The Heart Knows

For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? (Romans 2:25-26)

God established the sign of a covenant with Abram called circumcision in the seventeenth chapter of Genesis. Circumcision was the outward sign of God’s relationship with the Jewish people. However, Paul emphasized in Romans 2:25-26 that circumcision in the New Covenant would only matter if someone were to keep the entire law. The law covered a lot of things, like how you worshipped, what you wore, what you ate and drank, and many more things.

Paul said that anyone who followed the law completely would benefit from the law, but everyone knew the law was impossible to fully keep. The good news is that we are no longer under the law. Outward actions, such as circumcision, do not make us righteous in the eyes of God. What matters to God today is the state of our hearts and what pleases God is faith.

In Paul’s day, even Gentiles without the law knew the difference between right and wrong. My youngest grandchild is two, and she knows right and wrong. So, no one can claim they didn’t know what they did was wrong, because inside everyone really knows. When people choose to sin, they decide to push down the voice of their conscience. They ignore it or even fight it because they want to do what they want to do, but their hearts know it is wrong.

Practical Application

Pay close attention to the condition of your heart. Are you truly following the principles of righteousness or are you just going through the motions? Are you truly living a life that is pleasing to God, or are you just trying to impress others?

Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 9:25