If you return back again to Romans 2, this morning, if you remember, we began to consider this last section of chapter 2, the apostle beginning in verse 1 to address the issue of the future judgment. focuses in verse 17 to the end of the chapter upon the Jews and their hypocrisy. In fact, in some sense, he begins to open up their false hopes as being built upon two things. Upon the law, the fact that they were given the law, verses 17 to 24, they were given the law They knew the law, they were instructed out from the law, and they were also set apart to teach the law. God had chosen the Jewish nation out of all the nations of the world to carry his word to the ends of the world. They were to be guides to the blind, light for those in darkness. They were to instruct or impart wisdom to the foolish. And yet we find, irrespective of all that, instead of doing what God had chosen them for and had privileged them to do, they rested in their privileges. Instead of believing the Word, and going forth and living and teaching the Word. Instead of that, they simply trusted in the fact that they were given the Word. They boasted. They relied in the law. But also, as we'll see now in verse 25 to 29, they also boasted or relied in circumcision. In short, they put their confidence in their religious privileges. This morning, I sought to open up to you verses 17 and 24, showing you how religious privileges are privileges and they are not to be slighted or ignored. Paul, nowhere in this epistle in any way lessens that reality. The Jews were a privileged people. But I sought to impress upon you this morning the need to improve upon religious privileges. And I suggested at least three ways. The first is that you have to believe the gospel. You have to embrace the gospel for yourself. And this is what the Jews did not do. They had the law, but they didn't believe or obey the law. They had their law, the moral law, the Ten Commandments, but they also had the ceremonial law, which was a shadow of the Gospel. And while nobody can be saved by the Ten Commandments, the moral law, that shows us our sin. But the ceremonial law was intended to show them Christ. But instead of the law in the totality of its makeup being like a schoolmaster to lead them to Christ, They rested and trusted in the schoolmaster. And yet tonight we're going to see, brethren, that Paul is very clear and very desirous to teach us that what makes a man to be a child of God is not whether or not he's a Jew or Gentile, but whether or not He's been converted. And this is the thrust of the passage before us. Let us read it together and then we'll consider it. Verses 25 to 29 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. Well, as we come then to this text, brethren, let us pray and ask that God would give to us even what it speaks of, and that is the Holy Spirit, who would open up our eyes to see and believe the scripture. Our Father, we have before us your Word, and we need desperately that the author of it would accompany it with his powerful and gracious presence. And so we pray, O Father, even with just a handful of us here, that you would fall upon us, that you would revive your work, O God, that your people might rejoice in you. for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. I want to consider, brethren, these verses under three headings. First notice, ceremony never saves. Ceremony never saves. Secondly, obedience is the issue. And thirdly, Gentiles become Jews. I hope that you can see that these points are evidently in the text. Let's come first of all then to ceremony never saves. Circumcision, as you know, was a surgical procedure wherein the foreskin was removed from the private parts of a male. Notice a few things with regards to circumcision as we're considering ceremony never saves. One, its importance, and secondly, its impotence. First of all, its importance. The importance of circumcision. And this is seen, brethren, in the fact that God commanded every male child from Abraham onward to be circumcised. Circumcision is what made a person a Jew. It was what distinguished the Jew from the Gentiles around him. Circumcision was very important. It was a command of God. And not to have circumcised your male child was sinful. But it was symbolic. It represented that unique covenantal relationship to God that the Jewish nation had. It really represented privilege. In fact, brethren, there's a sense in which Paul uses it even here as representative of their whole privileges. circumcision was the one thing that obviously set the Jewish nation apart from the rest of the world. To the Jews, this represented their covenant privileges with God. It represented all that was promised them to their father Abraham. It described God's unique covenant people. They were circumcised. They alone were circumcised. This is what made you a covenant member. This is what made you a Jew. This is what distinguished you. This is what separated you from the world. To be circumcised. In fact, this term circumcision and Jew is really used synonymous in the passage. For example, just go a little bit further down to verse one of chapter three. What advantage then has the Jew or what profit or what is the profit of circumcision? See, Jew, circumcised, they're the same thing. They're synonymous with one another. And thus, brethren, it's very, very important to notice that nowhere in the passage or in the whole letter does the apostle in any way depreciate the benefits that the Jews enjoyed. Verse 25, for circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law. That is, privileges benefit you only if they're improved upon. Circumcision will benefit you. It will prosper you only in so far as you improve upon it. Only in so far as you're converted and you manifest or you show that conversion in a life of principled obedience to the commandments of God. If you're circumcised or not, that's not the issue. The issue is whether or not you're converted. And the way in which you manifest that conversion is in obeying the commandments of God. The privileges that the nation of Israel had being a physical Jew is only beneficial if you are truly converted. But this in no way lessens the importance of being circumcised, because that was the outer symbol of covenant privilege. And thus, brethren, we find that it is very important, this concept of being circumcised physically, because it distinguished you from the world, the importance of it. Notice the impotence of it. By impotence, I mean the weakness or the inability of circumcision. Notice verse 25, part B. But if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision, I'm having a hard time saying that word for some reason, has become uncircumcision. You are not Don't encourage me. In other words, it proves or manifests that you're not truly a covenant member. Again, verse 25b, if you live like a rebel, let me paraphrase it. It don't matter if you've been circumcised or not. That's what Paul is saying. It's just as if you hadn't been. So you were physically, really, and actually circumcised. But if you live rebellious in your lifestyle, then it's manifest that you're not really a covenant member. In and of itself, the outward act does nothing to change the inner reality. Perhaps we could use baptism as an example, something very similar. Does it matter if a man is baptized? Yeah, it's important. God commands us to be baptized. It's important that you get baptized if you're a Christian. But does baptism in any way change the heart? Let's say you were baptized but not converted. There's a sense in which your baptism is un-baptism. This is what Paul is saying. You prove in a life of rebellion that you've never really experienced what baptism signifies. And in that sense, you undo your baptism. A Jew may have been circumcised, but if he doesn't live right, that evidence is the fact that he's never experienced what the outward act symbolized. This is what Paul is saying, brethren. Thus, in a sense, the apostle is really making a contrast between the old and new covenants. Every new covenant member gets a new heart with the law written on it. What did a man or what did a person have to do to become a covenant member in the old covenant? Be born and then be circumcised. That was it. What does a person have to do to become a covenant member in the new covenant community? Well, he must be born again. He must be born of the spirit or his heart must be changed. His heart must be altered. He must be regenerated. He must be born again. And every single person who becomes a covenant child, who's born again, gets a new nature with the law written upon it. And that's why evidence of being a covenant member is law-keeping. Brethren, it's really not that complicated. The evidence of being a covenant member is what? Law keeping. That's an evidence of being a covenant member. This is what the text teaches us. Keeping the law out of a new heart, faith, love, yes, but keeping the commandment. keeping the commandment's evidences whether or not you are a covenant member, whether or not you've experienced in the heart what the outer acts represent. And thus we find that circumcision is important, but it's secondly impotent. It's important because God commands it, but it's impotent because it can't do anything to the heart. It's merely external. It's merely fleshy. It's carnal. Now, I want to take a few minutes and very quickly show you that every truly circumcised person will obey the commandments. that the scriptures, not only here but elsewhere, link the two together. One way in which a man can know whether or not he's truly circumcised in the heart is that he has a new heart upon which the law is written, which is manifest in the life of principled obedience to the commandments. All right? Now, I have two texts to illustrate it. Both of them are very familiar to you. One's an Old Testament text, and the other one's a New Testament text, and the Old Testament text is Deuteronomy 10. Deuteronomy chapter 10. And notice verse 16. Let me show you a few texts, very quickly, from the Old Testament, matter-of-factly. Look at the first one, though. Deuteronomy 10 and verse 16. As we're seeing, that this was always the case. In the Old and in the New Covenants, what mattered was inward dealings with God and not merely the outward act. The outward act merely symbolized an inward reality, the cutting away of the old heart. That was symbolized in the outward act. Look very quickly. Deuteronomy 10, verse 16. Therefore, circumcise the foreskin of your what? Of your heart and be stiff necked no longer. This is inner spiritual regeneration. And this is something, brethren, that the outward act was impotent to achieve. You can cut away the outer part of a man and never change or alter his heart. Find a similar text in Jeremiah. Look at chapter 4 and verse 4. Jeremiah 4 and verse 4. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and take away the four skins of your hearts. You see, brethren, this is always what God wanted. This is always what he wanted, and he shadowed this. He typified this in the physical act. But the physical act was not what God wanted. And that's why we can turn to a text, look at Jeremiah 9, where you find that there were those who were really circumcised within Israel. Chapter 9, verse 25. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised. Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the furthest corners who dwell in the wilderness for all these nations are uncircumcised and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart. In other words, they're no better than the nations. The mere removal of the foreskin of a person's body does nothing to alter their ultimate standing before God. It brought them into the old covenant with some of the old covenant benefits and privileges that were temporal and typical, but it never brought them into God's family in a saving way. There was always an Israel within Israel. There was always God's true people amongst the external people. Those who are regenerated, those who had what the outer act symbolized. And so this is what the apostle means when he tells the Jews. That if they didn't have the obedience that evidenced conversion, the circumcision would be uncircumcised. Their baptism would be unbaptized, to use our terminology. They'd be viewed as God as if they never had the outward act, because the outer act in and of itself doesn't benefit anyone. They would be viewed as God, as those outside his covenant. They would be viewed as God, as a pagan. As those who didn't have the outer act, the outer symbol. And thus we learn that circumcision is both important, but rather it's impotent. Ceremony don't save. Never did, never will. Never was intended to, and never will. But notice, secondly, obedience is the issue. Notice in our text, three times Paul speaks of obedience to the commandments or to the law. Verse 25, if you keep the law. Verse 26, if a man keep the righteous requirements of the law. Verse 27 fulfills the law. Those all say the same thing. Those are all synonymous. And we could take the time, brethren, and I could show you from other places in the Scriptures where Paul and the other writers use these phrases to describe Christian obedience. What we call gospel obedience. evangelical obedience. This isn't the kind of obedience that attempts to gain God's acceptance, but this is the obedience that's performed by someone who has obtained God's acceptance. Jesus said, if you love me, then keep my commandments. It's not about the perfection of our obedience. but the overall direction of our lives. Their lives characterized by evangelical or gospel obedience. And thus, brethren, necessary to keeping and fulfilling the law is regeneration. Being spiritually circumcised. This is the whole point of the text, right? This is what Paul is saying. When you're born again, when the old heart is replaced by a new heart, it will necessarily evidence itself in a life of principled obedience. And thus I've entitled this point, Obedience is the Issue, but perhaps more technically we could say, Regeneration or Salvation is the Issue. This is really what Paul is saying. He's saying that obedience is merely the evidence of salvation. Guys, haven't we seen this? How many times have we seen this? Just recently in the book of Romans. It feels like we've seen this over and again, haven't we? Works don't save you. Works verify or evidence salvation. This is all he's teaching. The same thing he's been teaching and the same thing he will teach. Works, evidence, salvation. We're saved by grace through faith, not of works, but unto works. This is what Paul teaches us elsewhere. True conversion and true salvation results in obedience to the commandments of God. Obedience is the evidence of a changed life. And thus, when Paul says, If a man keeps the law, if a man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, or if he fulfills the law, he's saying the same thing. He's saying that this man has been converted, irrespective if he's Jew or Gentile. He's a Gentile. He's never had the outer rights, but he's had the inner reality, and thus he, as it were, judges you. Because you've had the outer, but not the inner. And how do you know He's had the inner? But because He walks in obedience to the commandments. Obedience is the evidence of an interchanged life. And this is the teaching of Scripture, right? Let me show it to you from a text or two. How about this one? Go back again to Deuteronomy. But this time to chapter 30. Notice verse 6, Deuteronomy 30, a prophecy that actually predates, of course, obviously it predates the exile. In fact, it's a long ways prior to the exile, but it's here foretold as well as the return. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants. Now keep that in mind, this descendants, because we're going to see that in prophetic language, what's prophesied here is the conversion of the Gentiles. It may be hard to prove just from this text, but we're going to see that the prophets often spoke of their children coming from afar. And we're going to see that that means the Gentiles, because I want to turn you to a text in a minute and show you that. But notice, he promises to circumcise their heart And then notice the inevitable result of this inner transformation to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, that you may live. This is that inner change that accompanies salvation. There's life as the result of this cutting away. But notice that this life manifests itself how? in obeying God's law. Because what is the sum of the law? But love God and love your neighbor. And this is precisely what God is telling them. That He's going to cut away that old heart, and the evidence of that transformation is going to be love to God, or the keeping of the law, the fulfilling of the law, or the doing of the law. Notice another text in the New Testament that illustrates a similar thing, that obedience is the issue or obedience evidence is salvation. How about this time we turn to Jesus' account with the unconverted Jews in John 8. Look at verse 39. I'm just doing my best not to say that word again, so I'm just going to avoid it. When that happens, brethren, there's no way you can fix it for me. Once I get something inside my head, it's done. When I leave and go home, I'll be able to say it with no problem. I've never had a problem to say that word in 15 years of being a Christian. But when something like that happens, you just have to, I don't know what, it just humbles you, I guess, right? I mean, I don't know. Maybe I need, let me put it this way. I know I need humbling and the Lord knows how to humble a man. So he's humbling me, but he's doing it publicly. I just wish he would do it privately. But hopefully I can think ahead in my sermon. I know I'm going to have to say the word again sooner or later, because it's in my text so many times. Man, I don't know what to do here. We'll just get there when we get there, all right? I know I don't have to say it here in John 8, so we'll just stay here for a minute. Let me get a little confidence. John 8. Look at verse 39. They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. If you were really a Jew, if you were really a son of Abraham, the seed of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham. You would obey as Abraham obeyed because Abraham believed. Obeying follows believing. Abraham believed the Gospel. Abraham believed upon Christ. He was justified. He was forgiven. He was accepted for Jesus' sake. And because of that, he then obeyed. Right? That's what you find in Hebrews 11. By faith, Abraham did this, he did this, he did this. He did it by faith. He believed in Christ and he obeyed Christ. Look, this is all Jesus is saying. If you were really a Jew, if you were really the seed of Abraham, you would act like your father Abraham who believed and obeyed. But he goes on to say, tragically, that Satan was their father, verse 42. Verse 44, you are of your father the devil. You're not really sons of Abraham. You're sons of Satan. Because if you were really a Jew, an inward one, an actual one, you would act like a Jew. You would act like your father, the father of the Jews, the father of the Hebrews, Abraham. Or notice another text. How about 1 Corinthians 9? We're looking at the fact that obedience to the law is evidence of salvation or this inner cutting away of the old heart. I'm sorry, 1 Corinthians 7. Notice verse 19. 1 Corinthians 7. Verse 19, circumcision, got through the first one, is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. But listen to what matters. But keeping the commandments of God is what matters. Now the context here is that Paul is addressing some of the differences in the church at Corinth. He's going to, in the next chapter, begin to deal with some of the differences that arise in a church where there's Jew and Gentile. But even prior and preparatory to that, he's stating at the outset, look, what matters is inner transformation that results in outer obedience. The other matters little when it comes right down to it. Outer rights don't matter. Outer symbols. Matter not. But what matters is a man, woman, boy or girl, obeys God. And this, yes, brethren, presupposes conversion. Paul isn't just saying, look, the only thing that matters is that you obey God outside of being saved. No, that's presupposed. Because a man can't obey God outside of the gospel. A man can't obey the commandments of God outside of regenerating grace, outside of a new heart, outside of faith to obey God and the gift and the power of the Holy Spirit. All of that is presupposed. But the point being is that obedience to God, keeping His commandments, is the evidence that you've been radically altered in the heart. Right? This is what matters. Now, let me just park on this for a second and underscore it. I want to digress just for a second or two and say a few things which I've implied. I've implied, and Paul implies this in our text in Romans 2, that keeping the law, fulfilling the law, doing the law are the evidences of conversion. Right? He doesn't state that in Romans 2, but it's implied. And I just want to take a second or two to show you a few texts where he states it expressly. How about, first of all, we learn that the law is kept from a new heart. This is implied in Romans 2. It's expressly stated in Galatians 6. Galatians 6, and look at verse 15. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision or uncircumcision avails or profits nothing. But what profits? A new creation. Being made a new creature. This is what matters. This is, brethren, what Paul is teaching in Romans 2. You can be circumcised or you can not be circumcised. It matters little. It matters something in the sense that privileges count for something. But before God and the Day of Judgment, if you just have the outer act, that's not going to benefit you. We again could apply it to the outer act or symbol of baptism. So you've been baptized. You've been plunged beneath the water and you go to the Day of Judgment. and all you have is baptism. Is that going to benefit you in anything? Is that going to in any way prevail with God? The same with the Jew. He had the outer eye. Is that going to in any way prevail before God? No. What matters, says Paul, is that you be converted. What matters, says Paul, is a new creation. But this new creation This new nature, being made new, evidences itself by faith that works. And this is the next text. Look just back up to Galatians 5, verse 6. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision benefits anything. But look what benefits. Faith working through love. Faith working through or by love, because of love. So put all of these texts together. The outer act means nothing. What matters is that you have a new nature that you believe and that you obey. And, brethren, it happens in terms of our experience in that order. You get a new heart. What's the first thing the new heart does? It believes on Christ. And because it loves Christ, it obeys Christ. And this is what the text says. Faith working by love. The new heart Regeneration, conversion, this inner transformation manifests itself in faith, laying hold of Christ, and loving Christ in a life of principled obedience. And thus, I've entitled this second head, Obedience is the Issue, or perhaps better, Conversion is the Issue, and Obedience is the Evidence. Well, that brings me then to our last couple of verses, Romans 2. And to our third point, Gentiles become Jews. I've heard a man recently say that a Jew is a Jew and a Gentile is a Gentile, and you can't mix the two. And there's obviously truth to that in the physical sense. But, brethren, the Scriptures everywhere necessitate us to think in terms of a Gentile being made a Jew. Even in the physical sense, go back to Abraham. He was a Gentile physically. God made him, if you will, physically into a Hebrew. But he was born a Gentile, just like you and I. We're all born, in this spiritual sense, Gentiles. I don't care if you're born a Jew. You're born with your heart uncircumcised. I don't care if your foreskin in your private part is cut away. Your heart is rotten. And it needs to be cut away. We're all born physically. either Jew or Gentile, that don't mean anything. We're all born spiritually and morally Gentiles, and we're made by grace Jews. This is what the text tells us, doesn't it? Verse 28. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. See, he puts it first negatively, then he puts it positively. And notice a few things. Three things, in fact, with regards to the positive statement of verse 29. First, a true Jew is inwardly a Jew. Let me give you a threefold description of a Jew according to the scriptures. First of all, a true Jew is inwardly a Jew. This is to say it has nothing to do with the externals. It's inward. It's spiritual. This is an inward and spiritual identity. Perhaps I can put it this way, guys. True religion is a matter of the heart. Right? It's always been that way. It's a matter of the heart. It's not externals. I mean, externals have a part to play in it. But at the heart of it is the heart. And thus we find in the scriptures that there are physical Gentiles who are made inward and spiritual Jews. Now my text is sufficient to teach that. Because he's just got done speaking in the previous verses, in verses 25, 6, and 7, of Gentiles who keep the law, who evidence that they've been converted, and their uncircumcision is made circumcision. So he's speaking here in our text, verse 28 and 9, about Jew and Gentile. Jew and Gentile. Out of both, there's Jews. And they're Jews who are inwardly Jews, not outwardly. This is the meaning of the whole text. Now, let me show you very quickly two texts to illustrate it. One is a prophecy in Isaiah 44, where you have foretold or prophesied that Gentiles would come and be made Israelites, which, brethren, is precisely what's happened to many of us. We've been made the people of God. God has a people, and His people are circumcised. Not outwardly, but inwardly. Now, I told you back in one of the Deuteronomy texts that when God promised to circumcise the heart and the hearts of their descendants, that that has to do with the Gentiles being brought into the house of God. And the reason why I say that is because there's just a host of prophetic witness to validate that claim, and this is one text. Look at Isaiah 44. How about we begin reading with verse 4. It's a promise or a prophecy that is going to pour out His Spirit. Verse 3. Remember that the Old Testament prophets spoke through the grid of exile and restoration, right? And so this is going on here. But we know that in the day of Pentecost, God poured out his spirit on who? On all flesh, Jew, Greek, And that denoted what? That he was going to bring into the covenant people Gentiles. This was the promise given all the way back to who? To Abraham, brethren. Abraham was going to be a means of blessing to all the nations. Abraham, look, I'm going to give you a physical seed, an elect remnant Jewish seed, But to that I'm going to graft in a bunch of wayward children, your descendants, taken out from every nation, every tribe, every tongue. And I'm going to bring them and I'm going to graft them into the same single vine. And they're going to become children of Abraham. They're going to become Jews. They're going to become Israelites. And this is the promise in verse 3. I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods on the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit on your descendants and My blessing on your offspring, the true seed of Abraham, the elect. Verse 4. They will spring up among the grass like willows by the water courses. And notice when they spring up and when the Holy Ghost comes on them, when they get converted. Look at what they're going to say. Verse five. One will say, I am the Lord's. Another will call himself by the name of Jacob. Another will write with his hand the Lord's, that is, I'm the Lord's, and name himself by the name of Israel." In other words, brethren, he's going to become a Jew. He's going to become a descendant of Abraham. He's going to become an Israelite. He's going to become a covenant member who's been circumcised not with hands, but with a circumcision made without hands. This is what Paul called the Gentiles in the book of Colossians. You've been circumcised with a circumcision not with hands, but that spiritual circumcision that removes the old man. You've been made an Israelite. And so, brethren, stop and think. Let me personalize it with regards to myself. 1994. There I am. Can you see me? I'm there in that drug rehab. Crack smoking, whore chasing, wicked Gentile. And God poured water on my thirsty soul. He poured out His Spirit upon me. And I sprung up amongst the grass. And I said, I am the Lord's. And I called myself by the name of Jacob. And I wrote with my hand the Lord's. And I named myself by the name of Israel. And I became a true son of Abraham because by the grace of God I did the works of Abraham. I believed and I began to obey. But brethren, this is the same teaching we find throughout the New Testament. Let me give you a text to illustrate. Look at Philippians chapter 3. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Verse 2. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the mutilation. For we are the circumcision. We are the true circumcision. You could translate it that way. Some of your translations have the word true. It's an addition to help to communicate the meaning of the text. And notice how such are defined who worship God in the spirit. Do you know what a real Jew looks like? Do you know what a real Hebrew or Israelite looks like? He worships God in the spirit. He rejoices in Christ Jesus and he has no confidence in the flesh. Now, brethren, Paul is speaking to a Gentile church and he's telling them, don't fret over those who claim you have to be circumcised to be a covenant child. Do you know what he calls them? Dogs. Because they would add something to salvation. You have to do the outward thing to become a covenant child. Paul calls them dogs. Beware of them, because they're like dogs, and they're going to try to tear you apart and devour you. Beware of them, because we are, you Gentile, believing Gentile, you are the truly circumcised person. How do you know that, Paul? Because you worship God in the Spirit, and you rejoice in Jesus Christ, and you put no confidence in the flesh. These are evidences of circumcision. These are evidences of being converted. My friend, do you have such evidence? How do you know you've been circumcised? How do you know whether you're a Jew, a covenant member, a son of Abraham? Well, my friend, do you glory in Christ and put no confidence in the flesh? And it's interesting how he puts that. No confidence in the flesh. No confidence in anything I do, including the outer act of circumcision or baptism. I put no confidence in the flesh, in no merit, in no activity, in no external right. Nothing, nothing, nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. My friend, this is the creed of a true Jew. This is the creed of a truly converted, poor hell-bound, wicked, undeserving, wretched sinner. This is the son of Abraham who gets the land. This is the meek who inherit the earth. This, brethren, is true and saving religion. This is a Jew. A true Jew is in religion, but closely related to that, secondly, a true Jew is made by the Spirit. Look at the text again, Romans 2. For he is not a Jew, or I'm sorry, verse 29, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart. And then notice this little prepositional phrase, in the spirit, not in the letter. We could translate the preposition in by, probably makes more sense, by the spirit. This is what Paul is teaching. that this kind of circumcision is spiritual. It's done by the Holy Spirit. Here's another text that says the same thing. Born by the Spirit. This is the kind of work that the Spirit does with the knife of the gospel. He uses the law to prick our hearts, but he converts us, brethren, by the gospel. I referenced the text. Quickly, let me just read it. Colossians 2. Notice verse 11. Notice this circumcision that takes place by the spirit. Beautifully stated here. Look, Colossians 2, 11. In him you are circumcised with the circumcision made, look, without hands. Without hands. by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. What does that mean, circumcision of Christ? It means something Christ does by His Spirit. This is a circumcision that's done or performed without hands. Physical circumcision, you need hands and you need a knife. In this circumcision, you don't need either. because it's done in the Spirit or by the Spirit. And that spiritual act called regeneration or spiritual circumcision is then symbolized in baptism. Verse 12, buried with Him in baptism in which you are also raised with Him through faith in the working of God who raised Him from the dead. When a person gets this circumcision, they should get also the symbol that illustrates it. And thus, we find that Paul speaks about the Jew, the true Jew, who's in religion, but is made so by the Holy Spirit. This is something that God can do, brethren, and only God can do. But finally, a true Jew, our text says, receives praise from God. Look at the very last phrase of verse 29. Whose praise is not from men, but from God. The word Jew is actually derived from the name Judah. simply mean praised. A Jew, by definition, is one praised. Praised, according to the text, by God. This is what a true Jew is. One who doesn't seek the praise of men, but the praise of God. This is what a Jew does. This is what a Christian does. Same thing. He seeks the praise of God. In fact, if you go back to Genesis, the 29th chapter, you find where Leah, Jacob's father, or Judah's father, names him such. Genesis 29, look at verse 35. And she, that's Leah, conceived again and bore a son and said, now I will praise the Lord. Therefore, she called his name Judah. Jew is derived from the name Judah, and they both mean praised. And thus, Paul is obviously making a play on words. He's saying that a true Jew who's inwardly a Jew, who's made a Jew by the Holy Spirit, is one who lives for the praise of God and not men. A genuine Jew, a true Jew, is one whose praise doesn't come from men, but God. They live for Him. Now Paul's going to clarify, brethren, As we come next week, we're willing to chapter three. He's going to go back and say, all this is true, but it doesn't in any way alleviate the obvious. There is such a thing as a physical Jew and a physical Gentile. And the physical Jew does have benefits and is going to go back to articulate some of the advantages, the privileges that the nation of Israel has. but in no way overrides all that we've seen. And that is that a true Jew is one who's been circumcised by the Holy Spirit, whose praise is not from men, but from God. Amen. Well, now that I have the word down, I think I can start the sermon over again. You've got to love me. When have you ever heard a preacher not be able to say the word circumcised? Well, tonight is the first time. And you thought you was coming just to worship God and hear a regular sermon. That was a bonus. And Christian's mother really enjoyed me suffering that whole hour. I saw it in her face. I saw it in a couple of your guys' faces. You were really enjoying that, weren't you? Well, I guess we can have a little fun, and I don't mind that it's at my expense. Let us pray. Our Father, we do give thanks, and even as we are reminded, we are very foolish by nature. And certainly, O God, there's nothing in us to attract, to earn, to merit your love. But it's sovereignly, graciously, and abundantly poured out upon us. We have no reason, Father, except the person and work of Jesus Christ. And, O Father, we give thanks that you've made so many of us who are born natively Gentile, that you've made so many of us into Jews. And, O Father, we pray that you continue to make each and every single one of us to have this inner salvation that manifests itself in a life of principled, not perfection, but principled obedience. So send us forth, O God, with your blessing. Cleanse us and forgive us for all our sins, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.