Well welcome back, right
before our break we have been
00:00:07.53\00:00:10.80
talking about the experiences
of Abraham and how God had
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promised Abraham he
would be the father of many
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generations and after some
time it didn't come to pass.
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Abraham and his wife Sarah,
Sarai at the time, her slave
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girl Hagar concocted a
plan by which they thought they
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had fulfilled the promise
of God by their own devising.
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They had a son, Hager had
a son by the name of Ishmael.
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Now we pick up in Genesis
16:16, "Abram was 86 years old
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"when Hager bore
Ishmael to Abram. "
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They thought that that was
the child and that the promise
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what's fulfilled until
we read the next verse.
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We're coming to Chapter
17:1 "when Abraham was 99 years
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old," so at this time Ishmael
would have been somewhere
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between 13 and 14 years old
and for 13 years this is the
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the child that Abraham has
treasured in his heart as his
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own son, he is
going to be the one.
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- they assumed everything
was going according to plan.
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That's right they did
until God comes to Abraham here
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and He says, verse two, "I
will make my covenant between
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"me and you and will
multiply you exceedingly. Then
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"Abram fell on his face
and God talked with him saying:
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"As for Me, behold, My
covenant is with you, and you
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"shall be a
father of many nations. "
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Now this is where he
changes his name to Abraham, but
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Abraham is beside himself
and you pick that up in verse
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18 where it says, "and
Abraham says to God, oh that
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"Ishmael might
live before You!."
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I mean he just couldn't
understand because for 13 years
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he thought that this was
the promise and God shows up and
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says okay
Abraham now is the time.
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- he had poured his whole
heart into Ishmael, developing
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Ishmael as being the one.
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Yeah, and now God comes to
him and says that Ishmael is
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not the one and we pick
up in verse 9 as God promises
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this son to him in his old age.
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In verse 9 it says, "And
God said to Abraham: As for you,
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"you shall keep My covenant,
you and your descendents
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"after you throughout
their generations. This is My
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"covenant which you shall
keep, between Me and you and
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"your descendents after
you: Every male child among you
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"shall be circumcised; and
you shall be circumcised in
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"the flesh of your foreskins,
and it shall be a sign of
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"the covenant
between Me and you. "
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What a sign. - when
people look at that they say
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why in the world of all
things to make a sign of would
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God appoint circumcision?
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But the reality is God
was dealing with a part of
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Abraham's anatomy that was
involved in his own concocting
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of a plan and God wanted
something to communicate to him
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and every generation afterwards
that until the flesh was
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cut away, until Godhead done
an operation in the situation.
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Not until then would the works
of man be acceptable to God.
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And it's pointing to something,
it wasn't pointing to the
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outward type of circumcision
as we find other places in
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the Scripture like in
the book of Deuteronomy.
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That's right, maybe we
can look there in Deuteronomy.
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Deuteronomy gives us a
little picture, a window into
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what God's true
intent was in circumcision.
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So in Deuteronomy chapter
10:16 He says something very
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interesting, He says,
therefore circumcise the
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"foreskin of your heart and
be stiff-necked no longer. "
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Now I think stiff-necked
means stubborn and circumcising
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the foreskin of your heart
now is talking about not an
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external change but an
internal change. - that's right!
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There is one other verse
were He touches on this in
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Deuteronomy and it's in
chapter 30:6 and I think it is
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worthwhile for us to
look at efforts as well.
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It says, "And the Lord
your God will circumcise your
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"heart", there is that
again, " and the heart of your
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"descendents, to love the
Lord your God with all your
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"heart and with all your
soul, that you may live. "
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So the idea of circumcision,
was a sign, and outward symbol
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of an inward reality of
a lack of trust in self,
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a lack of trust in the
flesh, but a desire to trust God
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with everything and to
love Him with the whole heart.
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As long as that flesh, my
own opinions, my own ideas,
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and my own righteousness
and devisings was getting in
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the way, I couldn't love the
Lord My God with all my heart.
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We are getting a little
picture now that circumcision
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was intended to give an
internal reality and what the
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Jewish nation had began to do.
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And Abraham understood
it that way. - that's right!
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but not all of his
descendents. - right!
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Then in time it began
to be more and more looked
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upon as simply a ticket,
if you will, to a guarantee
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to heaven if you want
to look at it that way.
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So rather than looking at
the inward change that it was a
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sign of, the Jewish
nation began to rely upon
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the external
right of circumcision.
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And the right of circumcision
became their religion.
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It became the substance,
a sign that pointed to the
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substance became the
substance itself according to
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the Jews and we see that
in the book of Galatians.
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If we go back to the
book of Galatians Chapter 2
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Paul is telling us and giving
us this background for us.
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He tells us of an experience
there in Galatians 2: 11.
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He says, "now when
Peter had come to Antioch,"
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incidentally we're
talking about Acts 15 when they
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went back to Jerusalem
in Acts 15 the church met
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together and the church
in that session decided as a
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whole that we are not going
to impose circumcision upon
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the believers, but it was
after that period of time we
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find these things taking place.
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After that period of time
there were still those who
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pushed the
importance of circumcision.
00:06:05.74\00:06:08.69
Engrained in the culture.
- so we see this in verse 11.
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"Now when Peter had come
back to Antioch, I withstood
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"him to his face,
because he was to be blamed; for
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"before certain men came
from James," this is James
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the brother of Jesus who
resided over the council in
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Acts 15 and also the
head of the early church.
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These people came from
James, in other words they came
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from their
Jewish church leaders.
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"Before certain men
came from James, Peter
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"would eat with the
Gentiles; but when they came,
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"he withdrew and separated
himself, fearing those who
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"were of the circumcision.
And the rest of the Jews
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"also played a hypocrite
with him, so that even Barnabas
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"was carried away
with their hypocrisy. "
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This was the companion of
Paul, his traveling companion.
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So Peter when he sees these
lifetime Jews coming in, even
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though he had worked with the
Gentiles, preached the gospel
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to the Gentiles all of a
sudden feels uncomfortable to be
00:07:04.61\00:07:07.31
with the Gentiles because
they are this uncircumcised
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class so he gets up and
stops fellowshipping with them.
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I mean he had been teaching
them that they totally have
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the same right to the
gospel as the Jews do, but his
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actions betray
the gospel message.
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As he moves over and sits
with this other group of Jews
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now leaving the Gentiles
bewildered, even affecting
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Barnabas and some of
the other leaders there.
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Keep in mind this is 17
years after Paul's conversion.
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That was three to four
years after Peter's because he
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was in 20 years and it
was so engrained in him that
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it was still an issue.
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That is some serious peer
pressure really is what he was
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experiencing and it was so
engrained and he probably had
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a lot of doubts even
though in Acts 15 it appeared
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he was very firm
because God had shown him.
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He gave him a vision
in Acts chapter 10 to help
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him see that the Gentiles
could receive the gospel as
00:08:05.22\00:08:08.45
well and somehow this
idea of the external rite of
00:08:08.49\00:08:11.65
circumcision being the pride
of Israel, being the very thing
00:08:11.68\00:08:14.78
that if you do this
then you are in and if
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you don't have that
then you are not one of us.
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That was so strong that
Peter was giving sanction to the
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idea that circumcision
was really an external rite
00:08:27.08\00:08:30.61
ignoring the reality that
circumcision was a sign of an
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actual real change in the heart.
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When you think about it,
which is more challenging?
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Is it more challenging to
change your external behavior
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or to surrender your pride,
your selfish will, the heart
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issues that challenge
every one of us are far more
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difficult to yield.
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Just like for a job
example, people can conform to
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outward things, like if I
get a job and my boss wants me
00:09:04.27\00:09:07.27
to do a certain, follow
certain behavior I can do it to
00:09:07.31\00:09:10.24
keep my job, but it doesn't mean
I'm going to do it all the time.
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It doesn't mean
that it is in my heart.
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That's right, that's right
and if you look at Galatians
00:09:14.14\00:09:17.57
5:11 there is a verse there
that really strikes me about
00:09:17.60\00:09:21.05
this and he says, "and I,
brethren, if I still preach
00:09:21.09\00:09:24.59
"circumcision, why do I
still suffer persecution?"
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So apparently to preach
circumcision would be to preach
00:09:28.10\00:09:32.91
the easy way. - that's right!
00:09:32.95\00:09:35.03
In other words to preach
just making an outward changes
00:09:35.06\00:09:38.18
would be the easy way because
he was calling on them to
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realize the meaning of
circumcision and to surrender
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their will to the will
of God, their heart to God.
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That was creating
the need for persecution.
00:09:47.53\00:09:50.22
That's right it's
exactly the opposite of the way
00:09:50.25\00:09:52.16
people take it today,
they that Paul in Galatians
00:09:52.19\00:09:54.09
is saying you guys are
doing it too hard you have to
00:09:54.13\00:09:55.99
go the easy way.
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The reality is he was
speaking about the fact that you
00:09:57.01\00:09:59.28
guys are to surface,
you have to go deeper.
00:09:59.32\00:10:01.22
That is exactly right, Amen.
00:10:01.25\00:10:03.27
Now circumcision is a sign
as it were, of something much
00:10:03.31\00:10:08.07
more meaningful. - that's
right we can pick it up in
00:10:08.11\00:10:14.07
Romans 4:11, the apostle
Paul talking about Abraham
00:10:14.11\00:10:19.25
and his experience here
says in verse 11 of Romans 4.
00:10:19.29\00:10:24.01
"And he received a
sign of circumcision, a seal
00:10:24.05\00:10:28.32
"of the righteousness of
faith which he had while still
00:10:28.36\00:10:31.99
"uncircumcised, that he
might be the father of all those
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"who believe, though
they are uncircumcised, that
00:10:35.66\00:10:39.01
"righteousness might be
imputed to them also, and the
00:10:39.04\00:10:42.31
"father of circumcision to
those who not only are of the
00:10:42.35\00:10:44.86
"circumcision," in other
words it wasn't enough to be
00:10:44.89\00:10:46.98
circumcised, nothing
wrong with being circumcised.
00:10:47.02\00:10:49.04
"But who also walked in the
steps of the faith which our
00:10:49.08\00:10:53.33
"father Abraham had
while still uncircumcised. "
00:10:53.37\00:10:56.85
In other words the
circumcision was about a faith
00:10:56.88\00:11:00.29
experience, it wasn't an
outward, the outward symbol was
00:11:00.33\00:11:04.25
only something that was
tied to an inward reality.
00:11:04.29\00:11:07.32
You see these doctors and
hospitals that go around with
00:11:07.36\00:11:10.10
this little badge that
says they are a doctor.
00:11:10.13\00:11:11.73
Well I can steal one of
those badges and put my picture
00:11:11.76\00:11:13.73
on it and walk around,
but it means nothing because
00:11:13.77\00:11:15.59
I'm not a doctor. - I
wouldn't be your patient!
00:11:15.63\00:11:17.38
- I appreciate that
because there's not the reality.
00:11:17.42\00:11:20.93
So the sign means nothing
unless there is an inward
00:11:20.97\00:11:23.79
reality there, but if
there is an inward reality
00:11:23.83\00:11:26.62
the sign means everything.
00:11:26.66\00:11:28.16
It appears here in the issue
that was driving the letter
00:11:28.19\00:11:32.36
to the Galatian church,
they had essentially replaced
00:11:32.39\00:11:36.53
the substance with
the sign. - that's right!
00:11:36.56\00:11:39.28
The apostle Paul continually
is trying to take back the
00:11:39.31\00:11:43.98
true meaning of salvation
and help it to become that
00:11:44.02\00:11:47.91
inward reality again because
as long as we are telling
00:11:47.94\00:11:51.80
people that an outward
change is going to do it,
00:11:51.83\00:11:54.21
we are robbing
them of peace with God.
00:11:54.25\00:11:56.67
We are robbing them of
the harmony they can have when
00:11:56.70\00:11:59.75
there will is called to be
yielded to the will of God.
00:11:59.79\00:12:02.52
There is a few verses
where he touches on this and
00:12:02.56\00:12:05.31
I would like to close our
time here with those verses.
00:12:05.34\00:12:10.31
In Galatians 5:6 it says,
"for in Christ Jesus neither
00:12:10.35\00:12:15.28
"circumcision nor
uncircumcision avails anything,
00:12:15.32\00:12:18.45
"but faith working through love"
00:12:18.48\00:12:20.76
That's powerful and if you
go to chapter 6:15 it says,
00:12:20.80\00:12:25.66
"for in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision nor
00:12:25.69\00:12:28.36
"uncircumcision avails
anything, but a new creation. "
00:12:28.40\00:12:32.28
In 1 Corinthians 7:19 it
says, "neither circumcision
00:12:32.32\00:12:35.65
"or uncircumcision
avails anything but keeping the
00:12:35.68\00:12:38.98
"Commandments of
God is what matters. "
00:12:39.01\00:12:40.79
The apostle Paul keeps
taking them to the real issue
00:12:40.82\00:12:44.27
and ultimately circumcision
is a matter of the heart.
00:12:44.31\00:12:47.54
That's right it wasn't
about circumcision, it is about
00:12:47.57\00:12:50.24
heart religion, it wasn't
whether they were or weren't
00:12:50.28\00:12:52.92
circumcised but is
the heart circumcised.
00:12:52.95\00:12:55.74
Has the heart been renewed
through the grace of Christ?
00:12:55.78\00:12:58.47
Wow what a powerful
message and we are out of time
00:12:58.51\00:13:02.10
here today, but we are
going to dive back into the book
00:13:02.14\00:13:05.47
of Galatians and the next
time we will open up and talk
00:13:05.50\00:13:08.80
about what
justification is all about.
00:13:08.83\00:13:11.57
So I hope you'll
come back and God bless.
00:13:11.61\00:13:14.31