REAL CIRCUMCISION Devotion 3 of 39 The Law was a ministry of condemnation. Yet, those under it tended to view it as the means to their justification, or acceptance by God. By "the law," I mean the first covenant, which was based upon, but NOT identical with, the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are called "the WORDS of the covenant" (Ex 34:28), and the tablets upon which they were written were called "the TABLES of the covenant," or "TABLETS of the covenant." The precise wording of Scripture is, "the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you" (Deut 9:9, NKJV). – 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)
THE FIRST COVENANT
The "words of the covenant" and the covenant itself are NOT synonymous. Rather, "the words of the covenant" were the particular stipulations to which the covenant itself referred. To be more precise, the covenant is thus stated: "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which IF A MAN DO, he shall live IN THEM: I am the LORD" (Lev 18:5). This covenant is repeated and referred to several times in Scripture. "yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto Thy commandments, but sinned against Thy judgments, (which IF A MAN DO, he shall live IN THEM)" (Neh 9:29). "And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which IF A MAN DO, he shall even live IN THEM" (Ezek 20:11). " . . . they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which IF A MAN DO, he shall even live IN THEM" (Ezek 20;13,21). Life, under the First Covenant, depended wholly upon DOING what God commanded. The doing could not be partial, fragmentary, seasonal, or sporadic. It had to be complete all of the time – every waking or sleeping moment, in all circumstances, at all times, and in all places.
Jesus referred to this covenant of life: "if a man DO, he shall live IN THEM" – that is, that spiritual life will be found in the precise and thorough doing of the commandments engraved upon tables of stone. Jesus told the rich young man who asked what he should do to have eternal life, "but if thou wilt enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS" (Matt 19:17). On another occasion, a certain lawyer asked Jesus the same question as the wealthy young ruler, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" The Lord asked the ruler what was written in the Law – how the lawyer read it, or what did he think was its emphasis, or main point. The lawyer responded the Law was summarized in these words, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." Jesus responded in the words of Leviticus 18:5; "Thou hast answered right: THIS DO, and thou shalt live" (Lk 10:26-28). The Lord spoke to both individuals within the context of the First Covenant. He did this because neither person proved to be honest, or earnestly desirous of eternal life.
Apostolic writings also refer to this covenant, declaring it an impossible means to the obtaining of life. On one occasion, the Spirit moved Paul to say the Law had nothing whatsoever to do with faith. "And the law is not of faith: but, The man that DOETH THEM shall live in them" (Gal 3;12). It was not a covenant of believing, but of doing. In another place, the promise of life under the Law is equated with appropriating righteousness. "For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which DOETH THOSE THINGS shall live by them" (Rom 10:5).
The First Covenant required the DOING of all of the commandments, in every possible way, and at all times. Thus it is written, "And the LORD commanded us to DO ALL these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good ALWAYS" (Deut 6:24). There could be no deviation from perfect obedience. As James well stated, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). It is ironic that some Christian teachers refer to James' words as though they were the basis for justification. Nothing could be further from James' inspired intention. Rather, James was showing the people the unavoidable result of not living by faith. Who is the person who has not offended in a single point of the Law? Where does such a person exist? Apart from the Lord Jesus, where or when has such a person ever existed? Yet, that is precisely the unwavering demand of the First Covenant. To transgress one of its commandments made it impossible for justification to be through the Law. It was like a ten-link chain. If one of the links was broken, the chain lost all utility.
The third chapter of Second Corinthians provides a vivid picture of the Law and its relationship to our natural condition. Although "glorious," it was "the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones" (v. 7). It produced death, not life. For this reason, it is called "the ministration of condemnation" (v. 9), because it revealed the alienated condition of men. The Law was like a meticulous searchlight that scanned men, looking for a single flaw, however slight it may be. If found, death, or separation from God, immediately ensued, and condemnation was passed upon the individual. From one standpoint, this was most tragic, because "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). From another view, it opened the door of hope, for God can raise the dead and justify the guilty! Thus, the Law was a "MINISTRY" of death and condemnation, bringing those who took it seriously to a point where the message of a Savior and righteousness through faith sounded good.
Furthermore, the Law has no transforming power. It could not change the human condition, but only identify it. Concerning the forbidden tree, the Lord told Adam, "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Gen 2:17). Indeed, "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom 5:12). A chasm was thus created between man and God that was too vast to be bridged by human effort – any human effort, regardless of size or longevity. Only God is able to resolve this problem!
The Law was delivered to confirm this was the case. It was not given to remedy the situation, but to clarify, and even compound, it. Thus it is written, "Moreover the law entered that the offense MIGHT ABOUND" (Rom 5:20). And again, "But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become EXCEEDINGLY SINFUL" (Rom 7:13, NKJV). The NATURE of sin was not changed, or even increased by the Law. Rather, its wickedness became more apparent.
If man could recover from sin on his own, the ministry of the Law would not have been necessary. Sin, in such a case, would NOT have been "exceedingly sinful," but merely a human weakness.
It is one of the ironies of humanity that in spite of this pointed ministry of the Law, those who choose it as a means to reach God become self-confident. They think nothing of putting their trust in their own abilities. It is no wonder Paul wrote, "For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me" (Rom 7:11). Those who say the Law has been utterly removed have taken away the means of convincing men they need a Savior.
Because of these circumstances, the Spirit drives the point home of our need for a righteousness from God. He is going to reason with our hearts, showing there is no possible way to remain honest and avoid the conclusion that our own righteousness, under any and every circumstance, is unacceptable to God. In order to do this, HE will focus on the highest and most notable mark of the Old Covenant - circumcision.
PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You for deliverance FROM the condemning Law, and rescue BY a loving Savior.