Verse 12 and the Father of Circumcision
Now, why is God infatuated with cutting of skin, a very private part?
God made human flesh. God made both genders, and God is using a symbol. He says, “Look, buddy, you’re kind of filthy. You need Me. I’m gonna clean you up. I’m gonna make a permanent change. It’s gonna be very private between Me and you.”
And it’s a symbol of His commitment to your personal cleanliness and to the closeness, to the private nature of God’s relationship with us.
There’s nothing so private or sensitive as circumcision, but yet God says, “I want to talk about it openly.”
Verse 12, and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, which means you become a child of Abraham. You follow in the footsteps of your father Abraham by simple faith, not by how you cut your skin.
But who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had, this faith he had, the faith being yet uncircumcised.
Which means people get so fixated on, “Oh, if I want to reach this state of blessed assurance of salvation, that I have received the righteousness of God on my record, I simply need to get a tattoo, or cut my skin, or pierce my something.”
Well, no.
Salvation Is Not Physical
Salvation is not physical. That’s the confusion.
Many people think salvation is through water, or a wafer, or liquid, or ashes, or a robe, or architecture, or some kind of physical element.
And there is no salvation physical. There is salvation spiritual. It’s through faith in the Son of God, Who loved us and gave Himself for us.
Abraham received righteousness without cutting, and without works, and without earning it.
So stop trying to earn salvation. That’s ridiculous. That’s dishonoring to God. He paid the way.
He says here, For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
So that he should be the heir of the world. H-E-I-R means to be the inheritor, the one in the will that says, “I receive all of this massive benefit.”
And what is in the heir? What is in the will? What does God want us to inherit?
The world.
That’s huge.
For if they, which are of the law, be heirs, faith is made void.
In other words, if I could earn it, if I could earn my way by my own righteousness, my own works, to get into the will, to receive this inheritance, then I don’t need faith.
And the promise made of none effect. Then the promise would be pointless.
Because the law, which worketh wrath.
For where no law is, there is no transgression. See, a rule draws a line and says, if you break this line, there will be consequences. It triggers wrath.
If you go this fast, you’ll get pulled over. If you cause this much harm, you go to prison. If you do this wrong, there’s a penalty, right?
We believe in the justice system, all of us. Don’t take people’s stuff. Don’t hurt people. Don’t hurt God.
The law worketh wrath. There’s going to be consequences for breaking the law.
Therefore, it, the state of blessed assurance, is of faith, simple faith, that it might be by grace.
Now, the word grace means God’s direct divine assistance.
God’s direct divine assistance. He’s helping us that it, salvation, might be by grace, to the end, to the purpose that the promise might be sure to all.
God says, “I want to open up this opportunity to everybody, to be able to come unto Me through My Son.”
This promise, this promise of eternal life, I want to, the purpose of the promise, I want to open it up that it might be sure to all.
In order to make the door wide open enough for everybody to be able to come in, I want to make this opportunity available through faith. And then I want to provide people assistance.
If they make a feeble effort to place their faith in Me, I want to provide grace. God extending His divine offer of assistance.
I will help you believe in Me, that it may be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith.
Abraham, who is the father of us all. How is Abraham our father?
In that he established the pattern, the steps.
And what are the steps?
I am a sinner. I cannot therefore save myself. My righteousness is tainted. My works are evil. I need a great Savior. I need to hear the Gospel.
Jesus saves. I’ll trust Him. I believe the Abraham way.
