UNSHAKEABLE: It is easy to fall into the very same sin of Jews, presuming their ritualistic observances and religious activities got them in and kept them in good standing with God. But there couldn’t be anything farther from the truth. Let me illustrate it this way: Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to McDonalds makes you a Happy Meal. You see, neither outward appearances nor practices of piety are good and accurate indicators of authentic faith. True faith is internal—it is a matter of the heart. That’s what God looks at: the heart—your heart.

Unshakeable Living // Romans 2:25-29

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.

The covenant of circumcision was a highly important outward sign that was to distinguish the Israelites as God’s very own people. The covenant was first given to Abraham in Genesis 17:9-14 and later reaffirmed in dramatic albeit peculiar fashion to Moses in Exodus 4:24-26. Ritual circumcision was required of every Israelite male child, and it was an important physical reminder of the greater theological reality that the cutting away and cleansing from sin was necessary to a right relationship with God.

Unfortunately, over time, the Jews became prideful in their practice of the physical act of circumcision without the practice of the more important inward act of spiritual circumcision. In effect, the circumcised but disobedient Jew’s standing before God was no different than that of the uncircumcised heathen. In fact, the Apostle Paul, in a bit of news that must have been infuriating to the circumcised Jew, said that the uncircumcised but obedient Gentile was as good as circumcised in the eyes of God. (Rom 2:26)

I suppose at this point you may be wondering what Jewish males and ritual circumcision have to do with you. Simply this: It is easy to fall into the very same sin of Jews, presuming their ritualistic observances and religious activities got them in and kept them in good standing with God. But there couldn’t be anything farther from the truth.

Let me illustrate it this way: Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to McDonalds makes you a Big Mac. You see, neither outward appearances nor practices of piety are good and accurate indicators of authentic faith. True faith is internal—it is a matter of the heart.

That’s what God looks at: the heart—your heart. Now that is not to say Christians shouldn’t look and act a certain way. They should—just like the Israelites were expected to look and act a certain way. Our faith should be observable. It should be especially true that having been with Jesus will make a noticeable difference to those watching us. (See Acts 4:13) Having experienced the grace and mercy of salvation ought to catalyze change in the way we interact with the world and experience life. The very way we look, talk, relate, work, play, and engage in our moment-by-moment existence should have the “fragrance of Christ” all over it.

But at the end of the day, the fragrance of our Savior is only possible if we are thoroughly saturated with Jesus. Jesus needs to get from the outside of our lives to the inside. Or perhaps more correctly, Jesus needs to start on the inside and work his way to the outside—which, by the way, is what takes place as a result of the more important spiritual circumcision of the heart. (Rom 2:29)

Most importantly, at the core of who we are, we ought to always retain the Lord Jesus Christ. In truth, Jesus must be both the center and the circumference of our lives.

So here is the $64,000 question: Is he?

“ God sees hearts as we see faces. — GEORGE HERBERT