Romans Part 11
God has always desired a repentant and responsive heart. Physical signs were never meant to replace inner conversion.
Paul now turns to the subject of circumcision in Romans 2:25:
"For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision."
Circumcision was a real covenant sign. It was connected to being born into the covenant people. Jewish males did not choose circumcision for themselves as infants. Rather, their parents performed it as an act of covenant obedience. Circumcision symbolized being born into a people who had access to God's law and worship.
Yet Paul makes it clear that circumcision was only profitable if a person kept the law. The outward sign did not automatically make someone righteous. A helpful modern comparison is being born into the Church or raised with God's truth. That is a tremendous advantage, but the advantage is squandered if a person becomes a breaker of God's law.
Paul continues by asking,
"Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?" (Romans 2:26)
Physical circumcision is not the final defining factor. Keeping the righteous requirements of the law is what matters. A Gentile who keeps God's law stands in judgment over a Jew who possesses the written code and circumcision but breaks the law. Paul is not saying the law no longer matters. He is saying exactly the opposite. The outward sign is meaningless if God's law is not actually being kept.
Paul then reaches one of the great conclusions of the chapter:
"For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that 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, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God." (Romans 2:28-29)
Where and how a person is born does not settle his standing before God. Jew and Gentile alike need repentance and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Physical circumcision is not enough. God requires circumcision of the heart, and the praise that truly matters comes from God, not from men.
This was not a new idea that Paul invented. The requirement of circumcision of the heart reaches back into the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 10:16, Moses instructed Israel,
"Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer."
From the very beginning, God desired more than an outward sign. He desired inward repentance and obedience.
Jeremiah 9:25–26 reinforces the same truth. God declared that He would punish "all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised," and then explained that "all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart." Physical circumcision did not shield Israel from judgment if their hearts remained unchanged. Likewise, Ezekiel 36 records God's promise under the New Covenant to remove the heart of stone and give His people a heart of flesh. This promise is closely connected with the idea of circumcision of the heart. God has always desired a repentant and responsive heart. Physical signs were never meant to replace inner conversion.
Paul makes the same point elsewhere in his writings. In 1 Corinthians 7:19 he writes,
"Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters."
In Galatians 6:15, he explains that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is what matters, but "a new creation." That new creation is the transformed life produced through God's Spirit and lies at the heart of the New Covenant.
Some twist Paul's teaching on circumcision to conclude that because physical circumcision is no longer required, God's law has also been done away. That misses Paul's point entirely. He is not arguing for lawlessness. Rather, he is teaching that God requires something greater and deeper: conversion, the Spirit, and commandment-keeping from the heart.
Circumcision of the heart should therefore be understood as fulfillment of the law rather than doing away with the law. Just as the Aaronic priesthood is replaced by the ministry of Jesus Christ, and animal sacrifices are replaced by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, circumcision in the flesh is superseded by circumcision of the heart. These New Covenant realities are not a sweeping aside of God's law. They are better, deeper, and more powerful fulfillments of what God was pointing toward all along.
Paul concludes by describing the true people of God. Romans 2:29 says that "he is a Jew who is one inwardly."
This fits with Romans 11:24, where Paul describes natural branches and wild branches in the olive tree, with Galatians 3:28–29, where those who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise, and with Galatians 6, where the Church is described as the Israel of God.
God's work with His people did not begin in the New Testament. It reaches back to Abraham, Israel, Moses, David, and the prophets. The Church continues within that story as God's called-out people under the better covenant mediated by Jesus Christ. Gentiles enter the covenant people through faith, repentance, baptism, receipt of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, and circumcision of the heart.
Epistles of Paul is a course taught at ABC by Mr. Steve Myers. Recordings from the 2023–2024 class year are available on the ABC website.
UYA Team | uya@ucg.org
United Young Adults (UYA) primarily serves the 18–32-year age group for the United Church of God. There are three main areas of contribution to the lives of young adults: Promoting Spiritual Growth, Developing Meaningful Relationships and Making the Most of Your Talents. The Know Your Sword series is a daily expository message introducing God’s Word from a trusted perspective.
