Circumcision of the Heart

Romans 2:25-29
²⁵Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. ²⁶If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? ²⁷The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

²⁸A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ²⁹No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

We’ve been studying the book of Romans in Sunday School recently, and touched on this passage from Romans 2 this morning. It seemed particularly appropriate and convicting, at least when looked it in modern terms.

Let’s set the scene a bit. When Paul wrote this passage, he was addressing the Jews… the chosen people of God, who, as part of their covenant with God, were to be circumcised as a sign of the covenant. Paul has made the case to them that the law reveals sin, and that lawbreakers would be judged accordingly. He has gone further to say that those Jews who rely on the law and boast about their relationship to God as children of the covenant… the circumcised… effectively nullify the value of their circumcision due to lack of obedience to the law. He explains that circumcision has value only if it is not just a physical symbol, but if it is “circumcision” of the heart.

Put differently? Our acts of worship mean nothing if not accompanied by the complete commitment of our hearts to God.

So… the question of the day seems simply this… Has your heart been circumcised?

Think about it… how many of us pray before we eat simply because “it’s what Christians should do”? How many of us open our Bibles each morning out of duty rather than a heartfelt desire to grow in our relationship with God? How many of us have repetitive prayer lives… the same prayer with the same words, each morning or each evening… prayers which have become something we simply say because they’re our habit? How many of us exhibit outward signs of worship (much like Jewish circumcision) that, if we’re completely honest with ourselves, are full of empty worship?

It’s a convicting thought, especially if we desire for our lives to be as pleasing to God as possible.

(Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying that we need to ditch habitual worship practices… spiritual discipline is DEFINITELY a good thing! Just don’t miss the point of worship altogether in being disciplined in your approach to worship.)