THE CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART

Rom. 2:28-29

Morning Meditation 6/3/16

“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.”

Paul made a statement here that would offend any Jew who was committed to the Law of Moses. No wonder he was so hated by the Jews of his day. This would be like saying to a Baptist who believes the Baptist Church is the bride of Christ, “For he is not a Baptist, which is one outwardly; neither is that baptism, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Baptist, which is one inwardly; and baptism is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose is praise is not of men but of God.”

External religion is a religion of the flesh. Cain had a deep commitment but it was to his own beliefs about what was true. He worshiped God according to those beliefs and was so committed to his own opinions that he refused to change when confronted directly by God himself. God gave him a chance to change his mind and he refused. Genesis 4:5-7 says, “But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.”

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to convert someone from a false religion? False religion is not committed to the worship of God or even knowing him. It is committed to it’s opinion of God and what its perception is of what he requires. It is based on human sophistry and logic. It makes sense to the natural man. It is a deep commitment enforced by the flesh and supported by Satan and his kingdom. Cain never repented. He was angry at God because God had rejected his offering (have you ever noticed how angry people get when you reject their religion and tell them it is false?). He showed his displeasure by boldly disagreeing with God and showing it on his countenance. He refused to change even when the God whom he professed to worship told him personally that he was wrong. Cain made an idol of his own opinion and worshiped it rather than God. This is the mistake of all false religion.

False religion deals with what one does and not what he is. It can be sorry for wrong doing but not have a clue about wrong being. It is not, first of all, what we do that is wrong. It is what we are. You can change what you do to satisfy yourself and your religion. But it takes a miracle totally out of the reach and power of religion to change what you are.

Human repentance only deals with what one does. It does not deal with what one is. It is one thing to tell a person that he has done something wrong that needs to be corrected. It is another thing altogether to tell him that he is bad to the core and nothing short of a miracle of God can save him. This concept is not good for his self image! It is putting him down. If he is bad to the core, it can’t be fixed by therapy and self-help books. If he is bad to the core, he has a terminal illness and radical changes will have to take place including giving up all he thought was right.

Before you think I am overstating the case let me remind you what the difference was between Cain and Abel’s offering. Abel’s sacrifice was the death of an innocent animal. It died at the hands of Abel. Abel is responsible for its death. The death of this innocent animal at the hands of Abel is an admission on his part that he cannot fix himself. He does not just do wrong he is wrong, i.e., he is a murderer at heart. This sin runs so deep in his nature it will take a substitute to fix it. He can’t fix it. Cain’s offering is the opposite. No one dies in Cain’s worship, i.e., he does not believe he is a murderer at heart. What he offers God represents what he is able to produce. Didn’t God put us here to “til the ground?” His sacrifice represented what he believed was right. It was not offered by faith because faith is a response to what God has said. And God had said nothing about this kind of sacrifice. Cain’s offering represented external religion but did nothing for the heart. The next verse in Genesis reveals that: verse 8 says, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” Abel repented of what he was (a sinner) Cain thought he was ok at heart and just needed to acknowledge God and worship him.

Paul said, “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly . . . But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly . . .” Paul is dealing with the same issue as Cain and Abel. It is the difference between the inward and the outward. It is the difference between what a man does and what he is. You can change what you do and it not affect in the slightest what you are. But you cannot be changed inwardly by the miracle of the New Birth without it also changing what you do. Paul bring this out in 2 Cor. 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

The words “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter . . .” speak of the New Birth. “Circumcision” was a sign (Rom. 4:11). Colossians 2:11 says, “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:” The circumcision of Christ here is speaking of the death of Jesus. So the circumcision of the heart is the application of the death of Jesus to heart of man (dealing with who man is and not just what he does) setting him free because it represents freedom from death because of the death of God’s substitute. The ram that God provided was offered in the stead of Isaac and Isaac walks away as if raised from the dead (Heb. 11:19).

I’m afraid professing Christianity has fallen for the same thing that the Jews fell for, i.e, believing that if the external signs are submitted to that all is well. When this happens then the religion goes forward on the basis of human rationalism. The converts are made without dealing with who man is, i.e., a sinner to the core, alienated from God and hopelessly lost without a chance if God does not intervene with a miracle. Repentance is even being argued as unnecessary by some who claim to believe the Bible. There are a lot of Cain’s decedents out there that will gladly respond to a preaching that will allow them to retain their good self image.

The words “whose praise is not of men but of God” puts the ax at the root of the tree. If your religion compliments you, you do not know anything about true Christianity. If our religion glorifies Christ as the “Author and Finisher” of our faith, we have the truth of which Paul speaks here. Jesus in not a crutch that we can use to limp into heaven. He is the foundation. It is not you and him. It is Jesus alone: Heb. 1:3 says, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, WHEN HE HAD BY HIMSELF PURGED OUR SINS, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Caps mine).

May the Lord bless you.

In Christ

Bro. White