Thursday, August 29, 2019

Keeping the Law in Circumcision Romans 2:25



Paul the apostle wrote how “it is written”, “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through” the Jews” who were trusting in their heritage, having God's word and the idea of God, and in chapter two and verse twenty-five of Romans, Paul shared about people who, “keep the law” in “circumcision” where we read:

For circumcision verily profits, if you keep the law:
but if you be a breaker of the law, your circumcision is made uncircumcision.

The verse begins, “For circumcision verily profits, if you keep the law: ” Paul began with the word, “for” which means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and therefore” “circumcision” which means “the act or rite of the cutting away of the foreskin which represents the extinction of passions and the removal of spiritual impurity” “verily” or “truly, certainly, surely and indeed” “profits” which means “assists, is useful and advantageous”, “if you” or “whether the Jews of whom Paul wrote” “keep the law” which means “exercise, practice, are busy with, undertake, accomplish, perform and carry on with the rule which make producing a state approved of God”. Paul shared how the “rite of circumcision” was only beneficial if the Jews “practiced and performed” God's law.

The verse continues, “but if you be a breaker of the law, your circumcision is made uncircumcision.” Paul added the word, “but” which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written takes precedence over what was just stated “if you” which refers to “whether the Jews” “be a breaker” or “are violators, lawbreakers or transgressors” “of the law” which means “of the rule which make producing a state approved of God”, “your circumcision” or “the Jews' the act or rite of the cutting away of the foreskin which represents the extinction of passions and the removal of spiritual impurity” “is made uncircumcision” which means “having the foreskin which represents the corrupt desires rooted in the flesh which were not yet extinct”. Paul shared how “violating” God's law made their ritual of “circumcision” as though it was void.

When we meditate upon these words of Paul, we see how “religious” rites have little or no meaning if the “law of God” they represent are violated. The Jews were keeping their “rituals” and religious practices and “breaking” God's law simultaneously. This “voids” and “makes null” the true worship and honoring of God, and still, Jesus came to “forgive” this behavior too. “Sin”, whether dressed in “religiosity” or spiritual practices, is revealed and exposed when addressed by the truth found in Jesus Christ, and once it is exposed, it must be repented of, turned away from and given to God. Keeping the “sacrament of circumcision” or anything else is not validated by it's outward practice, but only “represents the corrupt desires rooted in the flesh which were not yet extinct” if God's law is not “kept”.

Next time Paul asks these Jewish people in Rome, “shall not uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites,
http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.





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