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| Living A Cut Above The Rest
Greetings to all present and online, in America and abroad! Today we continue our study in Romans, as we examine God’s intension for the ancient rite of circumcision initiated with the Patriarch Abraham. Was this salvation by surgery, or ritual? Or was there a deeper intention desired by God in setting up this arrangement? As we continue in the masterful letter by St. Paul in the second chapter, let us research this fascinating topic with our teacher as it pertains to understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Landis Fisher has titled this message: “Living A Cut Above The Rest”
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| Old Testament Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 4:1 – 4 (KJV) |
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Jer 4:1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
Jer 4:2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
Jer 4:3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
Jer 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. |
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| New Testament Scripture Reading: Romans 2:24 – 29 (KJV) |
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Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Rom 2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Rom 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
Rom 2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
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Transforming Power Statements:
#1) Although God did command Abraham to be circumcised, it was not at the age of seventy five but until the age of ninety nine, therefore Abraham was saved {Justified} while not being circumcised by faith alone which led him to be circumcised twenty four years later, just before the miraculous birth of Isaac by Sarah!
#2) God throughout the Scriptures repeatedly called upon Israel to be circumcised in the heart rather than in the foreskin of their flesh alone; that is to be of a holy nature in everyday life and not to hide behind a rite or ritual with no righteous standard of living.
#3) Since circumcision is the central ritual required by God as a token of the relationship He treasured with the People of Israel, and was completely fulfilled in Christ Jesus, of how much less importance does God place on other rituals, rites, and ceremonies created and practiced by the Jews and the Church if there is no real righteousness of life, seeing that such activity denies the fullness of the sacrifice of Christ which alone satisfies God on behalf of all who believe in Him. |
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