Chapter 10.4
Circumcision
The Mark - Plastic Surgery - The Adams Family
Blood Covenant – Hybrid Covenant – Baptism
Faith Buffet – Ten Commandments are out
First
Word
I
was listening to my neighbor Jim talk about the Apostle Paul’s stand on
circumcision not being necessary for the believer. That spring boarded into the Old Covenant vs. the New Covenant, which brought up the question of how could a
Covenant spoken into existence by God be nullified? That was an excellent point and I couldn’t
wait to go see what God had to say.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God with
all scriptures
carrying the same weight. We cannot pick and choose;
but prove scripture with scripture, line
upon line
precept upon precept.[1]
The Adam’s Family
How
many sins does it take to become a sinner? None; we were born 100% sinners, we are members of
THE
When you were saved, your SIN was not saved; it’s still crouching at your door
and desires to pounce on you, but you must master it.[3] The reason you sin, is because sin STILL lives within you,[4]
but it is not you that sins, its’s the sin that lives within you. Sounds like spiritual DOUBLE
Forgiveness of Sin in the New Testament is
taught as an ACOMPLISHED
SO; what has SIN got to do with CIRCUMCISION? Stay Tuned
Setting the stage
Circumcision comes from a
Latin word that means “to cut around”. An operation where the foreskin
covering the head of a penis is removed by surgery.
The foreskin can
be an incubator for disease; the Hebrews realized that circumcision promoted
cleanliness which would later become spiritualized as a symbol of purification
and a passage into the covenant relationship with God.
Don’t
get you pants all in a wad here, but circumcision was practiced long before
Abraham. Primitive tribes in Africa,
Australia
and even America
practiced this rite. Neighboring
cultures like the Arabians, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites and Egyptians
also circumcised.
Some cultures used this rite to mark a
person 12 years of age
moving from childhood into manhood.
Abraham was familiar with this rite when God
commanded him and his descendants to make this covenant.[6] Anyone not circumcised was viewed with
contempt; circumcision was meant to symbolize the power and activity of the Holy Spirit in their lives and a commitment of oneself to God’s WILL forever.
Captivity: During their
430 years of captivity in Egypt,[7]
the Israelites had almost lost memory of the origins of the rite of
circumcision and did not observe it. During their wandering in the wilderness this
rite continued in suspended animation and was for the most part neglected, but
was resumed when they entered the land of Canaan.
Moses was commanded later on by God to
continue the covenant on the eighth day[8]
which we know now is the peak time when vitamin “K” and “Prothrombin” is at its highest
level which is important in blood clotting. The Bible briefly mentions that God became
very angry with Moses for NOT observing
circumcision; God almost killed him.[9]
THE MARK; tattoos were often used to identify
members of a local tribe; Hebrews were forbidden
to mark or tattoo themselves like the heathen nation’s did. Circumcision became
the mark of the
Hebrews as a special people although it was not that readily discerned. “The Blood Covenant” is the strongest covenant that
there is. During circumcision there is
blood that flows from the “cutting of the
covenant”
The Circumcision
Ceremony was performed on the eighth day even if it was on the Sabbath. It was a time of great joy as well as
sacredness as it symbolizes the son joining the covenant relationship of God
and living under His laws. It was
attended by relatives and neighbors either in their home or in the Temple. The father acted like a High Priest offering
his child to God with love and gratitude and then they gave him his name; then
it was followed with a blessing and a festive meal.
Infant
circumcision
was the distinctive Israelite custom not found in any other culture.
A Jew’s prayer would be to
thank God that he was neither a woman
or
a Samaritan or an uncircumcised
Gentile.
Jesus and John the Baptist were both circumcised.[10] Do you want to be circumcised to be more like
Christ? Do so out of desire, not out of
compliance of a law that does not apply. Circumcision does not
save; only Faith. It should be pointed out that one CAN possess the outward
sign of circumcision and still be
spiritually defunct inwardly.
MIND BENDER:
Gentiles
were NEVER under the “Law of Circumcision”; just the
nation of Israel.
Our heritage is The New Covenant or
NOTHING.
Side Bar
FAR OUT; there was a
time in PAGAN rituals of
child sacrifices to appease the gods that circumcision was viewed as
sacrificing “a
part” of a person to the gods instead of the person’s whole life.
JOCK: It seems that
the Greeks had sporting events where they were naked in
the public baths and gymnasiums and the Jews were “Embarrassed” that they were
circumcised; this became an issue in the Church at Corinth; they had become “ASHAMED”
of their heritage.[11]
Plastic surgery; according to
the Apocrypha,
the “Hellenized”
Jews underwent plastic
surgery to restore their foreskins.[12]
1 Maccabees 1:15 –
Plastic Surgery to restore the foreskins
15 “And made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the
holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathen, and were
sold to do mischief.”
1 Mac
A matter of expediency: Paul
circumcised Timothy who was “half Jewish” in order to not have an issue that
would have hindered his testimony of the Gospel.[13] Paul said he became all things to all in order
that they might receive the Word of the Gospel and be saved.[14]
The blood covenant of
Circumcisions symbolizes the cutting off of Abraham and his children from the rest of the
heathen world to be a special set apart people unto the Lord.
Controversy
Church
Controversy: Circumcision was the first controversy in the
Church. Those that were known as Judaizers
took a position that any Gentile who wanted to become a Christian must first
become a proselyte Jew and be circumcised before he could be a member of the
Christian fellowship.
Paul took exception to that, claiming that SALVATION WAS FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE and nothing else.[15] Paul
taught that it was the Spiritual circumcision of the heart[16] that was important not the outward physical
circumcision.
Jeremiah the OT Prophet also
taught it was the “circumcision of the heart” that was important. [17]
Peter had been commanded to take the Gospel to
the “circumcised”
Jews.
Paul had been commanded to take the same
message to the “un-circumcised” Gentiles.
Christian Church Counsel; the “
So what’s the point?
Circumcision
was a “mark” to distinguish the Jew’s who
had the promise of salvation, were set apart from those who were “Gentiles”
who did not have the promise. Anyone who
was not a Jew was called a Gentile; a Greek… so a Gentile is actually everybody
else.
I use the term
“Jew” loosely here, as in reality only those from the tribe of Judah were
actually Jews, however they were all Israelites until their separation into the
Northern and Southern Kingdoms.
TODAY, both the believing
Jew and the believing Gentile have the promise and there is NO distinction between them,
so there’s no longer any need to DISCRIMINATE.[20]
Circumcision is NO LONGER a
requirement. WHAT!
Now if that got your pants all in a wad, I
need to pick up with what we first started with which was SIN and to do that we need to go
down a Rabbit Trail which takes us to the
New Covenant – A Change Up
How
could the Old Covenant spoken into existence by God Himself be nullified?
My mom use to tell me, GOD DOESN’T MAKE ANY JUNK. There was nothing wrong with the Old Covenant,
but God found FAULT with MAN, he just could not live up to the Old
Covenant’s standards. Scripture states that IF man could have abided by the laws
of the Old Covenant; He would not have sought another covenant.[22]
God said He would make a
The tabernacle on earth was but a shadow
of a better Tabernacle in Heaven that is to come. The ritual of SIN Sacrifices was
offered in the Tabernacle over and over again. The sacrifice of Christ was ONCE and forever; He Himself was a
better SIN Sacrifice.
The
Old Covenant eligibility for “THE PROMISE” was determined
by your birth; you had to be descendent of Abraham whose seed gave us the “Levitical Priesthood”. The New Covenant that was extended to the
Gentiles (everybody) gave us a better
Promise.
Change in the Priesthood
Jesus was NOT
from the tribe of Levi therefore He could not be a
Levitical Priest. A
change occurred when Jesus was made a Priest after the Order of Melchizedek,[24] a
Higher an Older order than that of the Levitical Priesthood; a better High Priest.[25]
When there is a change in the Priesthood there MUST be a change in the Law.[26] There must
be a New Covenant.[27] It’s in the Book
Jesus Christ is the mediator of a better Covenant;
we have a better Sacrifice, a better Priesthood, better
Promises, and a better Tabernacle.[28]
The Big Announcement
The Synagogue was different
from the Temple as it was a place of learning, a place where pious and God
fearing men would gather around, SEATED to read the scriptures and discuss them; this was
the common practice of the Prophets and Elders of old.[29]
Jesus went into the Synagogue and was
handed the book of Isaiah the Prophet
to read; STANDING he read; "The
Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to
the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of
sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor." He then told them, that TODAY this prophecy has been FULFILLED; then He closed the book and
Old Covenant: The law was
put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by FAITH.
Now that FAITH has come, we
are no longer under the supervision of the law.
New
Covenant: Jesus said he did not come to do away with the law of the
Old Covenant, but to FULFILL IT.[31] It is finished; it has been COMPLETED.[32]
The
Hybrid Covenant
A little OLD
and a little
The Old
Covenant was about MEN and the “DO
NOT’S”,
the New
Covenant is about HIM and LOVE.
The
Old Covenant in Jewish law was not just The BIG
Do you keep the Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday? I SEE. Do you cook or go shopping on the Sabbath or walk
around the Zoo with the kids? I
Do have any graven images such as small statues or pictures of Saints of
old in your home or on the dash of your car. I
Pick and Choose what
you WANT from the Faith Buffet and leave the rest.
Hybrid Covenant: We tend to MIX some of the Old Covenant with some of the New
Covenant. We alter the rules to fit our lifestyle. The Apostle Paul called this FOOLISHNESS.[34] We begin to push the envelope when we say we
must take up our cross daily and crucify our self or cut off our offending hand
or pluck out our offending eye. These
statements are just concepts of Christ “Raising the Bar” on our standards; showing us
that we cannot possibly achieve these standards without a SAVIOR.
The Old Covenant set the
standard for man to obtain righteousness and it is STILL
THE STANDARD, BUT what it really did was show you and me that we cannot
attain this righteous in our own strength, we need a Savior. The only way to fulfill this law is to accept
the one who could and did fulfill it. If
you are led by the Spirit,[35] you are no longer under the written law, but
under GRACE.[36]
Paul says to keep it simple
and don’t be led astray with MIXED doctrine. The OT
commandments did not bring salvation, but showed us THE
WAY to
obtain it through the acceptance of the work of Jesus Christ. Part of the Mosaic
Law was the ceremonial law of
offering sacrifices for sin, Jesus was the FINAL sacrifice; once and for
all, FULFILLING the law.
We become justified or saved through
Faith, not by observing the Law; we have died to the written code[37]
and have been made alive to serve in a
The new covenant is like
Baptism
– Rabbit Trail
As a SIGN of their commitment
to God, the Jews were circumcised to show that they were different from
all the other nations. It was not the
outward symbolization of circumcision that made them a Jew; but it was their
inward CHANGE of heart. Although it is not a command, we see Gentiles
today desiring to be circumcised; mostly at birth by their parents
The use of water is a physical sign of baptism and is the public “symbol”
witnessing our “change”
and commitment to God, much like the symbol of circumcision is an outward and
inward change to the Jew. Water
had a heavy symbolism of purity and was used in purification rites.
There are two similar words in Greek for Baptize; Bapto
meaning to dip or immerse and the other Baptizo meaning
a change that has taken place by some means. The latter was used most of the time in the
scriptures.
Before Jesus came on the scene, John was using water baptism
as the symbol of a person’s testimony of “repenting of sin” and their changed life. They certainly knew the story of Noah’s
family being saved by being raised up above the waters in the ark and the
Israelites being saved by deliverance through the waters
of the Red Sea.
Faith in Jesus Christ is the necessary condition to receive baptism which
is a sacramental SIGN of new life
through and in Christ. Baptism is
symbolic of “CHANGE”; we die to our
old life and are “born again” to a new life.
There are actually two baptisms; One of WATER that washes the dirt from the body and
one of the SPIRIT which washes
the dirt from the heart.[40]
a)
Born
of Water is
when a baby is born and the mother’s water breaks.
b)
Born
of Spirit is when we have a spiritual birth and something
is born on the inside of us.[41]
Scripture teaches that the thief on the cross was NOT baptized, but yet was saved.[42] We are saved through Faith and His Grace, while
Water Baptism does not save, it is the New Covenant sacrament of confession. If you do not CONFESS it, you do not POSSESS it.
The Take Away
Everything that Jesus did on
the earth was under the “Old Covenant” including circumcision. All of His teachings
were to people still under the OT. The New Testament or Covenant did not start until
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.[43] Scripture says that the
Did Christ do away with the Old Covenant? NO, He fulfilled it; He FINSHED it.[46]
The
New Covenant does NOT set aside
the
PROMISES of
the Old Covenant.[47]
Our Pride assures us that we must “do something” to earn God’s favor and for some
reason we just can’t take the simplicity of “His Grace”. The New Covenant is really pretty simple and
straight forward; it refers to us as Saints NOT Sinners;[48] it
states that LOVE fulfills the Law. [49]
There
is just two commandments now; 1) Love
God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and 2) Love your
neighbor as Jesus has loved you.[50] There you have
it…
Talk about being challenged; just try loving your neighbor AS JESUS
There are two sacraments;
1) Baptism; although Baptism does not save, it is
a New Covenant sacrament indicating an UNASHAMED public profession
of faith in Jesus Christ and 2) The Lord’s
Supper[51] or
Communion which is also a sacrament of the New Covenant.
Circumcision or Tithing is NOT required, although circumcision is healthy and
so is giving. We are NOT bound by the Ten Commandments which includes the Sabbath observance, although we
would do well to keep them, because the BIG 10 as they were written by the finger of God.
Now your pants are all in a WAD again aren’t they. OK;
so go back to your LEGALISTIC “Faith Buffet”
and pick and choose your own Hybrid Covenant.
If you fulfill the LOVE Commandments;
it will cover NINE of the Big Ten commandments.
[1] Isaiah 28:10 - For precept must be upon precept line upon line here a little, and there a little
[2] Acts 13:38 – The
Forgiveness of sin is proclaimed to the Believer
[3] Genesis 4:7 – Sin is crouching at your door
[4] Romans 7:15-17 – As
Believers Sin still lives within us -- Romans 7:20 – It is sin that lives in us
that causes us to sin.
[5] John 3:18 – Believers are not judged; the
un-believer has been judged already
[6] Genesis 17:10-14 –
Circumcision is a Sign of your Blood Covenant with God
[7] Genesis 15:13 – Prophecy
– Israel will be enslaved 400 years -- Exodus 12:40 – The Israelite people
Lived in Egypt 430 years
[8] Leviticus 12:3 – Moses commanded to circumcise on the 8th day
[9] Exodus 4:24-26 – God was
Angry with Moses for not circumcising and almost killed him
[10] Luke 2:21 – Jesus was circumcised -- Luke 1:59-60 – John was circumcised
[11] Romans 1:16 – I am NOT ASHAMED of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ
[12] 1
Maccabees 1:15 – Plastic Surgery to restore the foreskins
[13] Acts 16:3 – Timothy;
Let’s get with the program, I’ll circumcise you -- 1 Corenthians 7:17-20 –
Keeping God’s commands is what counts
[14] 1 Corenthians 9:19-23 – I
have become all things to all people in order to share the Gospel
[15] Galatians 2:1-8 – God does
not judge by external appearance
[16] Ezekiel 44:7 –
Circumcision of heart and flesh -- Jeremiah 9:25-26 – Circumcision
of the heart is the important thing -- Deuteronomy 30:6 – God will
circumcise your heart
[17] Romans 4:9-11 – Faith made Abraham righteous, not circumcision -- Romans
2:28-29 – Inward circumcision of the Heart by the Spirit
[18] Romans 4:9-12 – Abraham was declared righteous before he was circumcised. --
Galatians 2:15-16 – We are justified by our Faith in Jesus not the Law
[19] Acts 15:1-19 – The Christian Church Council agreed with Paul; you do not have to be
circumcised to be a Christian
[20] Colossians 2:11 – We are
of the circumcision not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with
the circumcision done by Christ -- Romans 2:25-27 – Circumcision has no value
if you’re a law breaker.
[21] Ephesians 2:14-18 – Christ gave us the New Covenant; He came and
preached peace to you who were far away (Gentiles) and peace to those who were near (Jews).
-- Colossians 2:13-14 – Christ cancelled the written code of regulations; He took it
away, nailing it to the cross.
[22] Hebrews 8:7 – Man could
not keep the Old Covenant, for if there had been nothing wrong with that first
covenant, no place would have been sought for another
[23] Hebrews 8:10 – The New
Covenant will be written in their minds and hearts. -- Jeremiah 31:31-33 – My
new covenant will be written on their hearts and mind -- 2 Corenthians 11:3 –
The Gospel is simple; don’t be led away and be deceived.
[24] Hebrews 6:20 - Jesus was
a Priest after the higher order of Melchizedek
[25] Hebrews 7:21-22 – Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant He is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek
[26] Hebrews 7:12 – When there
is a change of the priesthood, there must also
be a change of the law
[27] Hebrews 7:12 - For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be
changed also. -- Hebrews 8:8-9 – Prophecy: God will make a new covenant with Israel
[28] Hebrews 9:15 - Christ is the mediator of a new covenant
[29] Ezekiel 14:1 – Common
practice with Ezekiel and Elders to read the law, then sit down and take
questions.
[30] Luke 4:16-21 – Jesus FULFILLED Isaiah’s
prophecy; "Today
this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." then He sat down for
questions
[31] Matthew 5:17 – Jesus did
not do away with the Old Covenant He fulfilled and completed it.
[32] Romans 10:4 – Christ is
the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone
[33] Galatians 5:3-4 – If you
follow just one point of the Law, you must follow all points.-- James 2:10 – If
you break one Law you are GUILTY
of
[35] Galatians 5:18 – You are Led by the Spirit and not under the
law
[36] Romans 6:14 - You are not under the OT law, but
now under GRACE
[37] Romans 7:6 – We have died
to the old way of the written OT code --
Romans 3:28-29 – Man is saved by FAITH, not by observing the law -- Galatians
3:23-25 – We are no longer under the supervision of the OT Law
[38] Matthew 9:17 – You cannot put new wine into old wineskins.
[40] John 3:5-6 – There are Two Baptisms; Water
and Spirit
Matthew 28:19 – THE GREAT COMMISSION; Baptize
Believers
[41] 1 Peter 3:21-22 – Water
only saves you by the Resurrection of Jesus the Christ
[42] Luke 23:42-43 – Jesus
told the thief on the cross; you will be with me TODAY in Paradise
[43] Hebrews 9:16-17 – The New
Covenant began at Christ’s death
[44] Hebrews 8:13 – With the
New Covenant, the Old Covenant became obsolete
[45] Hebrews 7:18-19 – The Old
Covenant made nothing perfect.
[46] John 19:30 – IT IS FINISHED
[47] Galatians 3:15-25 –New
Covenant does not set aside the PROMISES of God
[48] 1 John 3:9 – We cannot go
on sinning if we are born of God
[49] Romans 13:8-10 – Love is
the fulfillment of the Law
[50] Mark 12:28-31 – There are just two Commandments of Love -- John
13:34 – New Commandment; Love one another
[51] 1 Corenthians 11:26 – The
Lord’s Supper Sacrament
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