By Romans 2:25-29
For circumcision benefits you if you observe the law, but if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore if an uncircumcised man keeps the law’s requirements, will his uncircumcision not be counted as circumcision? A man who is physically uncircumcised, but who fulfills the law, will judge you who are a lawbreaker in spite of having the letter of the law and circumcision. For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart — by the Spirit, not the letter. That man’s praise is not from men but from God.
Men and women, boys and girls, always seem to find some reason to praise one another. For the Jews, it was that they “had received circumcision” and were “descendants of Abraham.” They boasted because the blood line that flowed through their bodies linked them to the nation that God chose to show himself through; the Jews. We do the same in many areas. Harley-Davidson riders praise one another because of the brand of motorcycle they ride; Ford owners because of their trucks; and Viking fans because of the football team they route for. You name it: object, nationality, idea, event, location or what have you; we will seek unity with one another so that we might give and receive praise. But how do we “receive praise from God”?
God does not give praise to humans except for one reason alone; whether they have been circumcised in their hearts by the Holy Spirit or not. This is what truly sets one group apart from another. Have you been made a new creation?
Galatians 6:15 says:
For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters instead is a new creation.
Are you a Jew? If you have been made a new creation through the gospel, you are a true Jew. We do not believe that the Church replaced Israel. We believe that in and through the line of Israel has always been a remnant of believers who looked to the promised Messiah by faith and were circumcised in their hearts. The New Testament Church has merely been grafted into that line of followers that began through a promise that God gave to Adam and Eve; through the woman would come a deliverer who would crush the head of the serpent. This Seed was the promised Messiah. Faith in Him is what has always made a person a new creation. These are the true Jews.
- What things have you found unity with others in? (Doll brands, favorite singers, certain authors, facebook friends, cell phone brand, doctrine etc.)
Leading Family Devotions 