Lecture on Circumcision and Christianity

Introduction

• Audience is online, viewers from around the world.
• Series on circumcision started last week.
• Sensitive topic involving the male sex organ.
• Many pastors avoid it due to lack of understanding.

Biblical Context of Circumcision

• Genesis 17:11: Circumcision as the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant.
• Genesis 17:1-2: Stipulations to walk before God and be perfect.
• Flesh (sinful desires) hinders walking in God’s presence and being perfect.
• Symbolically, circumcision represents cutting off fleshly desires.
• Uncircumcised males would be cut off from the covenant (Genesis 17:14).

Importance in Judaism

• Circumcision is a crucial religious rite in Judaism, vital for Orthodox Jews.
• In the 1st century, Judaizers insisted Gentile converts be circumcised for salvation (Acts 15:1-2).
• Jerusalem Council decided circumcision unnecessary for Gentile converts’ salvation.
• Gentiles needed to believe in Jesus, make Him Lord, and abstain from idol offerings, blood, and sexual immorality.

Paul’s Argument Against Circumcision for Salvation

• The Pharisees believed circumcision guaranteed entrance to heaven.
• Paul argued that perfect obedience to the law, not circumcision, was required for righteousness.
• Romans 2:25-29: True circumcision is of the heart, not the flesh.

Deeper Analysis of Paul’s Teaching

• Romans 2:25: Circumcision has value only with perfect law observance.
• Romans 2:26: Hypothetical scenario where an uncircumcised man keeps the law perfectly.
• Romans 2:27: Such a man would judge those who don’t keep the law.
• Romans 2:28-29: True Jews are inwardly circumcised, meaning spiritually renewed.

Old Testament References to Spiritual Circumcision

• Deuteronomy 30:6: God will circumcise the heart to love Him fully.
• Jeremiah 4:4: Call to remove the foreskins of the heart.

Spiritual Circumcision Explained

• Happens upon trusting Jesus Christ as Savior, resulting in regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
• Galatians 6:15: What counts is being a new creation.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17: Being in Christ means being a new creation.
• Colossians 2:11-12: Spiritual circumcision is the cutting away of sinful nature, becoming a new creation.

Practical Application

• Ritual circumcision is not what matters, but the inward spiritual change.
• True Christians should have a circumcised heart, desiring to walk in God’s presence and be perfect.
• Issues arise when Christians act like pagans, indicating a lack of true inward change.
• Conviction of sin and desire for Jesus to be Lord signifies true spiritual circumcision.

Conclusion

• Call for those who haven’t made Jesus their Lord to do so, emphasizing the inward change and new creation in Christ.
• Prayer for salvation: acknowledging sin, believing in Jesus’s sacrifice, and making Him Lord.
• Encouragement to those online and present to confess Jesus as Lord and embrace the change in their hearts.