Spiritual Circumcision of the Heart (Colossians 2:11-12 and Romans 2:28-29)

Physical circumcision always prefigured, or foreshadowed, the true and greater circumcision God wanted, which was spiritual circumcision of the heart (Colossians 2:11-12 and Romans 2:28-29). Spiritual circumcision of the heart occurs when people repent and put their faith in Christ and are saved. This is part three of a three-part series. Here are parts one and two: Credobaptism vs Paedobaptism: Which Is Right? What About Baptism for Children? Table of ContentsChildren Must Have Circumcised Hearts to Be BaptizedSalvation (Circumcision of the Heart) Versus Spiritual Maturity Is the Requirement for BaptismDon’t Try to Talk Your Children Into Being Baptized https://youtu.be/QYXj75k72wA Spiritual circumcision of the heart is the true and greater circumcision God wanted (Colossians 2:11-12 and Romans 2:28-29). Because we believe our children must be saved before being baptized I tried to give you some evidences of salvation to look for in our children’s lives. While no parent can know for sure that their child is saved, hopefully, the evidence I provided has been helpful…not only in determining whether your children are saved, but even if you are an adult, examining your own salvation. We are going to look at a few baptisms in the book of Acts, but first we need to have a brief discussion of circumcision and what it prefigured or foreshadowed. I told you that we believe in credobaptism, or more commonly known as believers’ baptism. Those who believe in infant baptism are known as paedobaptists, and they see a strong relationship between circumcision and baptism. The idea is, babies were circumcised, so babies should be baptized. But there is an important issue… Physical circumcision always prefigured, or foreshadowed, the true and greater circumcision God wanted, which was spiritual. In other words, the true and greater circumcision God wanted His people to have was always of the heart, and it occurs when people are saved. Listen to these verses: Colossians 2:11-12 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands (this means it’s not physical), by putting off the body of the flesh (this refers to the spiritual flesh), by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. Romans 2:28-29 No one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, NOR IS CIRCUMCISION OUTWARD AND PHYSICAL. But a Jew is one inwardly, and CIRCUMCISION IS A MATTER OF THE HEART, by the Spirit, not by the letter.  Paul said circumcision is a matter of the heart BY THE SPIRIT, not by the letter. This means the letter of the law, which can’t provide spiritual circumcision of the heart. Only the Holy Spirit can circumcise their hearts, so they repent and believe. And at that point, they can be baptized…and this brings us to lesson one… Children Must Have Circumcised Hearts to Be Baptized Just so you don’t think this is my opinion, let me share some verses that make this point… God gave Abraham the sign of circumcision, but throughout the Old Testament even though many of the Jews were circumcised physically, they were not circumcised spiritually, in that their hearts weren’t circumcised. Listen to these verses making that point… Leviticus 26:41 [God says] I walked contrary to them…if then THEIR UNCIRCUMCISED HEART IS HUMBLED AND THEY MAKE AMENDS FOR THEIR INIQUITY, 42 THEN I WILL REMEMBER MY COVENANT WITH JACOB, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham. The interesting part of these verses is circumcision was the sign of the covenant, but God said He wouldn’t remember His covenant with them unless they were circumcised spiritually…even when they were circumcised physically. So physical circumcision meant nothing if people weren’t also circumcised spiritually. Jeremiah 6:10 Behold, THEIR EARS ARE UNCIRCUMCISED, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it. They wouldn’t listen to spiritual truths, so God said their ears were uncircumcised. Ezekiel 44:6 O house of Israel, enough of all your abominations, 7 in admitting foreigners, UNCIRCUMCISED IN HEART AND FLESH, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple. God was upset the Israelites allowed foreigners into the temple, and He didn’t just point out that they were uncircumcised physically, He pointed out that they were uncircumcised spiritually. Deuteronomy 30:6 The Lord…WILL CIRCUMCISE YOUR HEART and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord…with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. This verse describes what it looks like if people’s hearts are circumcised: They will love the Lord with all their heart and soul. Again, God was talking to people who had obeyed Him physically, but He wanted to move to their spiritual condition, which meant loving Him. There are lots of other verses I could give you, but you get the point. The idea, which we see throughout Scripture, not just with circumcision but with anything, is that the physical is meaningless without the spiritual. Take for example the sermon on the Mount. Jesus makes the point that if we: Give physically, but we want people to know we are giving, which is to say we aren’t giving right spiritually, then it’s meaningless, or even hypocritical. Similarly, Jesus says when we pray, if we pray to be seen by others, we are praying physically, but we are not praying right spiritually. If we fast, but we look sad so that everyone knows we are fasting, then we are doing something physical, but because the spiritual is wrong the fasting is meaningless…again, or even hypocritical. Think about communion for a moment… People can eat bread and drink juice, in other words they can do what’s required physically, but it means nothing if not done right spiritually. Not only would it not mean anything, if we are partaking in an unworthy manner, God might discipline us. That’s how important it is to celebrate communion spiritually. Now let me ask… Do you see the application for baptism? Baptism is physical, but if those who are being baptized are not right spiritually, then baptism is meaningless. People can be lowered under the water and raised back up, but if: They aren’t Christians They don’t know what they are doing Then baptism is worthless. Now here’s the question… Because physical circumcision in the Old Testament looked forward to the true and greater circumcision of the heart, does anyone know when that finally took place for the Jews? Let me show you. We will back up and start at Acts 2:23 for context… Acts 2:23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, YOU CRUCIFIED and killed by the hands of lawless men. Peter says they crucified Christ. Look at verse 36… Acts 2:36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus WHOM YOU CRUCIFIED.” Not only did they reject the Messiah they had been waiting centuries for, they crucified Him…giving Him the most excruciating, shameful death imaginable. This is a brutal indictment. But they needed to hear this, because after waiting 2,000 years, from the time circumcision was given to Abraham, look what finally happened… Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this they were CUT TO THE HEART, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”  This is it! The Jews finally received the spiritual circumcision of the heart that God wanted them to have. And now they are able to also experience the first Christian baptisms, or in other words the first baptisms that identify with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. But here’s the thing… There’s no guarantee that this circumcision is going to take place. Briefly turn to Acts 7. We saw part of Peter’s great sermon, and this is the end of Stephen’s great sermon. They share many similarities. Look at verse 51… Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people, UNCIRCUMCISED IN HEART and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. These Jews were physically circumcised, but Stephen says they were not spiritually circumcised. Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, WHOM YOU HAVE NOW BETRAYED AND MURDERED, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” Stephen also accused them of murdering the Messiah…but look at the completely different response… Acts 7:54 Now when they heard these things they…were CUT TO THE HEART just like the Jews in Acts 2? Nope. Acts 7:54 Now when they heard these things THEY WERE ENRAGED, and they ground their teeth at him. Skip to verse 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. Stephen said their hearts were uncircumcised and then they showed the uncircumcision of their hearts with one of the evilest acts in the NT: first, they murdered Jesus, and then they murdered Stephen. Peter and Stephen preached similar sermons. But if you take your minds to the parable of the sower, even if the seed is the same, it matters the type of soil that it lands on. The Jews in Acts 2 had different soils than the Jews in Acts 7. Now look back at Acts 2 to see the Jews who had good soil that led to spiritually circumcised hearts… Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They were convicted of their sin, and Peter told them to repent and be baptized. Look at verse 41… Acts 2:41 So those who received his word WERE BAPTIZED,...