REAL CIRCUMCISION Devotion 16 of 39 Because of the strength of this text, I must reaffirm it. But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision" (Rom 2:25). For the Jew, when God's law was broken, circumcision lost its significance. To state it another way, when men do not have the righteousness of God, it makes no difference what ordained "seal" they think themselves to possess, they are NOT accepted by God unless they possess the righteousness of God. – 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)
There are two salient points revealed in the Gospel. First, within the Gospel itself a righteousness that comes from God is revealed, or made known – a righteousness that is appropriated and maintained by faith. As it is written, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For [or because] therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith" (Rom 1:16-17). The power of the Gospel, then, is directly traceable to the righteousness from God that is revealed in it – a righteousness that men must have in order to be accepted by God.
Second, the wrath of God is revealed against all unrighteousness. As it is written, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom 1:18, NKJV). In Christ Jesus, the wrath of God was vented against all unrighteousness. This involved Jesus being "made sin" (2 Cor 5:21), and being "made a curse for us" (Gal 3:13). For those who "believe the record God has given of His Son" (1 John 5:10-11), deliverance from wrath takes place. However, all who reject God's righteousness, refusing to believe on and obey the Son will remain in their unrighteous state. Ultimately, their unrighteousness will be confronted by the wrath of God, and there will be no escape.
Salvation has two sides – what we are saved from, and what we are saved to. For example, we are saved FROM sin (Rom 6:18), the wrath to come (Rom 5:9), and the condemnation of the law (Rom 7:4; 8:1). We are saved TO a living hope (1 Pet 1:3), an eternal inheritance (Heb 9;15), and a state in which we are "made righteous" (Rom 5:19).
With these things in mind, I reaffirm that the possession of a seal is of no worth unless it is accompanied by the righteousness announced in the Gospel. The "gift of righteousness" (Rom 5:17) must be possessed in order for God to receive us! That righteousness is the reality that is superior to any sign, seal, or symbol of the covenant. God ordained signs are necessary, but they are always for this world. Righteousness transports into the world to come, where you will stand before the Lord. If, at that time, you have the righteousness of God, you will be fully accepted, and will enter into the joy of the Lord. If you do not, you will be excluded, for "the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor 6:9). Simply put, the unrighteous are those who have not received the righteousness that comes from God through faith. There is only one alternative to being "made righteous," and that is remaining unrighteous, a condition in which men are confined until they are in Christ (Rom 3:10).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to do everything you command me to do. Help me also to see more fully that my faith cannot be in my obedience, but in You, who has made me righteous in Christ Jesus.