Condemnation Because of Trust in Rites

Our cast today is in Romans chapter 2. And Hal set the stage for this last week. This whole section is best entitled, as the title on the slide suggests, The Jewish World Condemned, Romans 2, 17 through 3, 8. So we're kind of in the middle of that section of Romans here at this time. And then Hal will continue next week, and I'll pick up the terminal parts of this in the week to follow.

So keep in mind we're seeing in Romans the evolving truth that all are guilty before God. In Romans 1 we dealt with the heathen nation, if you will, the Gentile nation, and all the heinous sins of the time which we really reflected on were really true of times gone by and times present and times in the future likely. And then we looked at the moral Gentile, if you will, the person, in a sense, creating a law unto himself, and now we're in the Jewish nation. So we're going to kind of proceed from that point forward.

Verse 25, circumcision indeed, or verily profiteth, if thou keep the law. But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Continue with me to the end of the chapter. 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 who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who 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. So let me ask the class, first of all, when we look at the first verse in our section today, have you ever believed this? Is that something that you yourself can relate to at one point in your life versus now? Think out loud for me. Have you interpreted this outside of Israel?

Does the Gentile world relate to this at all? Yes, Carol? All right, my brother thinks that. He's doing all kinds of good things and that's all he needs. I mean, I think most of us start there, right? Keep in mind that the Jew had maybe a stronger badge or seal that related their behavior to what God had expected. We're a law system under ourselves, aren't we? Until you get saved. I get a feeling there's a lot of saved people who are a law system under themselves, even us sometimes. We put these little legal principles to our Christian life to see how we're doing.

But this verse says that circumcision is of value if you obey the law. But if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision permanently. How would the Jew perceive this? Let's put us in the robes of Israel. Do you think if a Jew broke one of the commandments upon one point in time in history that he or she would then ultimately feel that they were out of God's favor permanently?

Bill? All right. So there was an atonement, was there not? So this verse could be a temporary interpretation that if I'm coveting something that ultimately the blood sacrifice annually would take care of that event, right? So what's it mean to obey the law? According to Robertson's New Testament word pictures, it's if thou be a doer of the law. It's not kind of an obeying.

This is a life. In a sense, translated into Christianity, what kind of life do we talk about today? Alright, it's another life, isn't it? Where's the power coming for this? This living or obeying the law, this ongoing repetitive action, where's the power coming from? This is a condition of the third class and the present continuing action subjunctive, meaning it's factual. It means doing as a habit.

So again, if you will, it really kind of translates into a life that's a different life than ultimately is capable by the flesh alone. But yet we know there was nothing other than the flesh. But what about the believing Jew? How did the believing Jew become righteous with God? Was it the physical circumcision?

We'll look at that in a second. All right, like that guy on the plane from Los Angeles to Sydney, honey, that I mentioned last week. This guy had just spent a year at Yeshiva University in New York. He was returning to Sydney to continue living every aspect of the law systematically. I mean, he thought he was living it. All 600, what is it, 13, 623, you know, segments of the law is best interpreted by the Jew. He was getting it all done. So if you will, he's living this law system as a habit. And a habit's not a life, is it? But we've got to believe that there's examples in the Old Testament of people who have righteous lives. What about Abraham? What about Moses? What about David? What about Daniel?

I mean, these are... But they were living by faith. Where's the faith come from? Not themselves. What is faith? What is faith? Stump the stars. Is it putting your trust in something you can't see? Well, yeah, but the brake pedal works in your automobile, huh? Applied trust. Applied trust in what? What did the Jew have in terms of the faith principle?

Promise. Promise? And what promise, Bill? Well, they go back to Abraham, but what they're thinking of is the promise of the land. Okay, the promise of the land, but the life of faith, was living simply for that promise? What sustained Joseph? I mean, Joseph was even pre-Israel, if you will. I mean, the great saints, quote-unquote, of the Old Testament, what faith principle were they acting upon?

Well, not only that, Carol. What's that? Good, okay. I think again, I'm a little simplistic in trying to be a reductionist, but is not faith believing what God has revealed? And if you think about that principle from the garden on, we have a perfect definition of faith, don't we? Our faith today is really substantiated, isn't it, by history and by what the Lord Jesus Christ has revealed in terms of who He was, what He's done, and what He continues to do in our life. Written, documented, and we believe the Word of Truth. The non-believer doesn't believe this, but we do. So, if you define faith as believing what God has revealed, you know, the saints of the Old Testament were living under law, but remember the end of this little text we're doing today.

Where's the circumcision? Is it of the flesh? And flesh only? You see where we're going. It's of the heart. Now, if you break the law, this verse says then, is becoming uncircumcision. is made, meaning is made uncircumcision, is a perfect active principle. The active aspect of the verb means you're responsible. You're the one who broke the circumcision or broke the law and so therefore your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.

The Jew then is like the Gentile with no privilege at all. So if in fact you're Jewish and you break ultimately you fall within the Gentile realm of then having no favor, not being privileged, not set aside. So I guess if you're like this guy that was on his way back to Sydney telling me how well he's doing at living the law, I guess you're okay because you're satisfied that you're keeping all of God's principles. But we'll learn as we continue in the Book of Romans that there's not one righteous, no not one. So this becomes talking about a reductionist principle. What a beautiful reductionist principle it is. And remember, some of Christ's strongest words were aimed at those who were living the law, at the Pharisees and the scribes.

So circumcision really then was identified for the Jewish nation as simply the seal of the covenant in relation of Israel to God. Let's look at circumcision now in a little bit more detail. In Genesis 17, 10, and 11, we get kind of the first glimpse of circumcision.

And this is God speaking to Abraham. And God says, 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 ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. That's the first mention in scripture of circumcision to Abraham. Let's carry it forward.

By the way, much of the text that relates to circumcision in the Bible is really not steeped in the legal section of the Old Testament. Kind of interesting. I mean, it's there, but ultimately much of what the Bible says about circumcision is pre-law and post-law referring back. Kind of interesting.

Acts 7-8, and He gave him, meaning Abraham, the covenant of circumcision And so Abraham begat Isaac and circumcised him the eighth day, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs. So tradition again began before the law. Romans 4 11 and 12, And he received the sign, meaning Abraham, of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith, which he had yet being uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all them that believe." Now look at that. The circumcision now takes on a new meaning. It doesn't take on simply an act on the foreskin. It relates to another principle and that's a belief. Though they be not circumcised. Notice the condition of circumcision goes beyond the physical act.

That righteousness might be imparted unto them also. and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised." When you think about Abraham, do you think of Abraham's circumcision? Describe Abraham. If you had somebody who came to you and knew nothing about the Bible, but had heard about this guy Abraham, how would you describe him? Was it his circumcision that you would describe? I don't think so. Bill? No, his faith. Oh, for sure.

And Romans 4 will bring it out beautifully, and Galatians deals with that. We see it in Acts. We see it all over the New Testament about the faith of Abraham. So, that's the principle of circumcision. God's initial intention of circumcision was not simply a physical act, but one that demanded a faith response. In legal context, here's what I was referring to earlier.

In Leviticus 12, 1-3, we're now putting it into kind of a legal framework about what the nation of Israel is all about. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman hath conceived seed, and borne a man child, then she shall be unclean seven days.

Kind of interesting, isn't it? Doesn't have anything to do, shouldn't seem like it has anything to do with her. But this male child makes her unclean. I guess she's clean if she has a female child. According to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean and in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

There's the legal principle. But it's interesting again to look at the history of circumcision that dates for sure before the law. Verse 26. Any questions on 25 at all, kind of setting this up in terms of the framework or the verses to follow? All right, let's go on to 26 then. This is the New King James Version. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man...

By the way, Ephesians 2.11 just kind of relates to what an uncircumcised man is all about. You can look at that if you want. We'll not turn there right now. ...keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?

So what's the principle here? What's this verse taking us to in terms of an in-context interpretation? All right. And that's why I began the lesson by simply saying, have any of us related to this ever? I mean, in a sense, the unsaved Gentile world, in fact, much of the entire world, really, is in a principle of law-keeping, even though they don't have a saving relationship, right?

So this says if you're not circumcised, which could be a Jew who's not circumcised, or alternatively could be a Gentile, that person keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision. So Craig, here's an example of the law. I mean, how would you interpret this? Is this law principle or is this Well, here in 26, the law, there actually is a definite article.

So it's talking about the Mosaic Law. In the verse prior in 25, no article. So it could be talking about the principle of law instead of the Mosaic Law. But we were talking about this before class. In context, sometimes there's no definite article before law where the only interpretation would be Mosaic Law.

But for the most part, you have your choice there depending on how it reads in context, but when the article does proceed. But you notice the article is the law in the interlinear Greek, but there's no Greek article, is there? I mean – There isn't 26? But if you go through this section, you look at the law, many times there's no article. Mr. What 25 percent. OK, because I think it's let's let me get back to sleep. So in the.

Just read circumcision indeed is of value if you obey law. But if you break law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. And so Fox's question to me this morning is, are we talking about the Mosaic law here, or are we just talking about a law principle? And I think if you were to look at it as Mosaic law here, you've got something that's certainly correct. But Abraham had circumcision. didn't have the law, but the Gentiles certainly were a law unto themselves.

So I think looking at this as the general principle of law is probably better. And James would agree with that as well. Thank you. Alright, verse 26 then. Now, Mosaic law looks like what we're talking about. So the righteous requirements of the law really are the statutes and ordinances of the law. And this, we could think of as the Ten Commandments, or we could think of it as the expanded Jewish law. And I would probably tend to interpret it more broadly than simply the Ten Commandments.

Keep. Present subjunctive, present tense subjunctive, meaning it's factual. You're keeping them. in the process of getting the job done. And if you look at the verb in more detail, it's to watch or to be on guard. The implication here is to kind of preserve or obey or avoid being mistaken in terms of your lifestyle. Again, the concept here is one of keep on keeping on perfectly. The idea, again, being a liver of the law, a doer of the law, an ongoing activity.

It's a lifestyle. It's not simply kind of offending the law. And I think that's consistent with God's annual event of kind of having the sacrifice of animals to pay for the sins. Because the true person of the Old Testament under the law, living by faith, realized that he must have realized that he's living truly by faith that he couldn't keep the law. And that's what the sacrifices were for, the atonement. So that, just like we're believers today, I mean, in a sense, our growth and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ ultimately, at least for me, makes my flesh look more inadequate. So, you know, as your flesh becomes less adequate and you see it more for what it's really like, then this principle of knowing our sins have been entirely forgiven and there's no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus becomes a wonderfully uplifting message, doesn't it? And I think even under the legal system of circumcision, not the physical aspects, but the spiritual aspects, allowed the believer of the Old Testament but lived by faith, knowing that the sacrifices of animals were sufficient before God for his or her sins to be at least atoned or put off.

Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 7.18.19. I've got it up here for you.

Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised." So we're dealing with the principle now that the uncircumcision keeps the righteous requirements of the law. Will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? So if any man called being circumcised, let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called being uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing. And uncircumcision is nothing.

But what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. So the obvious question that comes from that, then, is, what are the commandments of God? Remember, the verses I just read to you are from 1 Corinthians now, where it's saying circumcision's nothing, uncircumcision's nothing, but the believer is told to keep the commandments of God. So what are the commandments of God?

You've got your handout, so you know where we're going here. Let's turn to Galatians chapter 3. Well, it says five then. I think I mean five, is what I mean. Good for you. Without Margaret, I wouldn't be getting the job done, I can assure you. All right. Could somebody read that for me? Harry, would you read that, please? Three through six, please. I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation to keep the whole law.

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law. You have fallen from grace. For we, through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything but faith working through love. Alright, so the commandments of God are what? Faith, right? The command of God is to live by faith.

And remember when Christ was questioned, you know, about what is the work of God? What did Christ say when He was questioned about doing the works of His Heavenly Father? In other words, Christ was being questioned about whether he was really the God-man, as he claimed to be. And the inquisition was, what are the works of God? And Christ said, believing on him whom he had sent, right? So the works of God is faith.

That principle's been played at from the earliest of time to the current time, and ultimately circumcision avails really nothing. And of course, the circumcision availed nothing because it was really being looked at as a physical act and just claiming citizenship, where in fact it was the spiritual meaning of circumcision that was being missed.

My question to you, isn't this where most of the world is in their faith or lack thereof, the legal system? We've kind of touched on that already. I think so. I think, again, as believers, we have to be very careful not to put ourselves back under that. Now, that's not a license to sin, because God forbid, right? I mean, if we're living by faith, that sin's never comfortable when we choose it. But yet, we're positioned without condemnation. So, legal systems are not for us. And I think we can, at times, truly find ourselves in that position. So the question is, how are you doing here? Your family, how are they doing? Your friends?

Circumcision availeth nothing. And uncircumcision availeth nothing. So legal systems are not part of the Christian life. So, counted for nothing means it's imputed, accounted, reckoned, and this is the same reckoning that we see expressed in Romans 611. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Same work. So the same kind of reckoning which would ultimately impute unrighteousness here really is the same kind of reckoning that we're called to in terms of recognizing our death and burial and resurrection with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Okay, I'm going to turn to the Amplified version now in Romans 2.27.

The King James says, "...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." So the Amplified I like a little better. Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you who, although you have the code in writing and have circumcision, break the law. So what's the thought here? Well, we're turning to the person not circumcised, right? Physically or spiritually. And if those individuals fulfill the law, in fact, Are they judged by the letter and circumcision as transgressing the law?

So let's piece this apart here a little bit. The Interlinear Greek is kind of interesting. It's a complicated verse in some ways. In the Interlinear Greek, we're going to go through it by numbers, and that's the way it does, in terms of the original language.

The, then you turn over to the what? The circumcision by nature then 5 is keeping the law, 8 is where? 8 is will you, the transgressor of law, by the letter and uncircumcision. Wow, how about that for a sentence? So that gets jumbled up into kind of the translation that we have before us. So in the inner letter of Greek, I'm just showing you how kind of confusing it is to turn there. So if we're talking about unbelievers in our situation, it would be unbelievers who, as Carol pointed out, do good works, would be very critical of believers who they see, quote-unquote, breaking the law, not living by, quote-unquote, the law, or not being, or sinning. Correct. I think that's one. And that happens every day. Absolutely. And that's why I think as we walk the walk, ultimately we have to be having our walk founded on right principles.

And I think the unbelieving world is in a position to want to see the Christian as humble and forgiven and not perfect. I mean, we're perfected but not perfect. We're perfect before God, but our human walk ultimately is error prone, is it not? Well, and I think a lot of unbelievers I mean, they can't wait for a believer to make a mistake that they can point out and say, you say this, but this is what you do.

Well, but again, it's this earthly environment in which we live where keeping a law system is what's being recognized by the world, is it not? Other faiths, certainly the Jewish faith. And the Muslim faith. Absolutely. So this is present active participle in terms of keeping law. Again, it's kind of this idea. It's an ongoing thing. It's a life. And it's conditional use. And the idea is to continue to finish. It's fulfilling to the very end.

So this ultimately keeping of the law is something we can't ever ignore. It's a principle of life, of keeping the law. Effectively, the uncircumcised in the flesh, not spiritually, but in the flesh, who keep the law, quote-unquote, rebuke the Jews who don't. Because it's a principle of righteous acts and deeds that ultimately accomplishes the task of keeping the law. So in a sense, the person who's keeping the law is always judgmental of individuals who are not living up to those legal principles.

And is this possible? Let's turn forward a little bit to Romans 3, 9 through 12. David, could you read that one for us? What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written. There is none racist, not even one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have become useless. There is none who does good, there is not even one.

But now then, but now we are deliberate from the law. that being dead, in which we were held, that we should serve in wholeness of spirit, and not in boldness of the letter. What some say is the law of sin, that the dead may, I have not known sin, but by the law. For if I had not known sin, So it played out, those who are the breakers of the law, whether they be uncircumcised or circumcised, are really transgressors of the law. So the principle is the same for those who are circumcised versus those who are not. And since there's none righteous, no not one, ultimately this principle of circumcision is meaningless if it's of the flesh. Whether you're uncircumcised or you're circumcised has no relevance at all before God.

In a sense, as Vines points out, this stresses the positive side of sin and is applicable to those who receive the law. The positive side of sin is what? How would you Think about the positive side of sin. What's positive about sin in terms of this whole principle? Because there's not one righteous, no not one, right? So sin ultimately brings us to this principle. So the positive side of sin is that there's no one who is without sin, whether you're under a legal system or not under a legal system. sin is really the ambience of our condition.

So that ultimately takes you beyond circumcision as a physical act and moves us on into a turf now that's going to consider the inward man versus the outward man. And verse 28 kind of sets that up. New American Standard, for he is not a Jew who is one outwardly. nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh." What does one outwardly refer to, you think, here? It's not about show, it's not about how they look from the outside. Okay, so would you consider that physical, or is that... It's appearance. Okay, appearance. Appearance in what manner? In terms of the life? Works? Works?

Okay. Yeah, for sure. Right. Okay, so I don't know whether in fact some of the Jewish leaders bragged about their circumcision. I don't think so. I mean, they're simply living out the laws of their consideration about how the laws apply to their life. It begins with the physical circumcision, right? That's just among a list of things that they're doing that's righteous, right? That's all outward. If you will, it's the in-the-open Jew. And the Jew was one of great tradition.

Was he or she not name, nature, nation, religion, profession, circumcision, phylacteries, all the above. And in a sense, let's extend this beyond Israel, which is not necessarily in the text, but just think about the system we live in, in terms of the outward man is really where the message is, isn't it, to a large extent? The unbelieving world? What does the world credit? What does the world system really recognize. Good looks. Financial well-doing. Profession. Reputation. Athletic ability.

So what's our response as believers to that? Does that mean that we can't be good? What's good looks dependent upon? Blame your mom and dad, right? Okay, so it's out of our hands. So where's the credit go for how you look? Your genetics and God built DNA, right? Are you thinking about this, Hal?

I think the way somebody grooms obviously has something to say about how they feel about themselves. I mean some people go too far and some people are not far enough. I was like McGee. This issue comes up – at least it came up when he was recording his tapes. whether women should have makeup or not. He gets into that in a big way. But anyway, it's his opinion that many women need a little makeup. I'll let you women decide yourselves. But the issue is your looks, the way your physical being is really is God-given, is it not? So we have nothing to do with that other than being groomed. I always say you've got to take my barn.

What about intelligence? I mean, we all work, many of us work, and those who don't work are surrounded by people in their own environments, in their homes and churches and everywhere else. I don't know about you all, but I've made the conclusion that how hard somebody works with the intelligence God's given is much more likely to be successful even in the world's eyes than having a sheer high level of intelligence. The world honors success, whether it's by hard work, hard human work, or whether it's by simply IQ. But anyway, that's God-given, is it not? Your ultimate intellectual capability.

Athletic ability. Remember, I mean, I don't think we have too many too young in this class. Maybe we do. But in gymnasium in your elementary school years, you remember some kids, and then you looked at other kids, and some kids just had it naturally. They could do everything. Do it well, do it quickly. And other kids could barely do anything. I mean, it wasn't simply desire. They had a great desire to do things well, but they just couldn't do it. They just didn't have the ability physically.

So the issue is that man takes credit for things that are all God-given to begin with. And I think in 1 Corinthians 7, I think is where the text is that Paul says, why are you boasting about things that are all God-given anyway? There's no room for boasting. These are God-given attributes that ultimately can be used to His glory and His glory only. When we take credit for ourselves, then the message of His great grace and love is lost.

Just as a side note, a couple weeks ago, we were going over with the kids the very first sin. And you end up with Lucifer, who's got great looks, who's got wisdom beyond measure, who's got a fantastic job. And every last one of these things came directly from God. And it was his inability to recognize that it was God-given that ended up causing the sin.

Good point. It's a great point. Many of you maybe have seen the Left Behind series, but the way Jerry B. Jenkins describes the Antichrist as someone exactly like this, great charisma, great intelligence, great love by the world community, all the right things, not recognizing God for who he is. I mean, in a sense, you can leave the Left Behind behind if you want, or you can take it, but it was kind of fun to kind of see that characterized by Jerry B. Jenkins in that story. But the Holy Spirit's looking for something more, isn't he? I mean, he's looking for a believer to ultimately modify not the outward man, but the inward man. So, let's look at Romans 9, 6-8. Margaret, do that one for us, will you? Romans 9, 6-8.

Not as though the word of God has taken none effect, for they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

All right. Carol, would you do Romans 4, 10 through 12, please? Similar principle, just different verses to support it. How then was it predated? Was it circumcised or uncircumcised? that while circumcised, yet while uncircumcised. And then you see the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith, where she had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them. And the father of circumcision, to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham, that she had while uncircumcised. We saw baptism in this church last week. Praise the Lord. It's neat to see you up there giving glory to where it belongs. Think about a similar view for baptized Christians.

What's baptism all about for the believer? It's a reflection of something. Is this a mechanical or a legal thing? So tell us, what did baptism mean for you? Why did you decide to be baptized last week? I always kind of thought of it after reading some stuff that Vernon gave me as like an outward sign of something that had taken place on the inside. It was basically just being identified with Christ and His death.

Okay. Did you believe that before you were baptized that you were saved? Yes. Okay. Right. So, you know, we all as parents would love to see our children be baptized, and if I had five children, I could assure you all of them are not. And I don't know how to interpret that, but as a dad, you think about that. But some have, but all have not. And so, is that something a father forces?

No. But again, it means something to you personally, but I think it means something to the body. In a sense, the Jew who is a circumcised Jew inwardly is a different Jew, for sure, before God than ones outwardly. Now here, I think, in context, the Jew who is circumcised outwardly only is not a believer. But a Jew that is circumcised internally and outwardly, presumably in the old tradition of the Jewish law, was a believer, a true man or woman of faith. Whereas baptism, the analogy breaks down some, because certainly people are saved without being baptized. But yet, the evidence of a Jew who, in fact, is circumcised inwardly is a Jew who is living outwardly by faith, where the outward appearance reflects the inward change. And that's the context we're looking at here. Verse 29, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God.

So in 2nd Corinthians 3 and 6 I have this written for you. For ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us. How it reminds me of our time in 2nd Corinthians. These verses are so so special. Let's look at them. 2nd Corinthians 2.11 And in whom also ye are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision. Christ and it talks about it gets into the same principle Romans 6 being baptized into death and risen with him in newness of life to exemplify the important truth so What does this look like what what does the circumcision inwardly look like You can apply it to Israel Jews for Jesus if you will Or you could extend it to the church outside. Keep in mind, the uncircumcision is a legal group of people anyway, right? When it's done outwardly.

How do you know when you see it? You cross people in your life and you find out they're a believer and you kind of knew all along that they were. But you can be misled, can't you? I don't know about you, but you tend to see people who are unbelievers and their life looks pretty good from the outward appearance.

You just never get a feeling for what's going on inside. But this principle, by the way, of the inward change and the circumcision being internally is not a new message for Israel. Let's look historically in the text. Deuteronomy 10.16 says, "...circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be not more stiff-necked." Wow, how's that for verbiage? Stiff-necked, I love it. Jeremiah 4-4, circumcise yourselves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your heart. Ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my fury come forth like fire and burn, there are other things that follow that, because of the evil of your doings.

And the final part of this verse is, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Think about that a little bit. Praise of God and not of men. And I'm going to share a little bit from what Gil has said here, referring not to circumcision immediately spoken of before, but to the Jew who is one inwardly, and alludes to the name Judah from whence the Jews are called, which comes from the world where word, whatever, that word obviously didn't get translated into Greek, Craig, I mean, the computer program didn't carry that over, at least this computer didn't, which signifies to praise and intimates here that such persons must not expect praise from men who are only taken with outward things, but from God who searches and knows the heart. And I thought in closing what we might look at, whoops, is comparing the praise of men to that of God. Let's turn to Matthew 23. These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

1. To you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup, and platter that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." So this idea of pleasing men was really a motive that is ingrained in the circumcision of the flesh and not of the spirit. In John 12, 42 and 43, we'll look briefly at those.

John says, nevertheless among the chief rules also many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Now as believers, do you think that we're in a position of being praised of God? I thought our praises went to Him. Well, they do for the most part, but that's spirit-led anyway, isn't it?

But let's, in closing, turn to Philippians 1, 8 through 11. Somebody read that, please. But God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that you love me about more and more, knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless unto the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

To the glory and praise of God. So what's God praising here? It says to the praise of God. What's he praising? being filled with the fruits of righteousness, it looks like. The only way we can be filled with the fruits of righteousness is to have His life living out through us.

We're not capable of doing that. I'm crucified with Christ nevertheless. I live but not I, right? Or for me to live is Christ and die is gain. I mean, the fruits and love. Think about this just for a second. We'll clearly close with this. How are you doing at loving your neighbor? Doing pretty well at that? I do terribly at that. But isn't it neat when the Lord takes you and puts you in a position that your love for your neighbor is not your personal fleshly love, but it's His love through you? It takes the pressure off. Because then our ability to accept and deal with the lack of met expectations on the part of others gets simplified, because His love extends through all human circumstances.

So, finally, the inward believer, the inward circumcision is a life. And that's what God has called for from the very beginning, and now we're a privileged community receiving his praise for that life lived out by faith. Let's close in prayer. Father, we're thankful today for your word about circumcision, and we've extended some of these principles to the unbelieving, uncircumcised world, but recognize the important truth of the fact that the The Lord Jesus Christ is our life as believers, and your empowerment by the Spirit brings glory and praise to you and to us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.