Ephesians 2:11-13

Ephesians 2:11-13 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men) — remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Romans 2:27-29 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.

Colossians 2:13-14 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

God has canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. We are not alive to God because of following circumcision and the law; we are alive to him through and in Jesus Christ. The Jews were a chosen people, selected by God to reveal his nature, his righteousness, to the world. God gave them the law for good purposes: to change their behavior and to make them a great nation among all others. But the law, including circumcision, could not change their hearts or bring them into lasting fellowship with God. They were bound to fail, and their failure confirmed the fact that true righteousness and wholehearted obedience come only in Jesus Christ; He alone pleased God with his holy life and sacrifice on the cross. As a propitiation for our sin, Christ fulfilled the law completely and bridged the gulf between God and man.

The Bible says, man's heart is exceedingly wicked and no man can know it. Even after receiving something as good as the law, man's self-willed, lawless nature prevents him from following its dictates and fulfilling its demands. He will break God's commands readily, knowingly. The Bible says if you break one law, you are guilty of all, for in God's eyes you are designated a lawbreaker. Jesus said, Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) God will not accept imperfection and lawlessness. In our imperfection and disobedience, we will not see God or please him. (Think of how many times you have broken the speeding laws) Yet the above scriptures declare we have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Christ paid for our waywardness and our sinful nature. The judgment we deserved was accepted by Jesus Christ on the cross. The blood of the Lamb of God cleanses our wicked hearts and sets us free to enter into God's very presence. Because of our position in Christ, we can enter boldly into the throne room of God, crying, ABBA FATHER.

We who are alive IN CHRIST have had our hearts circumcised at the cross. When we placed our faith in Jesus Christ's finished work and died with him at the cross, the Holy Spirit cut away the dead flesh of our hearts. Without the resurrection, the story of man would end with our death; however, through the shadow of death, we have been made new creatures by the same power that raised Christ from the grave. Now, God can biopsy our souls and know we have his holy DNA, his divine nature. We are part of him because we are newborn IN CHRIST. Once we were dead in sin, strangers to God; now we are part of God's family. We are now known as his children, for we have his righteousness. What a privilege to know Jesus Christ, to have him write his thoughts on our hearts and put them in our minds. A song of praise should arise to our Savior. We are no long outcasts from God's presence, judged as lawbreakers, unrighteous in our basic spiritual DNA; no, now we are called the children of God, the chosen, perfect in his sight. If that does not make you rejoice and praise God, then nothing will. Because Christ lives, we also live. Alive forevermore is our inheritance, our redemption story.