Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the book of Genesis.
And we're in chapter 17 this morning.
Genesis chapter 17.
If this is your first time with us or first time in a while,
we're walking through the book of Genesis and we've come to chapter 17.
If you don't have a copy of God's Word with you, that's okay.
We should have one in a seat back nearby, somewhere close by you,
and you're welcome to use that copy of God's Word this morning.
But we're in Genesis chapter 17, and when you've found it,
let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.
When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
I am God Almighty.
Walk before me and be blameless,
that I may make my covenant between me and you,
and may multiply you greatly.
Then Abram fell on his face, and God said to him,
Behold, my covenant is with you,
and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
No longer shall your name be called Abram,
but your name shall be Abraham,
for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful,
and I will make you into nations,
and kings shall come from you.
And I will establish my covenant between me and you,
and your offspring after you,
throughout their generations,
for an everlasting covenant,
to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
And I will give to you and to your offspring after you,
the land of your sojournings,
all the land of Canaan,
for an everlasting possession,
and I will be their God.
And 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 it 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.
And God said to Abraham,
As for Sarai, your wife,
you shall not call her name Sarai,
but Sarah shall be her name.
I will bless her,
and moreover,
I will give you a son by her.
I will bless her,
and she shall become nations.
Kings of peoples shall come from her.
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed
and said to himself,
Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?
Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old,
bear a child?
And Abraham said to God,
Oh, that Ishmael might live before you.
God said,
No, but Sarah, your wife,
shall bear you a son,
and you shall call his name Isaac.
I will establish my covenant with him
as an everlasting covenant
for his offspring after him.
As for Ishmael,
I have heard you.
Behold,
I have blessed him
and will make him fruitful
and multiply him greatly.
He shall father twelve princes,
and I will make him into a great nation.
But I will establish my covenant with Isaac,
whom Sarah shall bear to you
at this time next year.
When he had finished talking with him,
God went up from Abraham.
Then Abraham took Ishmael,
his son,
and all those born in his house
or bought with his money,
every male among the men of Abraham's house.
And he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins
that very day,
as God had said to him.
Abraham was ninety-nine years old
when he was circumcised
in the flesh of his foreskin.
And Ishmael, his son,
was thirteen years old
when he was circumcised
in the flesh of his foreskin.
That very day,
Abraham and his son Ishmael
were circumcised.
And all the men of his house,
those born in the house
and those bought with money
from a foreigner,
were circumcised with him.
The grass withers
and the flower fades,
but the word of the Lord
endures forever.
Father, we praise you
for your word.
And we pray this morning
that as we look at promises made,
God, would you give us
patient faith.
Lord, would you lead us
to walk before you
and be blameless.
And ultimately, Father,
would you lead us
to look to Christ by faith
this morning.
And it's in his name
that we pray.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Tomorrow is kind of
a big day for me.
I shared in the
Grow Class hour
this morning
in Sunday school
that tomorrow
is going to mark
thirteen years of marriage
for Amanda
and myself.
Our marriage has officially
entered the teenage years.
For some of you,
that's not saying much.
I know you've been married
much longer than that.
Some of you
married less than a week.
Thirteen years ago
seems like a long time
to me.
I don't remember a lot
from thirteen years ago,
but I'll tell you
one thing that I remember
with just vivid clarity
was the process
of picking out
the perfect engagement ring
for my soon-to-be bride.
And those of you
who have proposed before
understand that process.
You go through
all the catalogs.
You visit all
the jewelry shops.
You go through
cut, clarity,
carrot,
all the four or five C's
of picking out
the perfect ring.
I wanted to pick something
that she would love
to have on her finger
forever
and never ever
want to take it off.
And then I remember
the first time
that she put my ring
on my finger.
It felt kind of weird
at first,
a little unnatural.
Now it's,
I hardly even notice it.
It's kind of a part of me.
I rarely ever,
if ever,
take it off.
But I wonder
if you've ever thought
about why we do
that whole thing
in the first place.
Why do we go through
the process
of purchasing a ring
and putting it
on your spouse's finger?
And what's the big idea
beyond the wedding ring
besides just a photo opportunity
or to brag
and show it off
to your friends?
Well,
that ring,
yes,
it's beautiful.
Yes,
it's valuable.
But it also serves
an important function,
doesn't it?
That wedding ring
on our finger
is a sign
of the covenant
that you have made
with your spouse.
It's kind of shorthand
for the vows,
shorthand for the promises
that you've made.
So it's a reminder
of the promises
that you've made to her
and she has made to you.
It points us
to our promises
and our responsibilities.
It's a symbol.
It's a sign
of the covenant
that you made
in marriage.
In many ways,
as we come to our passage
this morning here
in Genesis chapter 17,
we can see
that the same
is true
for circumcision.
Circumcision,
biblically speaking,
is a sign
of the covenant
that God has made
with Abram.
And you know,
you may have noticed
as you read
through your Bible,
the Bible talks
about circumcision
kind of a lot.
And so this may be
a little bit
of an uncomfortable thing
to talk about
this morning,
but we kind of
got to get used to it
as you read your Bible.
It's a little bit strange
if you're not used to it.
Now y'all,
I read this passage
to my boys this week,
right?
They had a lot of questions
that came up
about this passage.
What in the world
is going on here?
And the Bible talks
about circumcision
almost a hundred times.
And it's not just
an Old Testament topic.
It's brought up frequently
in the New Testament
as well.
But you know,
even if you're
a more mature believer
in the room this morning,
I would be willing
to bet that you probably
have some questions too.
What is this all about?
And so this morning
as we come to Genesis
chapter 17,
I want us to understand
the sign of circumcision.
And what we'll see
is three functions
of the sign.
This will be our outline
this morning
if you're a note taker.
We're going to see
three functions
of the sign
of circumcision
here in Genesis 17.
First,
we see circumcision
is a promise.
It is a promise.
It really is a reminder
of all of God's promises.
Like a wedding ring,
it's a symbol,
it's shorthand
for the promises
that God made to Abram.
And we know that Abram
needs to be reminded
of God's promises,
don't we?
We've seen over and over
and over again
this delay in fulfillment
has led Abram to doubt.
He needs reassurances
of God's promises.
Look there to verse 1
with me,
chapter 17.
It kind of gives
this time marker here.
It says,
verse 1 tells us
all of this happens
when Abram was 99 years old,
which means,
if you're keeping track,
this has been 25 years now
since Genesis chapter 12.
25 years of waiting
from the time
when God first spoke
to Abram
and first made
these promises to him
all the way to this point
when God is reaffirming them
by the sign
of circumcision.
Between last chapter
and this chapter
and this chapter,
it's been 13 years
of waiting.
Now these chapters
are just back to back
to back in our Bible.
We can read them
sitting down
maybe in about 10 minutes
total,
but we should recognize
that from chapter 12
here to chapter 17,
this represents
25 years
of Abram's life.
So far as we know,
it's been 13 years
since God last appeared
and last spoke.
I mean,
that's a long time
to wait.
Abram's not getting
any younger.
Sarai is not getting
any younger.
She's still barren.
The promises have
yet to be fulfilled
and again,
Abram here needs
to be reassured.
God,
will you do
what you've promised?
So,
verse 1 says,
the Lord
appeared to Abram
and he reveals himself
by a new name here.
He says,
I am God
Almighty.
El Shaddai.
God reminds Abram
that I am powerful
to fulfill my word.
I am God Almighty.
Nothing's too hard for me.
Don't focus so much
on your weakness
and your inability
and your struggle.
Focus instead on me
and my strength
and my power.
I am God Almighty.
I will do
what I promise.
You know,
that's what faith is,
by the way.
Faith is looking
away from yourself,
away from your ability
and inability,
away from your weakness
and looking in trust
to the power of God.
Faith is clinging
to the promises of God,
not what we can do,
but what He alone
is able to do.
God comes,
He appears,
and He speaks.
He commands Abram,
walk before me
and be blameless
that I may make my covenant
between me and you
and may multiply you greatly.
And what does Abram do
in response?
He falls on his face.
That's the right response
to the presence of the Lord,
by the way.
He falls flat on his face
in reverence
and in fear
and in awe
and in worship.
And God again,
once again,
reaffirms His covenant
with Abram.
You wonder,
13 years has gone by.
What,
what's God gonna do now?
What is God gonna,
gonna say now?
It's been 13 years, God.
What are you gonna give me now?
God comes
and He simply reaffirms
yet again
the very same promises
He's already made.
Verses 4 through 8
are basically just a repeat
of what we've already seen
and heard.
You remember chapter 12?
God calls Abram.
He promises to multiply
His offspring,
to give them the land of Canaan,
to make Him an agent
of blessing to the whole world.
Chapter 15,
God appears.
He confirms these promises
in a covenant.
And now,
chapter 17,
He gives this visible,
tangible sign
of the promises.
But notice again,
it's all essentially
the same promise,
isn't it?
This is not a new covenant
made with Abram.
It's the same promises
that He's been waiting for
for the last 25 years.
Only now,
He gives a sign.
He puts a ring
on Abram's finger,
so to speak,
to remind him
of the promises.
Well,
let's remind ourselves
this morning.
What are they?
What are the promises
God's made?
You can think about it
basically in three categories
here,
the promises God makes
to Abram.
It's a promise
of posterity,
a promise of place,
and a promise
of prosperity.
Promise of posterity,
prosperity,
and place.
God,
here in verse 4,
look there with me.
He reaffirms this promise
of posterity,
offspring.
Behold,
verse 4,
my covenant is with you.
You shall be the father
of a multitude
of nations.
And God affirms this
by giving Abram
a new name here,
doesn't He?
No longer shall you
be called Abram,
which means great father,
but now your name
will be Abraham,
which means father
of a multitude.
I will make you
exceedingly fruitful,
verse 6,
and I will make you
into nations,
and kings shall come
from you.
Now that's new information,
isn't it?
Kings shall come
for you.
This is a new development.
And we see
a royal promise.
Kings now will come
from the line of Abram.
That's the posterity
promise.
God reaffirms
the promise of prosperity
here in verse 7.
This is blessing,
a promise of blessing.
I will establish
my covenant
between me and you
and your offspring
after you
throughout their generations
for an everlasting covenant
to be God to you
and to your offspring
after you.
What's the blessing?
What's the prosperity?
The prosperity promised here.
It is God himself.
God promises
to be their God,
to be with them
as their God.
We call this
the Emmanuel principle.
It's God with us.
God commits
to be with
the offspring of Abram
and for them.
His presence
will go with them
as their God.
God,
this is the primary blessing
of this covenant.
Everything else
is icing on the cake.
But he goes on
and he reaffirms
yet again
this promise
of a place
here in verse 8.
I will give you
and your offspring
after you
the land
of your sojournings,
all the land
of Canaan
for an everlasting
possession.
And again,
he says,
I will be
their God.
So you see
these three
categories here.
Again,
God reaffirms
his promise
of people,
prosperity,
and place.
And would you just
notice the emphasis
here?
This emphatic
language of God,
I will multiply
you, Abram,
not just a little bit,
but greatly.
Not just nations,
but a multitude
of nations.
I won't make you
just fruitful,
but exceedingly fruitful.
This isn't just
a covenant,
it's an everlasting
covenant.
25 years
later,
Abram may have
some issues here
understanding how
God's going to do
this,
but God has not
wavered one bit,
has he?
God has not
backed down
off of his promise.
He's doubling
down here.
Church,
we should take note
here,
just for a moment
as we apply this
to us.
Do not let
the delay
between God's
promise
and fulfillment
lead you
to doubt.
Do not let
the delay
between God's
promise
and fulfillment
put you
in a state
of distress.
God is
not
slow
to fulfill
his promises.
Two thousand
years
since Christ
came,
and he promised
he's coming
back.
He promised
us
Christ
will come
back.
He will
crush the
serpent.
He will
end evil
for good.
He will
put an
end to
sin.
He will
renew
all things.
Death,
grief,
pain,
sin,
sorrow,
all of it
is gone
for good.
When will
it happen,
Lord?
This delay
between promise
and fulfillment
can easily
lead us
to doubt,
can easily
lead us
to distress.
Our God
who stands
outside of
time is
just as
committed to
his word
25 years
later,
2,000 years
later,
as he was
the moment
he first
spoke his
promise.
But we
need to be
reminded often.
So here,
knowing this,
God gives
Abram a
sign of
the promise,
a reminder
in his
flesh,
the sign
of circumcision.
Just as I
can look at
my wedding
ring and
see this
reminder,
I belong
to my
wife,
she belongs
to me,
we have
promised to
be faithful
to each
other,
we have
promised to
love one
another,
so now
Abram and
his offspring
after him
can see,
can look at
this physical
sign of
circumcision
and remember
God's
promises made
to them.
But it also
goes the
other way.
The second,
we see,
yes,
circumcision is
a promise,
but second,
circumcision is
a prescription.
The sign
itself is
a responsibility
for Abraham.
It's not just
what God
will do
for Abraham,
it's also
what Abraham
and his
offspring
must do
in order to
enjoy all of
these blessings.
Look there
to verse 9.
God says
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.
Here it is.
Every male
among you
must be
circumcised.
You shall be
circumcised in
the flesh of
your foreskins,
it 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 in
with your
money from
any foreigner
who is not
of your
offspring,
they all
must be
circumcised.
Verse 14
says,
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.
Now that's
some clever
language,
isn't it?
You notice
that play on
words there
with this
cutting
language,
right?
In the
ancient world
when they
made a
covenant,
they didn't
just make
a covenant,
the language
they used
was they
cut a
covenant.
And here
God says,
I'm cutting
a covenant
with you
Abraham,
and you
must cut
off,
or you
will be
cut off.
This is
not optional,
is it?
That raises
an important
question though,
doesn't it?
Is this
covenant
conditional
or is it
not?
Theologians
debate this
sort of thing.
This might not
be interesting
to you,
but theologians
sort of get
boxed up
in these
categories.
Is this
conditional
or is it
unconditional?
Is it
bilateral?
Is it
unilateral?
Let's just
try and keep
it simple
here.
I think
the best
way to
understand
what's
happening
here is
to simply
say what
the Bible
clearly
says.
It is
pretty clear
to me
there are
conditions.
Abram
must do
this.
Cut off
or be
cut off.
It's not
optional.
And at
the same
time,
it is
clear,
God
will make
certain
that the
promises
of the
covenant
are fulfilled.
One way
to think
about it
is that
God
will
certainly
fulfill
his
promises,
but not
every
individual
offspring
of
Abraham
will
get
to
enjoy
them.
Why?
Because as
you read
on in
your
Bibles,
they
break
covenant
with the
Lord.
God
does
everything
he
promises.
He
brings
Israel
out of
Egypt.
He
multiplies
the
offspring.
He
brings
them
into
the
land
of
Canaan.
Eventually,
praise
God,
he brings
about
the
promised
Messiah
through
the
line
of
Abram.
the
Bible
is
abundantly
clear.
God
has
fulfilled
every
promise
made
to
Abraham.
But for
Abram
and his
descendants
to enjoy
these
blessings,
they
must
obey
this
command.
You
must
be
circumcised.
In
fact,
as you
read on
and see
in the
book of
the
law,
we see
circumcision
becomes
shorthand
for the
whole
law.
The
law is
not
unclear,
is it?
It
is do
this
and
live.
Obey
my
law
and
you'll
get to
enjoy
the
blessing
in the
land.
You'll
get to
be my
people.
But
disobey,
break my
covenant,
you will
be
exiled,
just like
Adam and
Eve in
the
garden
were
exiled.
And
of course,
what
happens?
They
break a
covenant,
and they're
sent away.
God
guarantees
what he
will do,
but there
is a
condition
here for
Abram
and his
offspring
to enjoy
it,
not just
his
physical
offspring
either.
Look,
look here.
Notice here
that from the
beginning,
this covenant
is open to
the nations.
Did you
notice that?
It is not
just the
physical
descendants of
Abram,
it's also
those who are
brought in
from the
outside,
from the
very beginning,
God's plan
is to bless
the world,
and he will
do it.
But at
the very
same time,
we see
there is
a condition.
They must
meet this
condition in
order to
enjoy these
blessings.
You can
imagine,
even still,
after all
these
reassurances,
all these
appearings,
all these
promises,
reassured,
reaffirmed,
Abram here,
99 years
old, he
still has
to be
wondering,
God,
how will
you do
it?
how in
the world
are you
going to
multiply
me
and my
offspring?
So here
again,
look at
verse 15.
Yet again,
God reaffirms
the promise.
God said
to Abraham,
as for
Sarai,
your wife,
you shall
not call
her name
Sarai,
but Sarah
shall be
her name.
I will
bless her,
and moreover,
I will give
you a son
by her.
I will
bless her,
she shall
become
nations,
kings of
peoples shall
come from
her.
And once
again,
what does
Abram do?
He falls
on his
face,
only this
time he's
not
worshipping,
what's he
doing?
Verse 17,
Abram falls
on his
face and
he laughs,
he can't
believe it.
Shall a
child be
born to
a man
who's
100
years old?
Are you
serious?
Shall
Sarah,
who is
90 years
old and
barren?
Is she
really going
to bear
a child?
God,
you've
got to
be
kidding
me.
Now,
I know
you keep
saying
this,
I know
you're
not backing
down off
of your
promise,
but this
is just
so crazy,
so
impossible,
so unlikely,
I can
hardly believe
it.
So God,
I've got
an idea.
How about
you just
take
Ishmael?
Can you
just bless
Ishmael?
Oh,
that Ishmael
might live
before you.
Maybe this
plan made
in the flesh
can just
work out
after all.
Don't you
just love
that?
And don't
we tend
to operate
the same
way?
We make
our own
plans without
a thought
to the
Lord.
We do
what we
think we
have to
do to
get what
we think
we have
to have
and then
we ask
God's
blessing
on our
plans
after the
fact,
once they're
already in
motion.
You ever
do that?
God won't
do it
that way.
The promises
of God
cannot be
achieved
by human
effort.
The promises
of God
cannot be
earned,
achieved,
merited,
brought about
by anything
in us.
So God
says in
verse 19,
no,
Sarai,
Sarah,
your wife
will bear
you a
son and
you shall
call his
name Isaac.
Again,
here,
two new
names,
two new
names.
Sarah,
which means
princess,
that's a
hint of
the royalty
that's to
come from
her womb
and Isaac,
which means
he laughs.
Now,
Abram would
be reminded
every time
he called
Isaac's
name that
God's
word,
his
promises,
however
unlikely they
seem,
is nothing
to laugh
at.
He is
God
almighty
and he
will
accomplish
everything
he
promises.
God
promises an
offspring,
Isaac,
through
Sarah and
he promises
now to
extend the
covenant
blessings
through
him.
Don't lose
sight of the
big picture
here.
Remember the
big picture?
We are
tracing the
promise God
made all the
way back in
Genesis 3
of the
seed of
the woman,
an offspring
of Eve,
an offspring
of the woman
who will
come and
crush the
head of
the serpent.
It's in
him that
all the
nations of
the earth
will be
blessed.
It's in
him that
this curse
of sin
will be
peeled back
and undone.
And now
we have
clarity.
God says
this promised
Messiah will
now come
through
Isaac.
I will
establish my
covenant with
him as an
everlasting
covenant for
his offspring
after him.
As for
Ishmael, I
have heard
you, I
haven't
forgotten
about him.
And behold,
I have
blessed him
and will
make him
fruitful and
multiply him
greatly.
He shall
father twelve
princes, I
will make him
into a great
nation, but I
will establish
my covenant
with Isaac.
By the way,
he's coming
next year.
Sarah shall
bear,
to you,
this child,
at this
time next
year.
Can you
imagine this
anticipation?
Twenty-five
years of
waiting, and
now we're
less than a
year away.
The child of
promise is
coming.
We're almost
here.
So how does
Abram respond?
Look there to
verse 22.
Abram responds
in the obedience
of faith.
How do we
see faith?
If faith is
trust in
the promises
of God,
that's
invisible.
We can't
really see
faith, can
we?
How do we
see it
manifested?
We see
faith manifested
externally in
obedience.
When he had
finished talking
with him, God
went up from
Abram, and
then Abraham
took Ishmael,
his son, and
all those born
in his house,
or bought with
his money,
every male among
the men of
Abraham's house,
circumcised the
flesh of their
foreskins that
very day, as
God had said
to him.
Abraham was
ninety-nine
years old when
he was circumcised
in the flesh of
his foreskin.
Ishmael, his
son, was thirteen
years old when
he was circumcised
in the flesh of
his foreskin.
That very day,
no delay in it,
no waiting,
Abraham and
his son Ishmael
were circumcised,
and all the men
of the house,
those born in
the house,
those bought with
money from a
foreigner, all of
them were
circumcised with
him.
This is quick,
complete, total,
immediate obedience.
That's what faith
looks like.
The obedience of
someone who's
trusted in the
promise of God.
So, we see that
circumcision served
as a promise,
we've seen it
served as a
prescription, but
there is a third
function here, and
here's where it
comes to us this
morning, church.
Here's where it
comes to bear on
us.
Third, circumcision
is a pointer.
It is a pointer.
As we read
through the Old
Testament, and we
see God's dealings
with Abraham, and
we see how he
deals with his
people under the
Old Covenant, we
need to understand
that that's not
where it stops.
All of this is
pointing us
forward to a
new and better
covenant, the
new covenant of
grace in Jesus
Christ.
These promises here
made to Abraham,
they have a
partial fulfillment
in the life of
Israel, yes, but
that's not all.
They are
ultimately,
finally fulfilled
in Christ.
Christ.
This is good
news for us,
church.
We shouldn't
read this and
think, man, it
must be nice to
be a Jew.
I wish I had some
of those promises,
right?
I wish that God
would be for me.
I wish that God
would give me a
land and a place.
I wish God would
bless me and give
me a certain hope
and a certain
future and be my
God.
Don't you see?
Christian, you can
read these promises
and rejoice.
All of these are
yours by faith in
Christ.
Think about this
with me for a
minute.
The God who
made all things,
rules over all
things, spoke all
things into being,
holds all things
together.
This God is
your God.
He is your God
in Christ.
He is for you
in Christ.
He delights in
you in Christ.
He loves you
in Christ.
He stands to
defend you from
all your enemies
in Christ.
He is working
out all things
for the good of
those who love
him.
And are called
according to his
purposes.
This God is yours
in Christ.
We are the most
prosperous people in
all the earth,
church.
Who is more
blessed than us?
What blessing
could we desire
more than the
Lord himself?
He says, I'm
yours in Christ.
Not only this,
but we have a
future place to
inherit.
Not just Canaan.
Canaan is too
small.
Romans 4 tells
us the promise
made to Abraham
and his
offspring was
that they would
be heirs of
all the world.
all the earth.
Just imagine it.
Totally renewed,
freed from sin,
no more curse,
no more evil,
no more pain,
no more death,
no more tears.
A perfect place
where Christ the
King will reign
forever and ever.
Where Christ,
our Emmanuel,
will be God
with us
forever more.
That is your
future in Christ.
And who can come
enjoy it?
All the people
of God.
His spiritual
posterity.
Not just the
children of Abraham
according to the
flesh, but those
who share the
faith of Abraham.
Children of God
from every tribe,
every tongue,
every nation.
These promises
of people,
place,
prosperity,
are all fulfilled
in Christ
and in Him.
By faith in Him.
Church,
we are heirs
of all the
promises of God.
But there is
one condition.
You know what it is?
You must be
circumcised.
not according
to the flesh,
but according
to the Spirit.
You must be
circumcised
in your
heart.
Meaning,
you must be
born again
by the Spirit
of God
through faith
in Christ.
You must be
given a
new
heart.
you must be
spiritually
circumcised.
In fact,
that's exactly
what this
fleshly
circumcision
is pointing
to.
Physical
circumcision
is a
pointer.
It's a
shadow.
It's this
partial
black and
white
fuzzy
image.
But as we
come forward
through the
new covenant
and the
new testament
and we see
what Christ
has done,
we see
this image
in full
4K
high definition
color.
We see
the substance
to the
shadow.
Physical
circumcision
is pointing
us
forwards
to true
spiritual
circumcision.
Not to
baptism,
by the way,
which our
Presbyterian
friends,
who I love
them so
dearly,
believe,
but to what
baptism represents.
physical
circumcision
points us
forwards to
true
spiritual
circumcision
by faith
in Christ.
And if you've
received that,
then we
baptize you.
If you want
to be one
of the people
of God,
if you want
to be an
heir of all
the promises
of God,
there is
one way,
one condition.
You must
be spiritually
circumcised.
That's the
requirement.
That's the
condition.
But this is
what brings
you into
the new
covenant.
The good
news for
us,
church,
is that
God
himself
does this
work by
his grace
in his
people.
It cannot
be accomplished
in the flesh.
Which means,
praise God,
it cannot be
forfeited in
the flesh.
God
himself
meets
this
condition
of the
new
covenant
for us
and in
us.
We can't
give ourselves
new birth.
We can't
spiritually
resurrect a
dead heart.
We can't
give ourselves
new life.
God must
do it.
And God
has done
it.
God has
accomplished
our salvation
in such
a way
that if
you have
it,
you cannot
lose it.
You cannot
be exiled
from the
new creation.
We are
born again
of his
spirit
by faith
in Christ,
brought in
to his
covenant
by his
work,
his
grace,
his
plan,
his
power.
God
gave
Abram a
glimpse of
this,
didn't he?
In a
miraculous
birth to
an old
man as
good as
dead,
he got
to see
El Shaddai
in part,
but church,
we see
the power
of God
displayed
most
clearly
in the
regeneration
of sinners
from the
dead.
If anyone
is in
Christ,
he is a
what?
Help me.
A new
creation.
The old
is gone.
Behold,
the new
has come.
This has
been the
plan of
God from
the beginning.
All the
way back to
Deuteronomy,
the promise
was made,
the Lord
your God
will
circumcise
your
heart
and the
heart of
all your
offspring
so that
you will
love the
Lord your
God with
all your
heart and
all your
soul that
you may
live.
In fact,
I'll go a
step further
and go to
Romans.
This is
what it
means to
be a
true
Jew,
Paul says
in Romans.
A true
Jew,
an heir
of the
promises,
one who
is included
in the
people of
God,
one who
has been
circumcised
in the
heart by
the Spirit.
Paul makes
this clear
in Romans
2.
He says,
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.
So Paul
can say
in Philippians
chapter 3
to a group
of Gentiles,
we are the
circumcision,
we are the
circumcision,
who worship
by the
Spirit of
God and
glory in
Christ Jesus
and put
no confidence
in the
flesh.
He goes
on in the
passage that
was read
this morning
from Colossians
chapter 2.
In him,
in Christ
also,
you were
circumcised
with a
circumcision
made without
hands,
by putting
off the
body of
the flesh
by the
circumcision
of Christ.
Having been
buried with
him in
baptism,
in which
you were
also raised
with him
through faith
in the
powerful
working of
God who
raised him
from the
dead.
And you
who were
dead in
your
trespasses
in the
uncircumcision
of your
flesh,
God made
alive together
with him,
having forgiven
all our
trespasses
by canceling
the record
of debt
that stood
against us
with his
legal demands.
This he
set aside,
nailing it
to the
cross.
I ask you
a personal
question this
morning.
Hopefully by
now you
understand.
Have you
been circumcised?
not according
to the
flesh that
matters
close to
nothing.
Have you
been circumcised
in the
heart?
Has God
by his
grace
sent the
message of
the gospel
to you
in such a
way that
you hear
it,
you believe
it,
you respond
with faith
that your
heart is
alive to
the glories
of Christ?
That by
faith you
see I
have no
hope of
standing
before this
holy God
on my
record,
I must
have a
savior.
Have you
trusted in
Christ alone
by faith?
Has God
put his
spirit in
your heart
as a sign
and a
guarantee
of promises
made,
of an
assurance
of a
future
glorious
hope,
of an
enabler
of obedience
of faith
that's
required of
you?
Has God
by his
grace
circumcised
your heart?
If so,
then friend,
rejoice that
by the
grace of
God,
all the
promises
of God
are yours
in Christ.
And if
not,
then friend,
the invitation
is yours
this morning.
Would you
come to
Christ
by faith?
Would you
look to
him who
was cut
off for
you so
that you
might be
included in
the people
of God,
made an
heir of
his promises,
adopted as
a son and
a daughter
of God?
Would you
look to
Christ by
faith?
Now,
when I
look at my
wedding ring,
I'm reminded
of promises
made,
I'm reminded
of my
responsibilities,
I'm reminded
of the
vows that
my wife
made to
me,
but I
should also
be reminded
that this
marriage is
not forever.
It too
is a
pointer
towards a
greater
forever
union
between
Christ
and his
bride.
It is a
picture of
a greater
reality to
come.
In the
very same
way,
this sign
of circumcision,
it points
us
forward to
true
circumcision
of the
spirit.
And this
gathering of
believers,
churches,
we come
together
week in
and week
out and
we sing
songs of
worship and
we enjoy
fellowship with
one another
as we rejoice
in the truths
of the gospel,
as we meet
with the
living God.
This too
is a
pointer to
greater
day to
come
when Christ
returns
and all
of his
people from
every tribe,
tongue,
and nation
will be
gathered as
one in
worship before
the king.
And on that
day we will
see every
promise kept
by our
God.
Father,
we praise
you,
Lord.
All of
this is
to the
praise of
your glorious
grace.
God,
we praise
you that
you have
worked
salvation
in your
people by
your grace
through faith
in Christ,
that you
have spiritually
circumcised our
hearts,
given us a
new heart
that loves
you and
desires to
keep your
commands.
Lord,
that did
not come
from us.
Father,
the promises
of God
cannot be
accomplished
in the flesh,
but Lord,
you've taken
it upon
yourself to
do all
that's
needed.
And
sending
Christ
to live
and to
die
and to
rise
for
sinners
like
us.
Lord,
we love
you and
we rejoice
in your
faithfulness
to us.
We pray
all this
in Jesus'
name.
Amen.