Romans 2:25-29
I grew-up in a world that was all about performance, as I
recall you got gold stars for not missing Sunday School, for bringing your
Bible, for having money in your envelope, and I’m sure for many other
things. At the end of the year it was a
big thing if you had not missed any Sundays and had done all of these things,
you looked good, but I must confess even at that age I lived by a double
standard; one way at church and at home, but very different with my
friends. I got good at looking good but
it is going to backfire on me, because my deception showed up at school where
my friends were. All those many gold
stars had not changed a little boy’s heart, and the older I got the more I had
to hide from both my parents and the givers of the gold stars.
That is where many in these home churches found themselves
they perceived that the act of being circumcised set them apart from all who
were not. The not would be just about
anyone who was not a Jew. Now this
outward act done to them in the keeping of the Law handed down from God to
Moses and in keeping with the Law was done on the eighth day of a male child’s
life. That act made many of these early
Jewish followers of Christ think more highly of themselves than both they and
God knew to be true. Self-righteousness
leads to pride and pride wants all others to look like them.
Now can you imagine a body of Christ where some were made
less by an outward act, it is kind of what the gold star group did when I was a
child. Do you recall 1 Corinthians
12:12-13, “For
just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body,
thought many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into
one body – Jews or Creeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one
Spirit.” Maybe it would be
helpful if we looked at verses 14-20, “For the body does not consist of one member but
of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand,
I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the
body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an
eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of
the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be
the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense
of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the
body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a
single member, where would the body be? As it is, there
are many parts, yet one body.”
God is very clear in this message to
the churches, it is not that circumcision is not of value if one obeys the
commandments of God, but it is not the outward act but the heart. And if a man who is not circumcised keeps the
commandment then God will see him as righteous or in right standing with God.
As believers we need to stop this
worldly approach of putting status on another follower of Christ because of
some outward act, he has a degree from Seminary, he owns his company, he/she is
the mayor. Maybe this little song I
learned long ago is what each of us needs to apply to our life. “We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord, We are one in
the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
Refrain
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
2. We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land.”
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
2. We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,
And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land.”
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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