Circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter (Romans 3:17-29)By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce

Circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter (Romans 3:17-29)  

By Rev.Katherine Liu Bruce   

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel music                      6/10/2026

 

Scriptures reading Romans 3:17-29

 The condemnation of the Jew

 ¹²For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; ¹³(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. ¹⁴For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:¹⁵ Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) ¹⁶ In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. (v.16)

¹⁷Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, ¹⁸And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; ¹⁹And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, ²⁰An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. ²¹Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?  ²²Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? ²³Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? ²⁴For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. ²⁵For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

²⁶Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? ²⁷And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? ²⁸For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: ²⁹But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

 

Verse 14 The nature of man, as created by God, was originally good and corresponded with God and with His law. Although it was poisoned by the fall, this good nature remains within man. Hence, if anyone lives according to his nature and does by his nature the things of the law, the evil in him will be restricted. Do by nature The interaction of conscience and innate morality may result in a good life. To such persons God sends the gospel (Acts 4:12;Rom.10:4).

Verse 15 Man’s conscience corresponds with the God- created human nature and enables man to know what God justifies and what He condemns.

Verse 17 You call yourself a Jew. The failure of the Jew makes him blamable because of privileges he had in the law and the promises of God. He could and should have become a guide and light to those in darkness(v.19). In this section, which specifically deals with God’s condemnation on the religious, Paul first points out the pitful condition of the Jews, who represent the religious people. They have one the vanity of their religious riturals, letters, and knowledge; they do not have God as their reality. In the Jewish religion God is known only outwardly and objectively, not inwardly and subjectively.This shows the vanity of humanre ligion.

Verse 21 That the religious people practice the same evils as the unreligious exposes the vanity of their religion.

Verse 25 you have become as though you had not been circumcised. I.e., a Jewish lawbreaker stands before God in the same place as a pagan.Paul emphasizes that the Jewish law was impossible to keep perfectly. 

Verse 28 Lit., For the Jew in what is manifest is not a Jew; neither is the circumcision in what is manifest in the flesh circumcision. Outwardly any religious practice, such as circumcision, that is merely an outward form is not real.

Verse 29 But he is a Jew Lit., But the Jew in what is hidden is a Jew. In spirit Whatever we are, whatever we do, an dwhatever we have must be in spirit. This will keep us from the vanity of religion. The reality of all spiritual things depends on the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God is in our Spirit. Hence, the reality of all spiritual matters depends on our spirit, not on anything apart from our spirit. Whatever is in us is vanity unless it is in our spirit. Everything that God is to us is in our spirit. circumcision is circumcision of the heart. Circumcision is used in three senses in this passage: 1) it stands for the Jews (note that not circumcised in v.27 means Gentiles; (Gen.17:10);2) it indicates the physical rite commanded in the law (v.25a  and Lev.12:3);3) it represents a life that is separated from the flesh and unto God (v.17 and Deut.10:16). In Acts 16:3 The Jerusalem council had declared that circumcision was not necessary for salvation or for acceptance into the Christian church (Acts 15:19), but because of Timothy’s part-Jewish background it seemed expedient in his case, in order to enlarge his local usefulness in witnessing. In the case of Gentile Titus, Paul insisted that he not be circumcised (Gal.2:3).

Paul stood up for the absolute truth that it was the faith of Abrabam, not circumcision, that caused God to establish His covenant with him and his seed. The covenant was given to Abraham some 13 years before circumcision. Through Isaac, Abraham’s son, circumcision became the sign or the seal of the covenant and it was carried over by Moses into the Law. Later, the children of Israel took circumcision and made it somethings it was not. Instaed of taking it as the sign going back to the faith of Abraham, which brought him into covenant with God; they made it a means in itself, an outward act that bound them together as a race. They were taken into captivity not because they stopped the rite of circumcision, but because they got out of faith and obedience to God and broke His Covenant with them.

The great prophets, like Ezekiel, began to prophesy of a new kind of circumcision, a New Covenant which would crate in them a “new heart” (Ezekiel 36:26). Not the circumcision of the flesh but of the heart. God would replace physical circumcision with a New Heart. The old heart of outward circumcision could not save God’s people, only a new heart would save them. Not a transplant, but a totally new heart created by Jesus as He cut the New Covenant by His shed blood on the cross. We can say, “Thank you, God, for taking away my old heart of sin and making me a new creature in Jesus Christ” (2Corinthians5:17). Paul says he is not a Jew who is one outwardly through circumcision, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, which is a new heart; in the spirit and not in the letter of the Law, whose praise is not of men but of God. Christ who now lives in us has brought us into a personal relationship with God. To have the new heart brought by faith through the New Covenant is the greatest thing in the world.

 

Bibliography,

 

Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller et al., eds. Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament.1^st ed. Victoria BC: Trafford Publishing, 2005.

 

            King James, The Holy Bible, Cleveland, OH: The world publishing company

                       

            Lee, Witness. The New Testament (R.V.) Anaheim, CA: Living Stream Ministry, 1985.

          

            Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie study Bible (NIV).Chicago, IL: The Moody Bible Institute, 1986.