January 24 Click on verses for Full Scripture	previous - - - - - - - - - - next
Today's Pathway: Romans 2:25-26 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

In today's passage Paul discusses the insufficiency of Jewish rituals to provide salvation. When he discusses circumcision, he is talking about being a Jew. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and Israel (Genesis 17:10), and thus those who had circumcision were Jews and those who were uncircumcised were Gentiles. Israel also viewed it as the indicator of "salvation": if you were circumcised you were a Jew and thus were saved, and if you were not circumcised you were not a Jew and thus were not saved. "Uncircumcision" was used as a term of scorn and derision by Jews, for they equated uncircumcision with being a pagans, non-Jewish peoples or Gentiles. We need to keep their thinking in mind to help us understand this section of the epistle.

Paul writes that being a Jew is profitable for salvation, but only if the Jew keeps the totality of the Law. However, as soon as the Jew breaks the Law at any point, he might as well not be a Jew at all as far as his salvation is concerned. Please understand that Paul knows that salvation is not based on being of Jewish lineage, but he is using Jewish "theology" to prove his point. Circumcision was a part of the Law, but so were hundreds of other commandments that the Jews were violating on a regular basis (Romans 2:21-24). Therefore, it is illogical to believe that because you keep one law (circumcision) you get to go to Heaven, but you can ignore all the others. James 2:10, which was also written specifically to the Jews, says this:

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."

In verse 26 Paul discusses those Gentiles who were uncircumcised, but "keep the righteousness of the law". Once again, Paul knows that all Gentiles are sinners because they have violated the law written in their hearts (Romans 2:15). However, when a Gentile gets saved he has the righteousness of Christ imputed to Him (II Corinthians 5:21). Paul writes in Romans 10:4 that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth". Thus, if a Gentile receives Christ, and thus obtains His righteousness, then the fact that he is a Gentile does not condemn him to Hell as the Jews believed. His "uncircumcision" (being a Gentile) is unimportant, because he is now saved, and he has received "the circumcision made without hands" (Colossians 2:11).

Lineage has nothing to do with salvation. All men are sinners, and they all need to be saved.