For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6
You read it here: circumcision has no spiritual value to the one who believes in Jesus. Medically, it has some debatable value for some conditions, but I’ll leave that debate to doctors and WebMD. As a matter of Christian faith, these days it means nothing.
Ditto dressing up in your Sunday best, writing a Christian blog, taking communion every day, memorizing every book in the Bible, and watching only PureFlix, The Chosen, and Kirk Cameron movies. They can be spiritually edifying and great ways of growing & reinforcing your faith. They are ways of worshipping Christ and sharing Him with other people. But to get you into heaven? To mark you as a believer in Jesus? To save your soul? Meaningless; utterly meaningless, hopeless, and even idolatrous if you make them more important than expressing your faith through love.
God commanded Abram to circumcise every male in his household. God commanded this as a way for mankind to remember that His covenant with man was deep in the most personal way. God commanded circumcision at the same time He changed Abram’s name to Abraham (meaning “father of nations”), signifying how God would bless all people through him. Every Jew since Abraham has been circumcised. Thus, every time a circumcised man even thinks about that most personal of body parts, he is reminded of God’s promise to Abraham to bless all men. Of how God is the hope of mankind, and His hope never dies.
For Christians, it’s ‘next-generation.’ Faith in Jesus is circumcision of the heart. Professing faith in Jesus cuts away the veil of sin that covers our hearts, and establishes a new, personal covenant with each of us. Jesus, the true blessing God promised to Abraham, takes up residence in our hearts when we put our faith in Him. When we accept that He died and rose for each of us, we accept the covenant that He established with His original believers that He was the only way, the truth, and the life. No action other than our faith in Him means anything. Through faith, Jesus imparts His promise to us; through faith, we are marked inwardly as His and His alone.
Nothing can change this. No bris or surgeon’s knife can add to or take away from Christ’s promise. Go ahead and circumcise your boys if you think it’s right. You may have valid medical or personal reasons, and that’s ok. Just don’t think that it earns anything before God.
For further reading: Genesis 17:11-27, John 14:6, Romans 2:25-29, Romans 16:3, 1 Corinthians 7:19, 1 Thessalonians 1:3, James 2:22, Galatians 5:7
Lord God, only You have circumcised my heart, marking me as Your own.
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