25 The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile. 26 And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people? 27 In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God’s law but don’t obey it.
28 For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. 29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.
The Message of the Gospel
As we pointed out in the introduction to Romans, the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians are fighting. The Roman Church is divided. Gentile Christians believe that there are no rules. The Law is no longer relevant because of what Christ did on the Cross. The Jewish believers believe that while they are certainly living in the era of grace, the Old Testament Law still has some merit. After all, following the Law is what good Jewish people do. At the top of the list is a debate over circumcision.
For a Jewish man, circumcision is a sign of the promise made to God made to the Jewish nation that they would always be his people. In Genesis 17, God tells Abraham that his descendants will always be the children of God. And circumcision would be a sign that you were a descendent of Abraham. In a way, Jewish people saw circumcision as a “get out of jail free” card. As long as you were part of the lineage of Abraham, you were set.
Paul comes along and suggests that circumcision is just another ritual that misses the point. Salvation is a matter of the heart. It’s not about what you do or don’t do, it’s about receiving the gift of grace and submitting your life to Christ’s rule. If you want to follow the traditions of circumcision, go ahead, but don’t make it something more than it should be. Likewise, if you would rather not follow the tradition, don’t.
The issue is not what you do outwardly, but what you do inwardly. It’s a heart issue.
Now, you’d think that the Gentiles would start cheering at this point and say to the Jewish believers, “See? Paul is on our side!” However, they knew better. Paul made it clear in his final statement of today’s passage. A person with a changed heart seeks the praise of God not people. In other words, grace is not a license to do anything you feel like doing. It’s not an open ticket to live life your way. Like the Jewish believers, the Gentiles were also missing the point.
Grace is about a heart encounter with God. And the sign of a changed heart is a desire to do whatever would please God rather than simply whatever you want.
My prayer: Lord, change my heart today. May all I do through this day please you. My you be delighted by my life and the choices I make. I am yours. You are God, I am not. Amen.
Until tomorrow.
