CIRCUMCISION: IT IS NOT EFFICIENT

ROMANS 2C  ROMANS 2:25-29

Introduction:
We are finishing up chapter 2 tonight.
We talked Sunday about Judgment and impartiality in the morning.
We talked about Judgment for all in the evening.
Tonight we talk about circumcision and does it really work.    

I.    Circumcision is a sign of God’s covenant with Israel.

A.    Genesis 17:9-14 
It was a part of God’s covenant with Abraham.
It was an absolute requirement.

B.    The law was only meaningful if the entire law was kept.
Galatians 5:3 
Breaking the law meant that the circumcision was broken. 
Verse 25b says that if one transgresses the Mosaic law then his circumcision is gone.
Paul appears to reevaluating the covenant.
The covenant with the sign does not and cannot save. 
No one can perfectly obey.
We need to understand that those living under the covenant now verses those living under the covenant in the OT are likely on different plains. 
The old covenant pointed them to the new covenant.  That is what made it work.  Now that the new has come the old can not work. 

II.    Salvation of the uncircumcised.

A.    The disobedience of the Jews is contrasted with the obedience of the gentiles in verses 26-27.
The Gentiles are designated as uncircumcised.
Paul is talking about the salvation of the uncircumcised.

B.    The obedience of the Gentiles is their source of salvation.
The Gentiles kept the moral norms of the law.
Verse 26
I believe that Paul is applying the remaining verses to Christian Gentiles.
He is not making a hypothetical case.
He is not talking about those who are just responding to the light that they have seen. 
He talks about the Gentile keeping the ordinances of the law and in vs. 27 fulfilling the law.
So a Gentile who keeps the commands of God is a child of God.

C.    Paul is still preparing to let us know that sins forgiven is only through Christ.
Sins forgiven is now only through Christ and we will continue to see that as we go.
He is the fulfillment of what was promised in the OT. 
The salvation that the OT was looking for has come.

III.    Judgment of the circumcised

A.    The judgment theme simply means that having the letter and circumcision will not save.
Transgress the law and face judgment.
Physical circumcision offers no saving advantage.
Physical circumcision alone does not make one a true Jew.
Paul continues to undermine that the old covenant provides salvation.

B.    We get the picture that the Gentile is the judge.  vs. 27
A circumcised Jew who did not keep the law was unsaved.   vs. 27
They are not the judge but their obedience without circumcision will make the circumcised Jew look bad.

IV.    The circumcised heart

A.    The circumcision of the heart is what is required.
Paul says that physical circumcision and being an ethnic Jew are not necessary to belong to the people of God.
Under the new covenant is the requirement for a spiritual circumcision.
Scriptures
Romans 2:25
Deuteronomy 10:16
Deuteronomy 30:6

B.    The circumcision is by the Spirit.
Scriptures
Galatians 5:2-5
Romans 7:5,6
II Corinthians 3:3-11
Joel 2:28,29
It is this Spirit that circumcises the heart, that makes obedience possible.
In the new covenant God will write the law on the heart.  Jeremiah 31:31-34
God will take out the heart of stone and puts His spirit in.   Ezekiel 11:19-20,  36:26-27
Paul is saying that promise has become a reality.
In Romans 8 we see where the gift of the Spirit enables believers to observe the law.

Conclusion:   
The last phrase in this chapter points to an eternal reward for obedience. 
The heart of what Paul is trying to relay is
To convict the Jews of their sin.
Paul is trying to convince the Jews to repent and believe in Jesus as Messiah.
This chapter sort of foreshadows Romans 10:19,  11:11 that also highlight the entrance of the gentiles into the people of God in order to provoke the Jews to Jealousy.
It is all about faith in Jesus Christ.