We still practice circumcision today. Churches would deny that statement theologically but we are as religious in our practice as any Pharisee of Jesus’ day. Of course we do not practice the incision of flesh. We understand well that ritual circumcision is ‘old covenant’. Modern expressions of circumcision vary depending on the denomination and even within individual groups.
To the devout Jew circumcision was the mark that meant a person was part of the ‘in’ crowd, and circumcision came to be a definitive sign. Outer appearance replaced inner reality as the basis for determining a person’s spiritual state.
We have dropped physical circumcision as our covenant sign, our sign that we are people of God, and replaced it with more modern expressions. These newer expressions may include baptism, church membership, service in the church, Communion, certain styles of dress, and the abstinence from or faithful performance of certain actions and behaviors. Stated another way, we have chosen to identify ourselves by an outward sign. Outer appearance has replaced inner reality as the criteria for determining a person’s spiritual state.
One of the risks we face when the Christian community embraces this superficial mindset is that it becomes easy to assure ourselves we are walking with Yahweh when in fact we are not. We too easily forget the Apostle’s warning to examine ourselves to be sure we are in the faith. Once we become comfortable deriving our spiritual security from a set of self-designed covenant standards we no longer need to walk in the Spirit. Our success in living out our new covenant becomes our righteousness and we no longer feel that we truly need Jesus’ transforming righteousness.
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