January 25 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: Romans 2:27-29 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Paul is continuing his message to the Hebrews, and he warns them in verse 27 that Gentile believers will ultimately judge unbelieving Jews. Remember that Paul is not saying that uncircumcised Gentiles can keep the Law, but rather that if they do they will be reckoned as "circumcised" in a spiritual sense. Moreover, they then could be called to bear witness in judgment against the physically circumcised Jews who had transgressed the Law. The Jews had the written Law, and they had the covenant ritual of circumcision, but any Gentile, who had none of those privileges yet kept the law, would be their judge.

Verses 28 and 29 have been widely misinterpreted by some Christians. Paul is not saying that people who trace their ancestry back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not really Jews if they don't believe, and that Gentiles somehow turn into Jews when they get saved. This thinking has spawned a movement known as "Replacement Theology" that teaches that all the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament really do not belong to Israel, but that they belong to Gentile believers who have "replaced" the Jews. This doctrine is false. One can not possibly study the Old Testament prophets and come to that conclusion. So what is Paul saying? In order to understand this we have to remember what Paul's purpose is in writing these words. He has been repeatedly telling the Jewish people that the fact that they are Hebrews and have been circumcised does not mean that they are in a right relationship with God. The outward ethnicity of being a Jew is not what matters. It is the individual's personal relationship with God, which can only be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ, that is important. Circumcision of the flesh means nothing. Circumcision of the heart means everything. In the Law God told Israel to "circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart" (Deuteronomy 10:16), yet many Jews were unwilling to give their hearts to God, and instead trusted in their rituals. Stephen used the same language in the message that he preached that resulted in his execution; a message that Paul heard before he became a believer and apparently stuck with him. That day Stephen said to his Jewish audience, "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart" (Acts 7:51). It is the heart that matters, not simply an external conformity to rules and rituals.

This principle can be applied to "Christianity". There are many people who call themselves "Christians" because they go to a "Christian" church, or because they were baptized, or because they take communion somewhere. Yet none of those things bring salvation. You can go to church every week and take communion every day and still be lost, because the outward rituals can not save anyone. It is only when a man believes on Christ in his heart that he is born again.

How about you? Are you a Christian on the inside, or just on the outside?