REAL CIRCUMCISION Devotion 1 of 39 The matter of receiving a righteousness from God, or being justified, is the most critical concern in Scripture. Nothing is more important than this. If God does not recognize us as righteous, there is no chance of being saved, for "the unrighteous shall NOT inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 1:9). Tomorrow:
"For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. (Rom 2:25-29, NKJV)
In fact, being "made righteous" IS salvation. The Scriptures affirm the Gospel to be God's "power unto salvation to every one that believes." In a stirring explanation of this, the Spirit continues, "For [because] in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith'" (Rom 1:16-17, NIV). "The righteous," in this case, are those who have been "MADE righteous" (Rom 5:19) "the righteousness which is FROM GOD by faith" (Phil 3:9, NKJV).
The Spirit has already declared "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men" (Rom 1:18). There is no possibility of this not taking place. The Divine nature will eventually break forth in consuming fury against everyone and everything contradictory to it or all who are "unrighteous." It is only "the longsuffering" and "goodness of God" that keeps this from occurring now. However, these marvelous qualities will not continue toward those who are ungodly those who lack the righteousness of God. Eventually, the righteous God will directly confront all unrighteous people, and when He does, they will not be able to survive.
The salvation of God prepares men for this ultimate and appointed confrontation by God Almighty. It is God's appointed means of making the unrighteous righteous, of bringing the spiritually dead to life, and of moving men from alienation to reconciliation. The Gospel boldly announces this fact, declaring that faith is the spiritual conduit through which this righteousness is passed from God to man from the Creator to the created.
In further development of this, the Spirit declares that every single descendant of Adam stands in need of this righteousness this righteousness that comes from God through faith in Christ. Fallen humanity is not capable of developing such a righteousness. This is seen in the plummet of the Gentile world into moral degradation. Although living in God's world, with abundant evidence of His "eternal power and Godhead," no one received the message (rom 1:20-21). Thus, rather than their condition improving, it actually became worse they became more unrighteous (Rom 1:19-32). This period continued for 2,500 years, from Adam to Moses, without a single person becoming righteous through self-effort. Further, not one solitary individual came to know God in any true sense until God revealed Himself to them.
During the next 1,500 years of history, the Divine spotlight was focused upon the Jewish people. The Lord revealed Himself in ways transcendent to nature, giving them statutes and judgments contained in the Law (Deut 4:7-8). They were given meticulous instruction concerning acceptable and unacceptable conduct through that Law, which was God's covenant with them. The Law, summarized in the Ten Commandments (Ex 34:28), gave a promise of life to all who flawlessly kept it in every detail, at all times, and with perfect consistency (Lev 18:5; 20:22; Deut 11:22). After living under this Law for fifteen centuries a covenant of information there was still not single person who had made himself righteous. The Divine assessment of all humanity whether the Gentiles with the testimony of nature, or the Jews with the testimony of Law was, "There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom 3:10-12; Psa 14:2-3; 53:2-3). ALL MEN, THEREFORE, STAND IN NEED OF THIS "RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD." Those who imagine they have no need of it are living in a state of deception.
Having proved both Jew and Gentile NEED this righteousness from God, the Spirit now develops some of the ramifications of being "made righteous." While this righteousness is appropriately called "the gift of righteousness" (Rom 5:17), it involves a fundamental change in the nature of those who receive it. This is primarily a change in character that invariable erupts in a change of conduct. This change is the result of being made righteous by God. Being made righteous is NOT the result of changing one's life. It is critical to see this distinction. Changed lives, therefore, are the RESULT of being "made righteous." No one is made righteous because they changed their way of living. Rather, the experience of righteousness is "through faith."
This series of devotions will expound the moral change that occurs in those who are made righteous through faith. The Holy Spirit uses the word "circumcision" to describe this change, which is the operation of God," not the result of human resolve (Col 2:12). This is not a circumcision in the flesh, as was true in God's dealings with Abraham and his progeny. Rather, it is a circumcision "of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter" (Rom 2:29). That is, it is the result of what GOD does, not the consequence of mere human resolve or effort. This change is very real, being the sure effect of God's own work.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, give me understanding of the nature and effectiveness of Your great salvation. Then I will be able to live for Your glory, and honor you with the fruit of my lips.