require for the male child to be circumcised? Think about it. To cut away the
foreskin of the flesh, that which is natural. It certainly doesn't
seem natural man is born with this, but cut it off painful.
Some would say barbaric. This is a strange ceremony, and
this is to tell us of Christ and him crucified. How can this
ceremony? That is, I've wondered about
this all my life, thought about it when you read about circumcision,
how can the gospel be preached from circumcision? Well, in the
passage of scripture before us, It came to pass by the way in
the end, verse 24, that the Lord met Moses and sought to kill
him. Now, Moses is on the way back
to Egypt in obedience to God's command to deliver to Pharaoh
this message. Look in verse 21. This is where
we left off last week. And the Lord said unto Moses,
when thou goest to return unto Egypt, see that thou do all those
wonders before Pharaoh, which I could not hand, but I will
harden his heart. that he shall not let the people
go. And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is
my son, even my firstborn. And I say unto thee, Let my son
go, that he may serve me. And if you refuse to let him
go, behold, I'll slay thy son, even thy firstborn. Now, Moses
is on his way to deliver this message to Pharaoh, and he's
spending the night in the hotel And on the way there, the Lord
met him and sought to kill him. Now, that's enough to catch our
attention, isn't it? The Lord met him and he sought to kill
him. Evidently, Moses became very
sick and was at the point of death at this time. Now, obviously,
this is very serious. What did Moses do? that made
the Lord seek to kill him. Because that's what it says.
The Lord met him and sought to kill him. Let's go on reading
verse 25. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone
and cut off the foreskin of her son. She circumcised him and
evidently she did so in anger. She cast it at his feet and said,
surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go. Evidently, the Lord raised him
up from his sickbed when this work was performed. And she repeated
herself, a bloody husband arched out to me because of the circumcision. Now, evidently, Zipporah was
against circumcision. I can see that she was not raised
in with the Hebrews, and I can see why she would say, why would
you do this to my boy? I mean, why would we put him
through this pain? She was against circumcision.
It seemed barbaric and cruel to her. And I understand her
thinking this way. And Moses, no doubt, had said
we need to circumcise our son. And she said no. And Moses allowed
her to have his way, her way. Perhaps he reasoned it's only
a ceremonial thing. It cannot be that important in
the grand scheme of things. So he let her have her way. He
listened to her, and the Lord met him with the intention of
killing him for what he was allowing to take place. And evidently,
Zipforan knew what the issue was. So to save her husband's
life, she circumcised her son and cast the foreskin at his
feet while he was lying there sick and dying and said, a bloody
husband thou art to me. She was mad, even at this time.
She was angry with him. So the Lord let him go and didn't
kill him. It seems as though he was raised
from his sickbed. And we read where Zipporah repeats
herself. You men know something about
your wives repeating themselves to you, don't you? Well, she
repeated herself a bloody husband because of the circumcision.
Now, who among us has not thought, what is the point? What is the
significance of circumcision? Now, before we look at that answer
from the Scriptures, let's consider another issue that's brought
out of this text. It's a very, very important issue. So listen to me very carefully. The fact that Moses' boy was
not circumcised was an act of disobedience on Moses' part. And the Lord was going to kill
him over this issue. How important is obedience? How important is obedience? Evidently, it's very important. Salvation is by grace. It's not
by works. It's not by acts of personal
obedience. If you're saved, it's because God saved you by his
grace. It has nothing to do with your works. You believe that,
don't you? If you're saved, it's because God did something for
you. He elected you before time began. He chose you to be saved
and saved you must be. He sent his son to die for you
and put away your sins. He gave his spirit to you and
gave you the new birth and caused you to believe on his son. Why,
even the faith you have is the gift of his grace. And any good
works you have, it's Him in you. You know that salvation is altogether
by grace. It has absolutely nothing to
do with your personal acts of obedience. You believe that? I didn't know that so. It's what
the Scripture teaches. I'm not saved by my obedience,
but I will not be saved apart from obedience. Now hear me. I'm not saved by
my obedience. But I will not be saved apart
from obedience. The gospel is to be obeyed. This act of Moses in just allowing
his wife to have her way and not circumcising his son, this
was an act of disobedience. And God meets him in the way
and he's going to kill him over it. And that's how serious this
thing is. Now, faith without works is what?
It's dead. Being alone, it is our works,
it is our acts of obedience that prove the reality of our faith. And Moses learned this the hard
way, didn't he? And Moses' son is circumcised.
Moses' son is circumcised. Now, what is circumcision? What
is circumcision? Let's go to where it's introduced
in the scriptures. Would you turn to Genesis chapter 17? Beginning in verse nine. And God said unto Abraham. Thou
shalt keep my covenant, therefore thou and thy seed after thee
in 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 generations
and 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 and 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, whose
flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall
be what? Cut off from his people. He hath
broken my covenant." Now notice particularly verse 11, and you
shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin and it shall be
a what? A token. A token. What's a token worth? In and
of itself, a token's worthless, isn't it? It represents something. The act of circumcision in and
of itself is worthless. It's not pleasing to God in and
of itself. It's nothing more than a token
that represents something else. It represents the covenant that
God made. It makes that clear. It's a token
of The covenant. Look up in verse one of Genesis
chapter 17. And when Abram was nine years
old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, I
am almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect,
and I will make my covenant between me and thee and will multiply
thee exceedingly. Now notice what God says. He
said, I will make my covenant between me and you. He doesn't
say we'll make a covenant together. He says, I will make this covenant
between me and you. It's a unilateral covenant. It's
not where two people come to agreement. God says, I'm making
this covenant between me and thee. And here's what I'm going
to do. I will multiply thee exceedingly. Now, in this glorious covenant
that's spoken of, God talks about what he will do. Verse three. And Abram fell on his face. I can understand that. He's probably
scared to death. And God talked with him, saying,
as for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt
be a father of many nations. Now, remember, when he says this,
this is according to that promise he made back in Genesis 12. And
you're going to have a great many descendants. Verse 5, neither
shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be
Abraham. Now, you'll notice that H is
added. That's the breath of life. It's
the Hebrew consonant for breath. You've got life now. I've given
you life because of my covenant. That's why his name was changed
from Abram to Abraham. But thy name shall be Abraham
for a father of many nations, if I may be. And I will make
thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nation to thee, and
kings shall come out of thee, and I will establish my covenant
between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, and their generations,
for an everlasting covenant. Now, this covenant is a covenant
that had no beginning. It's a covenant that has no end.
That's what everlasting means. It dwells outside of time. It
never began to be. It's an everlasting covenant.
It's the same covenant David was talking about right before
he died. This is one of my favorite verses of Scripture in all the
Word of God. He said, although my house be not so with God,
yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant. Ordered in all things. And sure. And this is all my
salvation. And it's all my desire, though
he makes it not to grow. This is all my hope is found
in this covenant. He says, I'll make an everlasting
covenant. And look what he says in verse seven, to be a God unto
thee. and to thy seed after thee."
He entered into covenant relationship with Abraham. "'And I will give
unto thee and to thy seed after the land wherein thou art a stranger,
all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I
will be their God.' And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep
my covenant, therefore, thou and thy seed after thee in their
generation. This is my covenant, which thou shalt keep between
me and you, and thy seed after thee. Every man and 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 thee." So circumcision represents the covenant of grace. Now, in the covenant of grace,
there are two things that God does for those people he enters
into covenant with. He does something for them. And He does something in them. He always does something for
these people that He doesn't do for everybody else. Remember
that scripture, if God be for us, who can be against us? Is He for everybody? Obviously
not. He's for those who believe. He's
for His people. If God be for us, Who can be
against us? He does something for his people
and he does something to his people. He does something unto
his people. I love that passage of scripture
I read at the opening of this service where the Lord told that
that gathering demonic that had been possessed with those devils.
He said, you go home and you tell your friends and family
the great things God has done unto you. And I love the way
he went home and told them the great things. Jesus had done. That's powerful, isn't it? Jesus
Christ is God, and He does great things unto us. It's not enough.
It's not enough for me to have something done for me. I need
to have something done unto me. I desperately need to have something
done unto me. Now, when God enters into covenant
with somebody, He does something for them, And he does something
unto them. Now, what God does for a man
in the covenant and what God does in a man in the covenant
are both represented by circumcision. Now, what is it that God does
for a man in the covenant? Well, you turn with me to Romans
chapter 11. Here's what God does for somebody that he enters into
covenant with. Verse 26. And so all Israel shall be saved,
as it's written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant
unto them when I shall take away their sins. Now, this is what
God does for somebody. This is what he enters into covenant
to do. He said, I will take away their
sins. This is what we call justification. Got no sin. You know, I hope
every time I preach until I die, I have something to say about
this. My sin is taken away. It's not fair. I'm justified
before God. I'm not guilty. That's so glorious. Because in and of myself, I have
some idea of what I am, but to know that I literally am not
guilty before God, my sin has been taken away. It's gone. He does something for a man and
he does something in a man. Turn to Hebrews chapter 8. Beginning in verse 7. For that first covenant, talking
about the covenant of works, had been faultless, then should
no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault
with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
when I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that
I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the
hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. You know, that
that's good stuff, isn't it? I mean, to have him take you
by your hand and lead you out, what's negative about that? But
do you know that won't save anybody? If he just takes me by the hand,
I still got the same heart. Remember, I need to have something
done to me, not just something done on the outside. I need to
have something done to me. That's why David said, create
in me a clean heart, oh God. mine's filthy, there's nothing
I can do about it, I need to have something done to me, so
let's go on reading. He says, They continued not in my covenant,
and I regarded them not, saith the Lord, but this is the covenant
that I make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my laws into their mind, and write them
in their hearts, and I'll be to them a God, and they shall
be to me a people And they shall not teach every man his neighbor,
and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. For all shall
know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful
to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities I will
remember no more. Now this is the new heart that
he gives. This is what he does to a man.
So we see, when God enters into covenant, this everlasting covenant,
it has something to do with him doing something for a man, and
something to do with him doing something unto a man. Now, what
in the world does circumcision have to do with all this? It's
a good question. And the Bible answers that question.
Circumcision, first of all, depicts the taking away of our sins. In circumcision, something is
cut off, it's cast away, and it's no longer a part of us. It is gone. Turn to Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. Verse 11. In whom. You also are circumcised
with the circumcision made without hand. And putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Now, in whom? In whom? What's
that about? In whom you are circumcised? Well, look in verse 9. For in
Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you
are complete in Him which is the head of all principality
and power. Now, here's something that's glorious about that verse
of Scripture. Being complete is not our goal. It's not what
we're striving for. It's not what we're looking to
be. It's the starting point. It's where God puts us. I'm already
complete. It's not something I'm grasping
for. I am complete in the Lord Jesus Christ. The forgiveness
of sins. It's not the end. It's the beginning. Grace is not the end. It's the
beginning. This is the starting point. Now,
in Him, In Him I am complete. It doesn't get any better than
that, does it? In Him I am complete. Now let's go on reading. In whom
ye also are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands. in putting off the body of the
sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." Now, you're circumcised
with this circumcision made without hands by the circumcision, the
cutting of Christ. My sin was placed upon Him, and
just as the foreskin is cut off in circumcision, our sins are
cut off. and put away by the bloody death
of Christ. They're separated from me. They're
thrown away. They are no more. You know, when
Zipporah said, a bloody husband thou art to me, I say this reverently. A bloody husband he is to me.
And the only way my sin can be put away is by the circumcision
of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's covenant is I will take
away their sins and the cutting off of the foreskin depicts the
severing of our sins from us through the death of the Lord
Jesus Christ. The circumcision of Christ. He
was circumcised on the cross and our sins were cut away. Now,
circumcision also depicts the work of Christ in us. How often
are unbelievers called uncircumcised in heart and in ears? You find that throughout the
scripture. One time the Lord says to his
people, circumcise the foreskin of your hearts. This has something
to do with our hearts. Now, turn with me to Romans chapter
two. Verse 28, For he is not a Jew, which is
one outwardly. Now, do you hear that? You know,
the nation of Israel, the Jews that live over there, what does
Paul say? Those aren't Jews. He's not a
Jew, which is one outwardly. What do you say next? Neither
is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. You said
that's not really circumcision, that outward physical act. Here's
what circumcision is. 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, this is the new heart he
gives, the circumcising of the foreskin of the heart. He gives
a new heart and he puts his fear in this new heart. A new heart
also will I give thee. This is what he does in a man.
It's called in several, by several names in the scripture. It's
called being born again. It's called regeneration. It's called
sanctification. It's called Christ in you, the
hope of glory. But it's his work in you. Christ in you, the hope
of glory. This is the circumcised heart.
Now, circumcision is a token of the covenant, which is Christ's
work for you and Christ's work in you. Christ's work for you
in taking away your sins and Christ's work in you in circumcising
your heart. Both his work for us and his
work in us are depicted by circumcision. Now, here's my last question.
We see the significance of circumcision. We see what it means. Now, here's
the question I've gotten to me. This is the big, this is the
biggie. Am I circumcised? Have I been circumcised? Turn with me to Philippians chapter
three. You can know whether you have been circumcised. This is the circumcision made
without hands that we read of. This is the true circumcision. Verse three, Philippians chapter
three. For we are the circumcision. Now, no doubt about what he's
saying here. We are the circumcision. Who? Who's he talking about when
he says we? Well, he's talking about every
believer. We are the circumcision. And he gives these marks of circumcision. First, we are the circumcision
which worship God. Now, here's the first mark of
circumcision. You worship God. You worship him as he's revealed
in his word. You bow down before Him, you
acknowledge who He is, and you worship Him for who He is. Do
you worship God for who He is? I'm not talking about a false
imagination of God, but I'm talking about the God of the Bible. Do
you worship Him for who He is? Here's the first mark of circumcision.
We acknowledge who He is, and we bow down before Him, and we
worship Him for who He is. Now, you'll only worship the
sovereign. There is no worship without that.
You'll only worship one in whose hands you are. And he can do
with you whatever he's pleased to do. You only worship the Sovereign. Now, we worship God. Look what
he says next. In the Spirit. Worship is altogether impossible
for the flesh. The only way I can worship God
is in the Spirit of God, caused by the Holy Spirit of God. You
see, really, it's the new nature that worships God in it. It's
that which is born of the Spirit. You know, a natural man can't
worship God. That's why I won't say to somebody, won't you come
worship with us? Won't you come worship with us?
Only a believer can worship. So I'm not going to say that.
Only a believer can worship. This is something that an unbeliever
cannot enter into. Now, I want people to come hear
the gospel. Oh, I'll invite people to come
to hear and hear the truth and so on. But as far as worship,
only a believer can worship in the Spirit because he's the only
one who has the Spirit of God and he worships the Lord Jesus
Christ for who he is by the Spirit of God. We are the circumcision
who worship God in the Spirit. Now, what he says next, we are
the circumcision who rejoice in Christ Jesus. And that word rejoice is the
same word that is translated in Galatians 6.14 by Paul, God
forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ. That's all I have confidence
in. I rejoice. I glory. I have confidence in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Paul put it this way in Philippians
3. Oh, that I may win Christ and be found in Him. When God comes looking for me,
there's only one place I want to be found. That is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Avenging was the Lord Himself
who came through Egypt and destroyed the firstborn. Where was their
safety? In the house with the blood over the door. That's the
only place I want to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. I rejoice
in Christ and nowhere else. Now, this is what a truly circumcised
person does. Someone who has a circumcised
heart, they really do rejoice in Christ Jesus. And you know,
I do rejoice in Christ. What I'm talking about, I rejoice
in, to know that I'm complete in the Lord Jesus Christ and
I don't need anything else, complete in Him. We rejoice in Christ
Jesus and what else? We have, look in verse three,
how much confidence in the flesh? How much? no confidence in the flesh. Anything that has anything to
do with my flesh, I don't have any confidence in. You know,
even the faith I have, if it's the product of my free will,
I don't have any confidence in it. Even the motives I have,
if they come from my flesh, I don't have any confidence in them.
Even the feelings I have, If they're the product of my flesh,
I don't have any confidence in them. I have no confidence in
the flesh. I have confidence in the Lord
Jesus Christ, but I have absolutely no confidence in this flesh.
And I tell you what, I got reason to not have any confidence in
it. I'm not saying this simply because the Bible says it, but
I think the Lord's taught me a little bit about my flesh and
I know there's nothing to it but sin. That's it. and I have
no confidence in His flesh, I rejoice only in the Lord Jesus Christ."
Now, that is the true circumcision. And, beloved, if this describes
you, you worship God and you worship Him in the Spirit. There
is no other way to worship Him. You rejoice in the Lord Jesus
Christ. and you have no confidence in
my flesh, in your flesh, or anybody else's flesh, no confidence in
the flesh, then you have been circumcised by that circumcision
made without hands. So you see, the gospel of Christ
can certainly be preached through the subject of circumcision,
and I pray that the Lord will give us these circumcised hearts. Let's pray.