Faith not Circumcision or Baptism!

The Old Testament from the life of Abraham proves that justification is by faith and not by works. The apostle Paul was referring to this truth in Romans 4:1-8 showing how Abraham didn’t work for his justification and how God justifies the ungodly through faith by crediting faith as righteousness. Abraham was justified because he believed God’s promise not because he worked to earn it. But from the life of Abraham the Old Testament also proves that justification is by faith and not by circumcision (which would also be a work).

This also has huge implications in our day for those who teach that justification is through baptism. Circumcision and baptism have a correlation in that circumcision was to serve as a sign and a seal of justification just as baptism is to serve as a sign and seal of justification. So in this study the truth will be established that justification is by faith and not by circumcision or baptism.

In Romans 4:9-12 the apostle Paul will prove that Abraham was justified long before he was circumcised showing that circumcision has nothing to do with justification and therefore even the Gentiles can be justified on the same basis that Abraham was justified – by faith and not by circumcision.

In Romans 4:1-8 the apostle Paul spoke of the blessings of justification on the basis of faith and not of works. Now in Romans 4:9 he moved into whether or not circumcision had anything at all to do with Abraham’s justification. If justification is based on circumcision then Abraham would have had to been circumcised before he was justified and the logical conclusion would be then that any man at any time would have to be circumcised in order to be justified. If this were true then the Gentiles would be excluded from justification apart from becoming a Jew through circumcision.

So Paul asked, “Is this blessing [of justification] then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, ‘Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness’” (Romans 4:9). In order to answer Paul’s question and establish the truth that his ministry as the apostle to the Gentiles was legitimate then the account of Abraham’s justification would have to be inspected in respect to his circumcision and see which came first. If circumcision came first then Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles was illegitimate. If justification came first then Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles was legitimate. So Paul went to the justification of Abraham as the prototype of all true believers and established the truth that justification is by faith and not by circumcision.

Abraham received the blessing of justification by imputation while he was uncircumcised (Romans 4:10). The account of Abraham’s justification occurs in Genesis 15:6 but he wasn’t circumcised until Genesis 17:23-27. There was at least fourteen years after Abraham was justified before he was circumcised. He was eighty-six (Genesis 16:15) when Hagar bore Ishmael to him (which was after he was justified) and he was ninety-nine when he was circumcised. Abraham was justified before he ever took matters into his own hands and conceived Ishmael with Hagar. There would have been a nine month gestation period before the birth of Ishmael so we can easily conclude that there was at least fourteen years between Abraham’s justification and his circumcision. The conclusion is more than obvious: Abraham’s circumcision had nothing whatsoever to do with his justification.

Circumcision was a sign and a seal of the justification which Abraham had while uncircumcised (Romans 4:11). Circumcision didn’t save or justify Abraham and it is not what Abraham did to cause God to show favor to him. Is anyone saved because he is circumcised? Absolutely not! Circumcision was to be a sign (symbol) of the removal of the flesh and a seal (stamp) of living by faith, pointing to two realities that had already taken place.

Is anyone saved by baptism? Absolutely not! Baptism is to be a sign (symbol) of the death and burial of the flesh and a seal (stamp) of living by faith by being raised up to walk in newness of life under the Lordship of Christ. To be justified either by circumcision or baptism is not to have righteousness credited but would be to earn righteousness through a work – perish the thought.

The faith of Abraham (believing God about the Christ – see Galatians 3:16) is what both the circumcised and the uncircumcised must possess to be saved (Romans 4:12). We are justified by faith and not by circumcision or baptism. “Even so Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. ‘Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.’ The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations will be blessed in you.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham the believer” (Galatians 3:6-9).

Needed: A Circumcised Heart

Romans 2:25-29 is still part of the Scriptures dealing with the charge that the Jews are under sin and in need of a Savior even with all their religious rites and ceremonies. In Romans 2:1-5 we have seen that the Jews were guilty of hypocrisy with their self-righteous judgmental attitude towards the Gentiles (2:1-3), being able to see the sins of the Gentiles and able to pronounce judgment on them but being unwilling to see their own sins and pronounce judgment on themselves. We also saw that the Jews were guilty of presumption (2:4), presuming upon God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience as evidence of their supposed privileged standing with God and that He would excuse their sins because they were Jews. And we saw that the Jews were guilty of being unrepentant (2:5) and hard-hearted believing that they were pleasing to God in their flesh and were not in need of a Savior.

In Romans 2:6-10 we have seen the truth that God is going to render a righteous judgment to every man based on his or her deeds. The Jews were further indicted as sinners in this section by believing that God was going to show them partiality while overlooking their selfishly ambitious and disobedient lifestyles. What a tragedy that men can believe that they can seek for glory and honor from men for themselves and believe that God is going to show them some sort of partiality because of their supposed relationship to Him.

Then in Romans 2:11-16 we saw the truth of the impartial judgment of God for everyman – the heathen who have sinned without the law will perish without the law and the Hebrew who has sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law. The Jews were hearers of the Law and not doers of the Law and this should have been enough to convict them of their sin and lead them to Christ – however they thought that because they had the Law and heard the Law that God would show them partiality. Wrong!

And finally in Romans 2:17-24 we saw that the Jews had a false assurance of salvation based on some very unreliable indicators: (1) they trusted their heritage – that they were Jews and the covenant people of God (2:17a), (2) they trusted their possession – that they had God’s Law (2:17b), (3) they trusted their profession – that they knew God and boasted in knowing God (2:17c), (4) they trusted in their ability to know the difference between right and wrong based on God’s Law (2:18), (5) they trusted that because they were teachers of right and wrong to the Gentiles that they were right with God (2:19-20), and (6) they trusted that they were exempt from the Law because they knew and taught the Law (2:21-24). The Jews equated all these things as fulfilling the Law when in reality they were law-breakers.

Now we come to Romans 2:25-29 and here we will see one more unreliable indicator that only gives a false assurance of salvation – the sign of circumcision. As we look at this section of Scripture and to guard against anyone having a false assurance of salvation, I want us to look at the heart of the problem which is the problem of the heart and see what is needed: a circumcised heart.

Before we delve into our text we need to ask and answer a couple of questions so that we can properly expose the meaning of it: (1) what is a circumcised heart, and (2) what was the purpose of physical circumcision?

One, what is a circumcised heart? Our text says, “Circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter…” (2:29). Immediately we see that circumcision of the heart is a spiritual operation performed by the Holy Spirit and cannot be accomplished by the letter of the Law. But what is this spiritual operation that is performed by the Holy Spirit?

First, a circumcised heart is a Lord loving heart because the Lord hating flesh has been removed. “Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). Anyone who doesn’t have a circumcised heart and doesn’t love the Lord because of His love for him as seen in the Gospel will perish. “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed” (1 Corinthians 16:22).

Second, a circumcised heart is a Lord obeying heart because the Lord disobeying flesh has been removed. “Circumcision [physical] is nothing, and uncircumcision [physical] is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God” (1 Corinthians 7:19). The flesh cannot and will not obey God – “Because the mind set on flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8).

Loving God and obeying God go hand in hand. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). And in regard to the circumcised heart we read, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). Isn’t this the same thing that the apostle Paul said was the result of the Gospel even in the Gentiles who believe – “To bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake” (Romans 1:5)? Since it is true that the flesh does not subject itself to the law of God and that it is not even able to do so, then when a person is circumcised of heart so that he will both love and obey, then he is a brand new person – a new creature. “For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:15).

Third, a circumcised heart is a Lord glorying heart because the self-glorying flesh has been removed. “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard to you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:1-3). Why is it that we put no confidence in the flesh? Because we have seen its sinfulness, ugliness, and ungodliness and we now know that no good thing dwells in our flesh.

People who see and understand this are more than glad to have their hearts circumcised and their flesh removed. But how is it that the Holy Spirit removes our sinful flesh and causes us to become new creations? “In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:11-14).

Two, what was the purpose of physical circumcision? Physical circumcision was to repudiate the flesh by picturing its removal and not its renovation. The flesh cannot be renovated so it must be removed and God does this through putting our flesh to death in Jesus Christ. If we have responded correctly to the true Gospel then our flesh is put to death in Christ, buried with Christ, and then as brand new creatures we are raised to walk in newness of life loving and obeying the Lord (see Romans 6:1-14). So just as physical circumcision for the Jews was to picture the death of the flesh then baptism today is to picture the death and burial of the flesh and the resurrection of a brand new creature.

Now what does all this have to do with our text? Everything!

First, circumcision without obedience was useless (2:25). This amounts to ritual without reality. This is having a form of godliness but denying its power. There is grave danger in having confidence in one’s outward form of religion because confidence in form leads to confidence in the flesh.

Second, obedience without circumcision was useful (2:26). The obedient but uncircumcised Gentile proved by his deeds that he was saved by God’s grace and obeying from a heart of love which fulfills the spirit of the Law and not just the letter.

Third, those who have repented and received a circumcised heart although physically uncircumcised will stand up as witnesses at the judgment against those who were physically circumcised but uncircumcised in heart (2:27)

Fourth, it is not the ritual which counts but the reality (2:28-29).

So in making application today baptism is a repudiation of the flesh by picturing its removal by death and burial so that we can love and serve God in the Spirit rather than in the flesh by being raised to walk in newness of life with Jesus as our Lord. Many have been baptized without the knowledge of the wickedness of their flesh and are confident that they are saved even though their flesh remains uncrucified and their hearts uncircumcised.

Needed: A circumcised heart! Do you have one?