The Book of Romans ~ Lesson Five

"Forever Marked"


Romans 2:17-29 (NLT) You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, and you boast about your special relationship with him. You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law. You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness. You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that God’s law gives you complete knowledge and truth.
   Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples? You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.”
   The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile. And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people? In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God’s law but don’t obey it.
   For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

The religious Jews held on to the letter of the Law and outwardly followed it. When we read of the Law within the Bible or the "religious" Jews in the Bible we tend to think that the Law was bad or in some way evil. It was not and is not. The Law was the way God could associate with people because their sin separated them from Him. What was bad was the "religious" finger-pointing, life-comparing, self-righteous, accusatory attitude of those who thought they had it all together.

Let's have a little history on what "circumcision" meant to the Jew. It was a "covenant" or "agreement" between God and man. A blood seal, symbolizing the "cutting" away of "sin." It was binding and it changed the appearance of being a man. To say the least, it was a precious, vital part of the man who committed himself to God. Through the years the religious distorted it's meaning and held it out as a symbol of superiority. It was anything but that. It was a humbling process to allow the "cutting away" of something so tender. Males are circumcised close to birth now. But Abraham, his sons, slaves, etc were circumcised in manhood and boyhood. I guarantee you they remembered.

Genesis 17:1-2; 10-12 (NIV) When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” ...This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. 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.

The definition for "circumcision" means, "a cutting around." Paul knew that the Jewish Law required circumcision of all males dedicated to God. Now he knew that Jesus had come and fulfilled the requirement of the Law by dying on the cross for sin and now required a new type of "circumcision" for all who call Him Lord. God, through Christ, requires a "circumcision of the heart."

Romans 2:28-29 (Message) Circumcision, the surgical ritual that marks you as a Jew, is great if you live in accord with God's law. But if you don't, it's worse than not being circumcised. The reverse is also true: The uncircumcised who keep God's ways are as good as the circumcised—in fact, better. Better to keep God's law uncircumcised than break it circumcised. Don't you see: It's not the cut of a knife that makes a Jew. You become a Jew by who you are. It's the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes a Jew. And recognition comes from God, not legalistic critics.

You see its not the outward appearances that make us who we are. It's what written on a person's heart and reflected in their actions. We can pretend to be anything, but the heart never lies. If we serve Jesus only outwardly and hold back inwardly then are we really His?

Jeremiah 4:4 (NIRV) Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts,  you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah said it well. Circumcise hearts. Cut away what holds you back from a relationship with God. Jesus completed the process on the cross and pointed us to a final circumcision, which is to cut away the hold this life and it sin has on us. Not only does it do this, it places a mark on our hearts and lives that shows the world and the evil one who we belong to.

Ephesians 1:12-14 (CEV) We are the first people who hoped in Christ, and we were chosen so that we would bring praise to God's glory.So it is with you. When you heard the true teaching—the Good News about your salvation—you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put his special mark of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he had promised.That Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive what God promised for his people until God gives full freedom to those who are his—to bring praise to God's glory.

"And in Christ, God put his special mark of ownership on you..." What is this special mark of ownership  given to all who accept Jesus as their Leader and Rescuer? It's the indwelling Holy Spirit. Its God's supernatural mark that we bear to the world and the evil one. We are His. We have been bought with a price.

Do you bear this mark? Do you realize that you have it? Please realize the significance of being marked for eternity for Jesus. The Holy Spirit is a permanent resident in the lives of those who have given up their right to self-redemption, which holds no eternal power of life, but of death. We are passed over by the angel of death and given new life because we belong to God through His Son Jesus.

Ephesians 2:11-13 (Message) But don't take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God's ways had no idea of any of this, didn't know the first thing about the way God works, hadn't the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God's covenants and promises in Israel, hadn't a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.

We were once out of God's grace and now because of Jesus we are in all the way. If you have given your heart over to the "circumcision" through Christ, by the cutting away of sin and death, then you are permanently marked as His. If you have just been living as a "church-goer" and not a forgiven person then you are not marked. Please humble yourself and give up the "religion" and go under His knife of redemption. If you don't know Him, I plead with you to get to know Him and lay down your life and allow His scalpel take care of the deadness in your heart. He wants you and is ready to mark you with His seal forever.