Abraham would be appalled. He would be shocked to learn that many of his descendants had chosen to ignore one of God’s key mandates: “You are to undergo circumcision, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between me and you” (Genesis 17:11).
Bob WeathersCircumcision. God told Abraham that this surgical procedure would be a powerful symbol. To accept the symbol meant that you belonged to God. Not so much that you had chosen the Almighty, but that he had chosen you. It was God’s mark of ownership, and the Jews were to live their lives in obedience to the covenant they had accepted (Romans 2:25).
But in the 21st century, circumcision has fallen out of favor, even with the Jews. For example, according to a recent article by the Associated Press, Julia Query, who is proud of her Jewish heritage, honored the eighth day of her son’s life with the traditional celebration, but without having him circumcised. In fact, America has witnessed a downward trend in circumcisions of newborns since the 1960s, a fact sociologists attribute to the influx of people groups into the U.S. who do not see significance in circumcision. That is, it seems that the Jews have been influenced by their neighbors.
Now, I know what you are thinking. We are Christians. What’s this got to do with us? Didn’t Paul say that circumcision was irrelevant to us? Didn’t grace nullify the religious necessity of circumcision? Not exactly. Grace fulfilled it. See, the covenant has not changed. But now it is a circumcision of the heart, achieved by the work of the Spirit of God, who changes the nature of the believer (Romans 2:29). When we confess Christ, we enter into God’s covenant through the cross (Galatians 3:29).
So I think Paul would be, well, appalled. Why? Because the sign of our covenant is our obedience to Christ. We could criticize the Jews who have grown to disregard the significance of circumcision. But what about us? Have we been so influenced by our unspiritual neighbors that we disregard the significance of our covenant with Christ? What about you? Does your life demonstrate that you truly appreciate the significance of God’s ownership of you?
Does your life demonstrate that you are child of the covenant?