Circumcision and salvation

Circumcision of the Heart¹
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Dr. Paul Manuel—2001

Perhaps more than any other aspect of Torah, circumcision has negative connotations in Christian circles. It is the ultimate expression of legalism and the antithesis of grace. Indeed, some of Paul's statements appear to support this evaluation, or at least the conclusion that circumcision has lost whatever significance it once had.

Rom 3:1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? ...30 [T]here is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.

1 Cor 7:18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19a Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing.

Gal 5:6a For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.

Gal 6:15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything;

Col 3:11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

In fact, circumcision can actually be detrimental to one's relationship with God.

Gal 5:2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.

Is Paul countermanding divine instruction in the Old Testament concerning circumcision, or is he rather concerned with a misunderstanding of the practice? To answer that question, one must first establish what the Old Testament teaches about circumcision.

God instituted circumcision as a "sign of the covenant" and intended it to be a permanent rite for Abraham's descendants. Failing to continue this practice is a violation of the covenant and excludes the individual from Israel.

Gen 17:10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."²

Although originating in pre-mosaic legislation,³ God repeats the injunction in the Sinaitic covenant, affirming its abiding validity for His people.⁴

Lev 12:3 On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised.

In contrast to the importance of circumcision, "uncircumcised" became a term of derision in Israel,⁵ the male foreskin was reduced to a war trophy,⁶ and to be in the final company of the uncircumcised was the fate of the wicked.⁷ Moreover, God affirms His own disdain for the uncircumcised by stating that He will prohibit them from entering Jerusalem.

Isa 52:1 Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again.

This negative attitude led many Jews to avoid contact with gentiles, a situation that strained relationships in the early church.

Acts 11:2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."

Gal 2:12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

Jewish believers were understandably surprised that God would offer salvation to gentiles, and even more that He would give them the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.

This attitude also contributed to a misunderstanding among Jewish believers (for whom circumcision was a fait accompli) that the practice had soteriological implications, causing some to advocate circumcision as a requirement for salvation.

Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." ...5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

It was this misunderstanding that Paul opposed in his letters. To the church in Rome he cites the example of Abraham, whom God justified before the institution of circumcision, and asserts that circumcision has no bearing on salvation.⁸

Rom 4:9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Paul knew that circumcision signified an individual's participation not only in the Abrahamic covenant but also in the Sinaitic covenant, whose requirements were much more extensive.⁹

Rom 2:25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.

Gal 5:3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

God made circumcision incumbent on Jews, which is why John, Jesus, and Paul underwent the procedure, and which may account, in part, for Timothy's circumcision.¹⁰ God does not, however, require circumcision of gentiles, which is why Titus was exempt.¹¹ Therefore, modern Christians must view Paul's apparent derogation of circumcision in the context of the debate over its requirement for salvation. He was not implying that circumcision was invalid, simply that it had no relationship to salvation and that his readers, especially those to whom God had not given circumcision, should concentrate on more important matters.¹²

Another aspect of circumcision that Christians often fail to understand is a figurative use of the term in the phrase "circumcision of the heart." Some assume this is a New Testament alternative to the Old Testament rite, but the figure is actually an OT concept, one that forms a necessary adjunct to the literal practice.

The physical act of circumcision signifies an individual's participation in the Abrahamic covenant but does not guarantee a close relationship to God later in life, and God metaphorically attributes failure to cultivate such a relationship to an "uncircumcised heart.¹³

Lev 26:40 But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers—their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, 41 Which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, 42 1 will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.

God also says that He will judge those whose sole indication of a relationship to Him is what happened when they were infants.

Jer 9:25 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh—"

By the same token, God designates an inward attitude of humility and devotion that corresponds to the outward sign as "circumcision of the heart," a state Moses, Jeremiah, and Paul enjoin.¹⁴

Deut 10: 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.

Je, 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done—burn with no one to quench it.

Rom 2:28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

One is not an alternative to the other; God demands both, and only those who meet these conditions may enter the (earthly) sanctuary.

Ezek 44:7 In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant.... 9 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites.

At times, Paul seems to advocate spiritual (metaphorical) circumcision instead of physical circumcision, but again his concern is to counter the latter's improper extension to the soteriological realm.

Rom 2:26 If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

Col 2:11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ.... 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave its all our sins,

Physical circumcision for gentile believers is unnecessary for salvation. The practice has religious significance only for those who wish to join Israel and participate fully in the covenant. So-called spiritual circumcision ("of the heart") is a product of salvation. It has religious significance for all who cultivate a close relationship with God, for Jews as well as for gentiles.

For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.