Welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Romans. Tonight is study #27 of Romans 2, and we will be reading Romans 2:25-29:

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? 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.

I will stop reading there, and that brings us to the end of the chapter. The topic the Lord is focused on is circumcision and uncircumcision. We began to look at circumcision in our last study, and we saw that the Bible commanded that a male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day. It was a sign of the covenant first given to Abraham and his household. Abraham and Ishmael were circumcised on the same day, and it became part of the “Law of Moses,” and from all that we can gather, the Jews were very faithful insofar as keeping this outward, physical sign.

However, most of them did not understand that it was a “sign,” and a sign is that which points to a deeper spiritual reality. And this was the problem with Israel, as well as a problem with the New Testament churches regarding the ceremonial laws that God gave them, like baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

God gave the sign of circumcision to the people of Israel, and they were to circumcise their sons on the eighth day from their birth, and that went on for centuries and centuries. It does teach us a spiritual meaning, but we are not going to look at the spiritual meaning yet.

The act of circumcision was present at the time of the Lord Jesus, and even after Christ returned to heaven in the first century during the time when the churches were being established and as many Jews believed and entered into the churches and congregations. We will see that the physical sign of circumcision became identified with keeping the Law of God; that is with those that sought to become righteous before God by keeping the Law. And, again, that “righteousness” is completely identified with circumcision, and the Apostle Paul pointed this out as he referred to himself, and then he warned them to “beware of the circumcision,” and then it says in Philippians 3:3:

For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

And that would include both Jew and Gentile. But, again, we are not going to get into what this means at this time. I am sure many of you already know that it has to do with God’s salvation and becoming a “spiritual Jew.”

But then it continues in Philippians 3:4:

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

Notice that he is emphasizing that he once had “confidence in the flesh.” He trusted in the flesh, and if anybody else thought they could make a case for being confident in the flesh, Paul was saying, “I had a better case.” Then it goes on to say in Philippians 3:5:

Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

When he said he was “circumcised the eighth day,” that is indicating that as soon as it was the proper time, he was circumcised according to the Law. Then he says, in Philippians 3:6:

Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

That was the mindset of many of the spiritual leaders of Israel. They went about to establish their own righteousness. Remember that later in the book of Romans the Apostle Paul was moved by God to write in Romans 10:1-6:

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise…

Then it continues, but we know that the “righteousness which is of faith” is the faith of Christ (not our own faith). But the Jews were ignorant of God’s righteousness. They did not understand, and that is what “ignorance” is. They did not understand that Christ is the righteousness of God. 1Corinthians 1:30 tells us that Christ is “righteousness,” and God did not make sinners righteous when they began to keep his Law or commandments, but God made sinners righteous by applying the righteousness of Christ to them, and counting it on their behalf. God made them born again in that way, and gave them a new, born-again soul which was completely without sin and, therefore, righteous, but it was always through the work and faith of Christ.

But the spiritual leaders of Israel taught in their synagogues that they had to keep the Law of Moses, and it all began with circumcision. And this is Paul’s point in Romans 10 regarding that they were going about to establish their own righteousness. In doing so, they failed to submit themselves to the righteousness of God, because Christ is the “end of the law.” The Law was given to teach mankind about our sins. It was really given to “stop every mouth” and to make every hearer of the Law guilty before God. When the Law does its work, it is to show the individual that he is a desperately wicked sinner in need of a Saviour because he cannot keep the Law. The Law is too great. It is too extensive. The commandments are too many, and the “depths” of that Law are not just outward on a physical level, but it is inward in the heart, mind, and soul.

The Law was sent to convict the sinner that he is a lawbreaker, and then Christ would be the “end of the law,” as it would lead that person to cry out to God, “O, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” That is why the Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death,” and it says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” It also says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” None are good, and these are not isolated verses. You can find that basic teaching throughout the Bible: “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” There is verse, after verse, after verse. And it says in James 2:10: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” The Law leaves man under the wrath of God. It clearly leaves anyone seeking to get right with God without righteousness. It makes them unrighteous. The more one seeks after the Law, the more sinful one becomes.

So it was ignorance, blindness of heart, and the darkness of their minds that they did not understand these things, and they went about to try to keep the Law. After God sent forth the Gospel of faith that taught of the faith of Christ and taught that men were not saved through their righteous acts of obedience or by keeping the Law, but that is was through the obedience of One, the Lord Jesus Christ. So that Gospel went forth, and many Jews believed. Many of the people of Israel believed. We know that on the Day of Pentecost, there were 3,000 that believed, and on another day, there were 5,000, so thousands of Jews did believe, and many were coming in. But the Bible tells us, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

There were numbers of people coming into the churches and congregations that were not truly saved. They were “called,” but they were not of the chosen. They were not of God’s elect, and they brought in with them the failed teachings and ideas that the Pharisees held with their traditions of keeping the Law of Moses: they had to be circumcised and keep all the Laws.

For the Jews, the act of circumcision was not all that significant because they were circumcised on the eighth day as infants, but regarding the Gentiles, these Jews were telling the Gentiles that they had to be circumcised and they had to keep the Law of Moses. We are not just guessing about this because we read this was the case in
Acts 15:1-2:

And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

So there were the Apostles and James, who seems to have been the leader of the early church, and they were in Jerusalem, and these Judaizers that came from Judea were teaching circumcision and the keeping of the Law of Moses in order to be saved. So since there was church authority, they took the question to the church council, and the church council convened in Jerusalem. Then we read in Acts 15:4-6:

And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

It is not surprising that this sect of the Pharisees was holding onto their old teachings. They did not want to let them go or relinquish them in any way, so they were teaching the Gentiles that they had to be circumcised and keep the Law if they wanted to be saved. Not all in the early church were teaching this, but these men were. So the council would meet to discuss this situation, and they would give sentence regarding it, and that is exactly what happened. A little later we read in Acts 15:13-24:

And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

Then it says in Acts 15:28:

For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

So it was determined that there was no need to keep the “ceremonial law” or the outward sign of circumcision any longer, as well as any of the ceremonial laws and feasts. But you will notice that they did not completely say that they were not to keep the Law of Moses, as they said in verse 21: “For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” It was also in the Pentateuch that there were the Ten Commandments, and certainly those things were to be kept, as well as many other things. And the Lord Jesus did not say to just keep two or three items, but He said, “Keep my commandments.”

So we have to put the whole thing in perspective, and I am just mentioning this because there are some that might try to use this idea that the Judaizers had and then expand it, saying, “Well, when you teach that the Bible says you have to keep the Sunday Sabbath or that a woman should not teach men, you are burdening people just like they did with the Law of Moses.” I would not be surprised if some people try to maneuver along those lines, because there are a number of people that are “anomōs,” or “without law.” They do not want the Law of God to direct them and to lead their lives. But the Law of God is good, and the Law of God is the Bible – all of Scripture.

But there were specific Laws that God gave that had to do with spiritual things that were fulfilled when Christ came at the time of the transition from Old Testament Israel’s sacrificial system of worship to the New Testament churches and congregations that would emphasize salvation through the faith of Christ. So we can understand that the ceremonial law of circumcision was fulfilled. It had pointed to the shedding of blood and the “cutting off” of sin. Christ came as the seed of Abraham, so it was time for that rite of circumcision to be done away, but the spiritual teaching of circumcision did continue throughout the New Testament era, and so forth.

But the early church struggled with individuals that would come in and that knew the Law because they were Pharisees. I guess for comparison, we could say that they were like those that had gone through seminary. They were learned men in the Scriptures, but what did the Gentiles know? They did not know anything about the Bible, the Law of Moses, or any other Law of God, so these people that came in were very dangerous as far as their teachings, because they could have quickly ascended to positions of authority and power in the congregations. Just imagine that there was a Sunday school class, and the pastor is not there, but someone else was appointed to teach. And there is a Judaizer in the class who realizes that the one teaching does not have as much knowledge as he does, so he begins to show his knowledge, and people become impressed, and then he slips in the ideas that you have to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. And people would listen because he sure sounds like he knows what he is talking about. And that is how Satan’s emissaries operated during the church age. People would come in that gave the appearance of understanding the Word, but they did not have a true understanding of the Word of God.

Let us go to Galatians 5, and we will see how the same problem arose again, in Galatians 5:1-4:

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Again, it is not so much the circumcision of children, although that could come into play. If there were a young Gentile couple, and they had a newborn son. And they have a friend in the congregation that is an ex-Pharisee, and he says to them, “You know, the Law of Moses says you have to circumcise that child on the eighth day.” Then he shows them Genesis 17. “There it is. God says that if you do not circumcise your male son on the eighth day, he will be cut off from His people.” So now the couple is gravely concerned, and they circumcise their son in order to keep the Law.

It must have been a constant problem back then, so the Apostle Paul is saying this to the Galatians because that error had entered into their congregation. He said, “…if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.” That is, he is saying that if they are circumcised or circumcise their child, then there is a whole list of other Laws they must do. They have to keep the sacrifices. They have to go to Jerusalem three times a year to fulfill the feasts, and so forth. There were many Laws that were fulfilled by the Lord’s coming, and God did away with them in the transition from Old Testament Israel to the New Testament churches.

So I think we can understand that there was this “thorn in the flesh” for the Apostle Paul, as he had to deal with this, repeatedly, with these men.