Circumcise your heart
Romans 2:17-29
Key Verse: 2:29
Good morning. Last week we learned about God’s righteous judgement. He is super rich in his kindness and his patience against sinners. But he also repays each person according to what they have done. When people seek glory, honor, and immortality, he gives them eternal life. However, when people seek self-interest and evil, he gives them his wrath and anger. Today, in this passage, Apostle Paul talks about two things: the law and circumcision. They are two pillows of the Jews. Through mentioning about the two pillars, Paul reveals what God really wants from us.
- The Law
Can we read verses 17 – 20? “ Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth”.
As you know, the Jews was slaves in Egypt long time ago. When they cried out, God heard their cry and saved them from their miserable life. after that, he chose them a kingdom of priest and holy nation. Most importantly, he gave them the law in the time of Moses. Moses lived 4,000 years ago from now. Wow, at that time, the strong man was the law and the power was the law itself. But God gave the Jews the law. What are in the law? Beginning from the Ten Commandments: it has knowledge and wisdom how to serve God, how to love neighbors, how to prosper, how to avoid God’s punishment, how to protect the weak people, how to protect women’s rights, and so on. God blessed them to rely on his law and to boast in him. Also through the law, God revealed his will to them and showed them what is superior. Above all, God chose them as a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, and a teacher of little children. Through this, God expected them to teach the law to other Gentiles that they might come to know the knowledge of God. So having the law itself was a great blessing and privilege.
However, what did Apostle Paul challenge them? Can we read verses 21 – 23? you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
They teach others but they do not teach themselves. They teach others: not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to worship idols, not to dishonor God. However, at backend, they stole the property of the weak, the fatherless, and the widow. In secret as Jesus said, they made the temple of God as den of robbers. They changed God’s temple from a house of prayer to a market. They said “God gave us the law”, yet they dishonored God by not keeping the law.
As a result, how do they impact bad influence on people in this world? Can we read verse 24? “As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you”. Sadly, because of them, God’s name was blasphemed among the Gentiles. How did the Gentiles get to know invisible God? Through God’s people. When they saw how the Jews lived, they evaluated if God was good or bad. Unfortunately, in history, we know how the Jews gave the Gentiles bad image against them and God. This is totally opposite to what God planned through the Jews. Exodus 19:6 says “you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The reason why God chose the Jews and gave them the law was for them to teach the law, to pray for people, to share God’s love and bring the Gentiles back to God. But when they did not teach themselves, the Gentiles saw their double life (hypocrisy) that they were a good excuse why the Gentiles did not want to seek God.
Like the Jews, God saved us when we were slaves to sin. He gave us his words: the Bible. He chose us as his people. He blessed us to depend on his words and to boast in God. He also blessed us to know his will and what is superior: the kingdom of God. He also called us as a Christian, bible teacher for those who are still in the dark. It is a great blessing and great privilege to live such a life. However, like the Jews, if we do not obey the words of God, we are displeasing him. Two bad things are happening to us. First, we become hypocritical. Becoming hypocritical is not good at all. They always worry what others would think of me. They are quick to judge others. They do not smile. There is no room in their heart to show mercy to others. Second, people around us begin to have negative image about God. The Gentiles, ordinary people around us, how could they know about God? When they see us, if we love God and love neighbors, they want to know God whom we serve. They think, “wow, it must be something there”. But when we do not live as God’s people, they are going to talk bad about us and God in the end. So let us obey the words of God that God’s name maybe glorified among the Gentiles.
2. Circumcision
Let us read verse 25. “Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.” It is said that the law and circumcision are two pillars of the Jews. To them, there are only two kinds of people in this world: circumcised and uncircumcised people. They were so proud of circumcision. Why did God command them to circumcise? In Gen 17, God said to Abraham, the father of the Jews, that he would make Abram a father of many nations and renamed Abram to Abraham. He promised Abraham that he would be his God. As a covenant between him and Abraham, he commanded Abraham to circumcise. He said “my covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.” Sicne then, the Jews have their men circumcised as a sign of covenant between God and them. Whenever men go restroom, they can see their circumcision, it reminds them of their identity: live as God’s people, especially obey the law. So circumcision itself is good.
However, in verse 17, what was their problem? They were proud of their circumcision but they did not obey the law. They did not teach themselves. From God’s eyes, such a circumcision has no meaning. This is like a marriage covenant: at wedding ceremony, we say “ for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, …This is my solemn vow.”. But if a husband does not love his wife, the marriage covenant has no value.
So in the OT, God promised the Jews to circumcise their heart. Moses told them in Deuteronomy 30:6. It says “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live”. Also Jeremiah 31:33 says “ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people”.
Finally, in God’s time, when Jesus died on the cross, and rose from the dead, his promise became possible. When people confess their sins and believe Jesus as their Savior, God circumcises them by the Holy Spirit.
Can we read verse 28 and 29? “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God” In the eyes of God, who is a real Jew? The Jew thought they were a real Jew since they had circumcision. But Paul says, “No, no”. A real Jew is the one who is to circumcise inwardly. In other words, he is the one who is to circumcise their heart by the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit in our heart is a seal of God’s new covenant between him and us. As our heart is circumcised by the Spirit, we become his people and he becomes our Abba Father God. God is pleased with such a person.
How does the Holy Spirit circumcise our heart? When we accept the gospel Jesus; when we do that, as God’s gift, the Spirit comes in our heart and dwells in us. Then, the spirit helps us to love God, fear him, and honor him from our hearts. It helps us to obey the words of God from our hearts. It helps us to teach others as well as teach ourselves. Sometimes it convicts us of our sins. It also leads us to live as God’s people. When the Gentile sees us our heart circumcised life, they may praise God and want to believe God whom we serve.
Jesus himself shows what it looks like a life of being circumcised by the Holy Spirit. He was baptized by the Holy Spirit even though he was sinless. He walked with the Spirit. He honored God and revealed God’s love to sinners. Sinners, like us, were able to see and know God through his love, his power, and his sacrifice. Most of all, he obeyed God to the point of his death.
In a sense, we are already a real Jew as we accepted Jesus and the Holy Spirit came into our heart. However, as the Jews was just so proud of their circumcision and did not obey the law, we could be like them if we do not obey the words of God. Especially if we do not live a life of imitating Jesus in our daily life. In fact, some people, after receiving baptism, they consider as a sign of salvation, they go out to world and live whatever their sinful desires want. This is not what God designed for us at all.
I would like to share how God circumcised my heart through his spirit last week. Last Friday, I experienced a kind of “Asian hate crime” while I was driving to campus for fishing. There were three people in a car on my next lane. One of them held her mask designed American flag to me. I wondered why she did to me. First time, I thought she saw something on my face. Then, soon I figured out what it meant. I was scared and so upset. While I was obsessed with that incident, the Holy Spirit reminded me of one bible verse. Jesus said “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care?.(Mt 10). I began to think about why God allowed me to happen this. As I prayed about it more, I found myself I have been so ignorant about the sufferings of people through the coronavirus. Even though I have heard many bad stories, I have not cared about much. As long as I and my family are OK, it is fine. As God sent me a shepherd for UD campus, not only I say “I love you, I pray for you” by my mouth, I want to be a good shepherd to understand people’s hurt, their pains, anger, and their sorrow with my heart. I pray God may mold me to be a good shepherd for UD campus people.
In conclusion, thank God for the gospel. Because of the gospel, it is possible that we are able to circumcise our heart by the Holy Spirit. We are able to worship God and obey his words from our hearts. But our sinful nature keeps pushing us back to disobey God. So let us go back to the gospel Jesus each moment that in and out we can glorify God and obey his words.