REAL CIRCUMCISION Devotion 10 of 39 After Abraham, and prior to Christ, righteousness, or spiritual life, was not promised because men were circumcised, but ONLY if they did precisely what the Law said. For example, although circumcision was a "sign and a seal" of the righteousness Abraham possessed, being circumcised, circumcision is not what made Abraham righteous. Rather, it confirmed that Abraham had been made righteous. As it is written, "He received circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised" (Rom 4:11, RSV). For Abraham, as with those in Christ Jesus, righteousness was realized through faith. 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)
However, that was NOT the case under the Law. The Law did NOT require faith, nor was it based upon faith. It was purely a system of doing – a Divinely imposed discipline that offered life to all who flawlessly and consistently kept and obeyed every single one of its commands and tenets. Not a solitary deviation was permitted. For this reason there is not single reference to faith or believing in all of the Law, with its commandments, ordinances, and procedures. This circumstance is the reason for the statement, "And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." Other versions even accentuate this remarkable statement. "But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, ‘Whoever does the works of the law will live by them'" (NRSV). "The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, ‘The man who does these things will live by them'" (NIV).
Allow me to establish this point again, for it is pertinent to our subject: "Real Circumcision." What is experienced in Christ was never experienced prior to Him. Inward change was never effected prior to Christ as it is in Him. In order to establish this point, it is essential to again affirm how righteousness was presented under the Law. It was SOLELY in the hands of those who received the Law. No righteousness – not even the most minute aspect or degree of it was offered independently of DOING thoroughly and invariably what God had commanded.
Hear it again from the words of Moses. "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). Permit me to call Nehemiah to the witness stand. " . . . 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). Hear Ezekiel the prophet affirm the same thing. "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). Hear the Lord Jesus Himself as He spoke to a man inquiring what he should DO to inherit eternal life. After telling him to keep the commandments, Jesus "said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this DO, and thou shalt live" (Lk 10:28). Again, the Spirit says to the Galatians, who were retrogressing to Law for justification, ‘And the law is not of faith: but, The man that DOETH them shall live in them'" (Gal 3:12).
When it comes to becoming righteous, or being alive to God, it cannot be achieved by Law – any law. The Law of Moses, the basis for the covenant God made with Israel stood for all Law. In the sense of a moral code, or series of related commandments, nowhere are those in Christ said to have received a better Law, a more precise Law, or a more powerful Law. Rather, we are said to be given a "better COVENANT, which was established upon better PROMISES" (Heb 8:6).
Life is now offered on a different basis – one that depends upon the achievements of Another. This by no means suggests we are not involved in the matter. It DOES mean our involvement is not the basis or foundation of the conferment of righteousness. Our righteousness – the righteousness that "comes from God" (Phil 3:9) – does not come because we have achieved flawless obedience, but because we have believed the record God has given of His Son (1 John 5:10-11). How gloriously superior this is the righteousness which is "of the Law."
PRAYER POINT: Prayer Point: Father, thank in Jesus name for providing a way for me to become righteous in\ Your eyes.