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.
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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