Tonight we are looking at Romans chapter 2 verses 25 through the end of the chapter, God willing. Why was there such a contrast between King Saul and David? I've been reading in my devotions in 1 Samuel, and the contrast is very striking between Saul and David. And the further you get into the narrative, the more striking the difference is. There was Saul, who was, according to outward appearances, a very desirable man to be a leader. But when it came down to it, he did not obey God. He leaned on his own understanding rather than on the word of God. The Lord gave him a clear word through the prophet Samuel, clear instructions. But Samuel took things in his own hands and he did them his own way. In contrast to Saul, you have David, who's called a man after God's own heart. And though he did sin, you see in Psalm 51 the broken and contrite heart that he offered to the Lord as a sacrifice. What a difference between the two. Why was there such a difference? What was the root of the difference? Both possessed the law of God. They had the same scriptures, the same law of Moses, the same commandments. They both had been circumcised as the Jews were to be. But there was such a contrast in the way that they lived. One living for self and one living for God. Our text suggests the answer of why there was such a difference between the two. And as we study our text this evening, I want you to keep in mind those words that were spoken by the prophet Samuel when he went to anoint the next king, who turned out to be David, and Samuel was looking first at David's brothers who had great similarities with King Saul. And listen to what the Lord said to Samuel. He said in 1 Samuel 16.7, do not look on his appearance, that is on the appearance of David's brother, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. Now keep this in mind as we study what Paul says to the Jew who was not trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. Our text is chapter two of Romans, verses 25 through 29. Please stand in honor of the word of God. For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law. But if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly. nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man, but from God. This is God's holy word. You may be seated. Before we dive into this text, I want to review the previous context. The theme of the book of Romans is the gospel of God. That was identified in chapter 1. Having identified the theme as the gospel of God, Paul proceeded to establish the universality of sin and the universality of condemnation. In other words, the universal need for salvation. starting in chapter one by focusing on those people who have not received the scriptures, basically the Gentiles, how they are under sin and therefore under God's just condemnation. And then in chapter two, verse one, he began to focus on those people who have received the scriptures, Essentially, that was the Jews, and showing how they were in the same position, under sin, under God's condemnation, in need of the salvation that is only found in Jesus Christ. I want to summarize for you what we've seen in chapter 2, a little bit more specifically than that. We have seen that the Jew who judges Gentiles to be deserving of divine judgment condemns himself to be deserving of divine judgment because he also practices unrighteousness. And God's judgment rightly falls on those who practice unrighteousness. The kindness, forbearance, and patience God has given to the Jews are meant to lead them to repentance. But because of the Jew's unrepentant heart, he is throwing up divine wrath for himself on the final judgment day, when God will pronounce and execute his just sentence of eternal condemnation. On that day, God will render to each person according to his conduct. Wrath and distress will be rendered to every human being who does evil, whether Jew or Gentile, but eternal life and honor to everyone who does good, whether Jew or Gentile. God will judge in this way because there is no partiality with him. All who have sinned without possessing the law of Moses will be condemned without the law of Moses, for they show that they know God's moral law, both by doing something of what the law requires and by the witness of their conscience. Likewise, all who have sinned under the law of Moses will be condemned by the law of Moses, because it is not the mere hearing of the law that makes you right with God, but doing the law. Jew and Gentile alike will be condemned on the day when God judges the secrets of men by the appointed judge, Christ Jesus. The Jew has the privilege of possessing the written law of God, knowing God's will and being a guide to the spiritually blind Gentiles, yet breaks the very commandments that he teaches others. Thus the Jew dishonors God and blasphemes God's name among the Gentiles. That brings us up to the point that we stopped last week. In the verses that we have already studied there, Paul sought to dismantle the Jews' confidence in his possession of the law for a right standing with God. And now in our text, verses 17 through 18, I'm sorry, I should say now in verses 25 to 29, he will seek to dismantle the Jews' confidence in circumcision. So there were two main things that the Jew who did not believe in Christ put their confidence for right standing with God. They looked to their possession of the law of God, and they looked to their circumcision. And they concluded on the basis of these two that had been given to them by God, that they were right with God and that they were shielded from the wrath that is to come. But that is not the truth. And so Paul has already sought to undermine their confidence in the law for right standing with God and in today's text, he will undermine their confidence in circumcision for right standing with God. Some of the commentaries on the Book of Romans show from ancient Jewish writings the confidence that the Jews placed in circumcision. I put some of those quotations for you in your notes from ancient Jewish writings. The first one comes from the Book of Jubilees. It says, and anyone who is born, whose own flesh is not circumcised on the eighth day, is not from the sons of the covenant which the Lord made for Abraham since he is from the children of destruction. And there is therefore no sign upon him so that he might belong to the Lord because he is destined to be destroyed and annihilated from the earth and to be uprooted from the earth because he has broken the covenant of the Lord our God." So that's describing the one who has not received circumcision. Then they say, no circumcised man will see hell. Another quotation, circumcision saves from hell. Another quotation, God swore to Abraham that no one who was circumcised should be sent to hell. A quotation from another ancient Jewish writing, Abraham sits before the gate of hell and does not allow that any circumcised Israelite should enter there. Such beliefs that circumcision would shield one from hell are absolutely contrary to the Old Testament, as Paul shows in the book of Romans. Tonight's text falls into two sections. In the first section, we see that circumcision is meaningless if you break the law. Look at verse 25. For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law. But if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. I have a question about circumcision that I put in the bulletin. When did God first instruct people to be circumcised? And what was the purpose of circumcision? Caleb? Okay, so the first instruction for circumcision was given by God to Abraham, that all the males in Abraham's household were to be circumcised. That is correct, that's in Genesis 17. What is the, what was the purpose of circumcision? Mom? To identify them as God's chosen people. That's absolutely correct. Let's turn over to Genesis 17 to see this. Genesis chapter 17, starting at verse nine. Genesis 17, verse nine. And God said to Abraham, now keep in mind that Abraham is the father of the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in fulfillment of promises that God made to Abraham. Verse 9, God said to Abraham, as for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant." In verse 11, God is very specific about the purpose. In verse 11, he says, it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Circumcision was a permanent surgical operation. And the circumcision of all the males in a household signified that the household belonged to the Lord's covenant people. So keeping that in mind, come back to our text, Romans chapter two, verse 25. Paul says, for circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law. But if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. This verse starts with the word for. The word for relates this new paragraph to the main idea that Paul has been proclaiming in this chapter, the idea that the Jews will be condemned in the final judgment just like the Gentile on the basis of his works. Now you can imagine a Jew objecting to what Paul has said here in chapter 2, objecting by pointing to circumcision. Paul, how can you say that we're going to be treated in the judgment just like the Gentiles? and that we are gonna fall under the condemnation of God. God gave us circumcision. Circumcision marks us out as God's special people. It marks us out as a people that God has taken into relationship with himself. How can you say these things, Paul? The Jews believed that salvation is for Jews and that what makes them Jews is circumcision, the sign of the covenant. So Paul seeks to enforce what he has said by dismantling their confidence in circumcision. He says in verse 25, circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law. Circumcision was legislated again in the law of Moses, just as God had given that command to Abraham, it was repeated to the nation of Israel. in the law of Moses. But Paul says it only has value if you obey the law. Circumcision proclaimed that you belonged to God's people, but only on the condition, Paul is saying, that you obeyed the rest of the law. It proclaimed that you belonged to God's people on the condition that you were truly holy unto Him. Just think about the circumcision of Achan. What value was the circumcision of Achan? Achan's household was circumcised. What was the value of the circumcision of Achan's household? Achan disobeyed the clear instruction of God not to take the things from Jericho that were devoted to destruction. And because he disobeyed, God began to treat Israel like the Canaanites, not like his covenant people. And when it was identified that Achan was the one who had transgressed, then Achan was treated like the Canaanites who were to be destroyed. Not only Achan, but also his whole household. What value was their circumcision? Their circumcision had no value. It did not shield Achan and his family from the wrath of God, because they did not obey the command of God. So circumcision proclaimed you belong to God's people, but only on the condition, Paul is saying, that you obey the rest of the law, that you were truly holy unto him. Paul says in verse 25, if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. In other words, if you break the law, your circumcision does not mean anything to God. It does not shield you from the divine wrath that you deserve. Now today, many professing Christians trust other outward signs to shield them from God's wrath. It's not just the Jews who trusted in an outward sign to shield them from God's wrath. There are many professing Christians who trust their baptism. Baptism is a sign. Many professing Christians who trust their baptism to shield them from the wrath of God. I'm okay with God. I will be okay on Judgment Day because I've been baptized. Or there are professing Christians who trust in the sign of their church membership. I'm okay with God. Look it, I'm a member of a good church. I'll be okay on Judgment Day. I'm a member of a sound church. People put confidence in these outward signs. And this passage that undermines the Jew's confidence in the outward sign of circumcision should likewise undermine the confidence that any professing Christian is putting into an outward sign for right standing with God. Let's continue in verse 26. So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision. Paul talks here about a man who is uncircumcised, in other words, a Gentile. If a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, now obviously he's not talking about keeping the ceremonial law, because the ceremonial law included the command to be circumcised, which this person has not been. The man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, meaning the moral law. The law that is written on man's heart, according to verse 15 of this chapter. The moral law that is embodied in scripture, according to verse 20 of this chapter. He says, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Note that word regarded. It's an important word in the book of Romans. The first meaning of the Greek word translated regarded here is reckoned, counted. It's going to come up in chapter four, verse four, translated as credited, when Paul will say his faith is credited as righteousness. Here, the words used in this sentence, will not his uncircumcision be regarded or counted as circumcision. Okay, this means the divine judge will reckon such a Gentile as being circumcised in a member of God's people. He's not been physically circumcised, but the divine judge will count him as circumcised. If a man is uncircumcised, who is uncircumcised, keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Now, when Paul speaks of such a person, the question is, is he thinking in purely hypothetical terms, or does he have Christian Gentiles in mind? Well, to answer that question, we need to see that Paul keeps speaking of this person in verse 27. Notice what he says about this person in 27. Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. Paul does seem to have Christian Gentiles in mind when he talks about a man who is uncircumcised, keeping the precepts of the law. whose uncircumcision is regarded as circumcision. Someone who will condemn the Jew who has the written code and circumcision but has broken the law. It seems that Paul is speaking about Gentile Christians. He has them in mind. Why do I say that? For several reasons. First of all, what Paul said back in verses seven and 10 about the final judgment and some people doing good and seeking for glory, honor, and immortality by patience and well-doing was not purely hypothetical, but what he said there applies to the Christian. The second reason is that verse 29 here in this chapter speaks of circumcision of the heart by the spirit, something that the Gentile Christian has received. Every Christian has received the circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit. Another reason is that Romans chapter 8 verses 3 through 4 speak of how Christ has saved us so that we will fulfill the righteous requirement of the law. I put in your notes those verses from Romans 8. It says, for God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do, by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit." When we get there in Romans and study that, we will see that Paul is saying that we have been saved so that we will obey the righteous requirement of the law. We've not been saved just to be spared from hell, but we've been saved in order to become obedient to God, to become obedient to His law. And then another reason for interpreting our passage the way I am is that Romans 11.11 talks about how God intends for the salvation that He gives to Gentiles, in making Gentiles obedient to the law, how that is intended to make the Jews jealous. I put Romans 11, 11 in your text. So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means, rather, talking about the Jews, rather through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles so as to make Israel jealous. Paul has these things in mind when he writes chapter two. He has in mind that Christ has saved us so that the righteous requirement of the law would be fulfilled in the way that we begin to live, as we live a transformed life. He has in mind that God's purpose is to give the Gentiles the Holy Spirit and to make them obedient to him so that they will make the Jews jealous. as the Jews see that the Gentiles have the Messiah that was promised to the Jews. They have the Spirit who has been promised to the Jews. So I interpret this here in verses 26 and 27 this way. So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, Paul's thinking Gentile Christians will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision. Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. Now here Paul does not state how an uncircumcised man or really any man could be brought to keep the precepts of the law. He will teach us later that it is only through Christ, by the Spirit of God, who comes and indwells God's people, whose faith is in Christ. Let's continue on in verse 27. Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. These words turn upside down the belief of the Jews that in the final judgment, they would sit in judgment over the godless Gentiles. Paul is saying, it's going to be the other way around. Gentiles who do the law of God are going to condemn the Jews for their law-breaking Paul is saying that in the final judgment, the obedience of these righteous Gentiles will stand as accusatory evidence against the disobedient Jew. Paul uses this word condemned this way, and when he does so, he's following Jesus, because Jesus used the word condemned this way. In Matthew 12, verses 41 through 42, Jesus said, the men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jornah is here. The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Jesus is speaking about Gentiles who repented. Gentiles who believed in the God of Israel. And Jesus says that their response to the word of God and to the work of God is going to condemn the Jews who heard the preaching of Jesus and saw the miracles that Jesus performed, but did not repent, did not submit to God, but remained hard-hearted. And Paul is speaking very similar terms. Gentiles who keep the law will condemn the unbelieving Jew. In other words, by God's design, the obedience of the righteous Gentiles will highlight that the Jew is a lawbreaker, despite his great privileges of possessing the written law and the sign of circumcision, declaring that the Jew is without excuse before God. It's not saying that the Gentile is going to be the judge. God's the judge, and he's appointed Christ as the judge. But by God's design, they will be the evidence that is going to expose the Jews as lawbreakers, and that they are without excuse. Now, thinking about this first section, how could God disregard a Jew's circumcision, like verse 25 talks about? And how could God count an uncircumcised Gentile as circumcised as verse 26 says? Well, Paul will explain this in the second half of our paragraph. We can label the second half, the circumcision that really matters is circumcision of the heart. Look at verses 28 and 29. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical, But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man, but from God." I have a question that I put in the bulletin. What is meant here in verse 29 by the words, circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter? What do you think? Gabriel. So it talks about something that God does inside of us that marks us out as God's people, all right? Anyone else want to add to that? Kate. Right. Yes. The outward circumcision was a circumcision by the letter. As you say, the letter speaks of the written law of God. Abraham was circumcised in obedience to God's command, just as the nation of Israel would be outwardly circumcised in obedience to God's written law. But this circumcision, in contrast to that, is not something that we do. It's something that God does, the spirit of God does. Nobody circumcises their own hearts. using this kind of terminology. This is an act of the Spirit of God upon the human heart. Anything else anyone wants to add to that? I think we've covered it. Let's take a closer look at these two verses. Verses 28 and 29 speak of what a person is outwardly and what he is inwardly. The word outwardly occurs twice in verse 28. Notice both occurrences. No one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. The Greek word translated outwardly here literally means visibly. No one is a Jew who is merely one visibly, nor is circumcision visible and physical. In contrast to the outward, we have the inward in verse 29, but a Jew is one inwardly. Literally, the Greek word means hidden or secret. A Jew is one in the hidden parts, in the secret parts. And circumcision is a matter of the heart. Here the words of the heart are used synonymously with inwardly. What's the significance in the Bible of the heart? It's the inner part of a person that is hidden from other people, that is seen by God and God alone. So there's this contrast between who we are outwardly and who we are inwardly. What we are inwardly is something that only God sees and he sees completely. Now, Jesus spoke of what people are outwardly and inwardly. Turn with me back to Matthew chapter six. Matthew six is a very Jewish portion of preaching. It's part of the Sermon on the Mount. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew chapter six, verse one. Verse one, beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them. So here's the outward. For then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. There's that idea we have in our text, in secret, the inward person, so that your giving may be in secret. And your father who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others. So if they're outward again, surely I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And then go down to verse 16. 16. And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Again, outward. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. So Jesus is saying, be careful not to follow the example of the Pharisees. Their righteousness was an outward righteousness. Be careful about not doing your deeds of righteousness in order to be seen by men and to receive the praise of man. God sees you in secret. He knows who you really are. Be faithful to God when nobody is looking. Very, very important. Peter writes about the hidden person of the heart. 1 Peter 3, 4. But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. That's instruction to Christian women. It talks about the hidden person of the heart. Who we are on the inside. The real you. The part of you that's not external. that's not seen by other people, but God sees completely. The hidden person of the heart. May that be pleasing to God. You can come back to our text here. We see in Romans 2, 28 and 29, that the circumcision that counts in God's eyes is not the outward physical circumcision by the letter But the circumcision that counts in God's eyes is the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit. Now, when Paul is talking with unbelieving Jews here about the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, he is not talking to them about something that they were completely unfamiliar with. Because it was prophesied in the Old Testament. And they were looking forward to it. Deuteronomy 30 verse 6 is in your notes. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live. Very clear. God will circumcise your heart so that you will love him with all of your being, so that you will fulfill the law of God. The implication is, apart from this, you can't really fulfill the law. To fulfill the law, you need God to circumcise your heart, and He's promising He will. Also in the Old Testament, we see promises of the Holy Spirit. Joel 2.28, and it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. That's in the days of Messiah. I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, on all types of people. And Ezekiel brings these together. Ezekiel brings together the circumcision of the heart and the work of the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 36 verse 25b, and from all your idols I will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. That is the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit. We don't have the word circumcision here, but it's the same concept. This is what's being referred to in Deuteronomy as the circumcision of the heart, where the Holy Spirit removes the heart of stone, the old heart, and He replaces it with a heart of flesh, a new heart. And He comes in and He takes up residence within the person. so that they will walk in God's commandments. They have disobeyed him, but the Holy Spirit will circumcise the hearts so that God's people will obey him. The Spirit will cause you to walk in his statutes and to be careful to obey his rules. Now understand the imagery here. Circumcision of the hearts. This is a surgery performed on the heart by the Spirit in which the old heart is cut away and replaced with a new one. The circumcision of the heart by the Spirit. Now, what we see in our text here in Romans, is that in God's eyes, the true sign that a person knows him in a saving way is a circumcised heart. Physical circumcision was a sign that you were a part of God's people. And what Paul is saying is in God's eyes, the outward sign is of no value if you don't obey the law, that in God's eyes, the true sign that a person knows him in a saving way is a circumcised heart. Now in saying this, Paul does not deny the privilege of outward circumcision. Just look at the next two verses, chapter three, verses one and two. Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision much in every way? To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. Paul's saying outward circumcision was a good gift from God. It had value. But he's saying, that if there's not a corresponding circumcision of the heart, then it does no value to make you right with God. Without the circumcision of the heart, the gifts of the law and outward circumcision cannot produce true obedience from the heart. No matter how much you read the written law of God, no matter how much you memorize it, No matter how much you resolve to obey it, unless you have the Holy Spirit inside of you, you cannot obey. Because as Paul is going to make clear later on, apart from the work of the Spirit in the heart, we are slaves to sin. We're in bondage to sin because of our fallen condition in rebellion against God. In this rebellious state, no matter how much we hear the law of God, no matter how much we study it, no matter how much we say we will obey it, we cannot apart from the Spirit of God within us who has given us a new heart. It is the gift of the Spirit acting on the new heart that produces obedience to God's commands. Obedience to God's commands never come from the flesh. They never come from self. It's always the result of the Spirit of God working graciously upon the new heart that he has implanted. Works that are truly good are the outflow of the Spirit's inward work. And Paul's already pointing us to these truths here at the end of chapter two. Works that are truly good are the outflow of the Spirit's inward work. Since circumcision was what chiefly identified Jews as Jews, Paul says what he does in verses 28 to 29 about who is a Jew. He says in 28, no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly. And in 29, he says a Jew is one inwardly. He says this because circumcision was what chiefly identified the Jews as Jews. Those who have been circumcised merely outwardly, Paul is saying, are not truly Jews in the sense of having a right relationship with God. Outwardly, they appear to have a relationship with God. They have the sign of the covenant on their body. They hold on to the written law of God, they follow the ceremonial law, but that's just outward. On the inside, in the place that really counts, there is no true relationship with God. Now usually when the Bible uses the term Jew, it uses it in the sense of being a Jew outwardly. you're gonna really run into interpretive problems. If you take what verses 28 and 29 say about who is a Jew, and you impose this definition on every occurrence of the word Jew in the Bible, you're gonna really be confused. Because usually in the Bible, the word Jew is used of one who is a Jew outwardly. What Paul is saying here is being one outwardly doesn't do any good when it comes to judgment day. Being one outwardly will not shield you from the wrath of God. You must be one inwardly in order to have a right relationship with God. You must be one inwardly in order to stand before God on judgment day. Now, our text ends in the end of verse 29 with these words, his praise, that is the praise received by the person whose heart has been circumcised by the Spirit, his praise is not from man, but from God. Talking about the praise that will come from God on the final day. If you look back at chapter two, verse 10, Paul spoke of that praise when he said that there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. The commendation of God on that final day of judgment. Jesus put it this way, well done, good and faithful servant. Paul says his praise, the one who is circumcised in the heart by the spirit, his praise on the final day is not from man, but from God. Praise from man is based on the outward. Praise from man is temporal. Praise from man can be quite misleading. Jesus said in Luke 16, verses 14 and 15, Luke says, the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, that's the teaching of Jesus, and they ridiculed Jesus. And he said to them, you are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts, for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. The Pharisees justified themselves, even though they were not lovers of God, they were lovers of money. That was what was on the inside. No love for God, love for money. Money was their master. Money was their God. But they sought to justify themselves before men. We saw what Jesus said about their outward prayers, their outward fasting and so forth. Jesus says, God knows your hearts. What is exalted among men, Their prayers were exalted among men, their fasting was exalted among men, their giving was exalted among men. What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. So if you're just looking at your outward, those religious things that you do outwardly, the things you do for God on the outside, and you think that those exalt you, that those give you a right standing with God, Do they commend you to God? Jesus says that in God's sight, they're an abomination, because they don't come from a heart that's been circumcised by the Spirit of God. They come from a heart that is enslaved to sin and self. So Paul says, the one who's been circumcised in the heart by the Spirit, his praise is not from man, but from God. The praise that is from God is based on the inward. The praise that is from God is eternal. The praise from God is true. Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote, it is a very simple thing to impress men. You can impress men as a preacher, as a teacher, and as a moral person. They see only the outside. They see only the mechanics, the performance. They do not see the hearts. They do not see the Spirit. They know nothing about the inner man, but God sees the heart. How do we apply today's passage? There's at least three ways. First of all, we need to consider what do you look to as evidence that you have a right standing with God? Do you look to the fact that you know the Bible? Or do you look to your baptism? Or do you look to your church membership? Or do you look to the circumcision of your heart by the Spirit of God? That's the only right place to find evidence of a right standing with God. Has your heart been changed by the Spirit of God? Has that heart of stone been removed from you by the Holy Spirit? Has he given you a new heart, a new nature? A nature that hates sin, loves God, delights in the law of God. Has he given you a new heart? A heart that's that produces obedience to God in a growing way. That's the right evidence that you have a right standing with God. The circumcision of the heart by the Spirit. These other things can very much mislead you. The second question is, has your heart been circumcised by the Spirit of God as he has worked in you through the gospel? This is always how the Spirit does it. He brings about this regeneration, this new birth, this circumcision of the heart, different biblical terms for the same work of the Spirit. He brings it about as he impresses on your heart the gospel message. He doesn't do it apart from the gospel message. We saw in Romans 1, verse 16, that the gospel of God is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes. It's always through the gospel that God saves. And as the Spirit takes the gospel, and he enables you to understand the gospel, and he opens your eyes to see the serious nature of your sin against God, and he convicts you of that, and he opens your eyes to see the glories of Christ, and the perfections of Christ's atonement, and the perfections of Christ's saving work, as he does so, when he does so in a saving way, he changes your heart. He takes out that heart of flesh, he replaces it with a, takes out the heart of stone, he replaces it with a heart of flesh. And the first evidence that he has circumcised your heart is you repent of your sin and you believe in Jesus. And then obedience follows that. Has your heart been circumcised by the Spirit of God? Unless you're born of the Spirit, you will never see the kingdom of God. And then the third question for application is, in your evangelizing, do you proclaim the need for one's heart to be circumcised by the Spirit? You don't have to use that terminology. You could use other biblical terminology. But you need to teach this concept in evangelism. You must proclaim the need to be born from above, the need to be born of the Spirit, to be born again by the Spirit of God, to be regenerated by the Spirit of God. This is part of the gospel message. We can't leave it out. Do you have any questions about anything that we've looked at tonight or comments to edify us? Yes, Carol. Yes. We are human beings. We are human beings. Right, the Bible never speaks of Christians as being Jews. That's absolutely correct. It does speak of us having hearts that are circumcised by the Spirit. So the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit is for Jew or Gentile alike, but the Christian is never called a Jew. Right, right. Right, right. Yes. What we're seeing here does not mean there's no longer any distinction between Jew and Gentile. Several different times in Romans, Paul talks about first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Like the gospel is the power of God for salvation first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Paul would take the gospel first to the Jew then to the Gentile. We've seen in chapter 2 that judgment will be first to the Jew then to the Gentile. And in chapter 10 and 11 we will see that God is focusing salvation right now on the Gentiles in order to make the Jews jealous so that In the last days, or at the end of the last days, the Jews will turn to Jesus as their Messiah, as their Savior. And in this way, God will fulfill all of his Old Testament promises. So yes, the Christian does not replace the Jew. Kasha. Yes. Yes, yes. So the circumcision of the heart is an inward reality that we cannot see, but it produces visible fruit. It produces visible evidence. It manifests itself in a visible way that's growing over time in the Christian life. So the fact that some appear to have fruit but then fall away shows us that the fruit is best evaluated from the standpoint of the final judgment day looking back. Then it becomes clear what the nature of that fruit is. Is it genuine fruit or not? Anyone else? Questions, comments? These can be difficult things to understand. They can be confusing at first, but they can be understood as we study and we search the scriptures. So I hope this has been very helpful to each of you to better understand this important passage. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do Thank you so much that you sent Jesus for us. Your beloved Son, very God of very God, who in love for us became flesh, became man, and obeyed you, Father, to the point of death, even death on a cross. humbled himself to that point. And we thank you for raising your son from the grave on the third day and for the salvation that you give in Christ. Oh Lord, by the working of your spirit, may everyone in this room be in Christ and saved from the wrath that is to come. And Lord, make us faithful in proclaiming the gospel to others and warning people who are religious, who are familiar with the scriptures, yet do not truly know you, that apart from the circumcision of the heart by the spirit, they will perish in their religiosity. Lord, may we be in our hearts of what you call us in your commandments to be by the work of your spirit for your glory. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.