Long words: circumcision

Long Words
circumcision

by A. Wood

What is circumcision?
The best answer to this, is as always found in the Bible. Turn with me to Genesis 17v9-14:
And God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and man. Back in Genesis 9 we read of how a rainbow is the covenant made between God and man, that God would never again flood the whole earth. God used this signs so that when He or we saw them we would call to mind again the agreement made.

Was Jesus circumcised?
Jesus was a Jew and so yes, He was circumcised as we read in Luke 2v21
And at the end of eight days, when He was circumcised, He was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Do I need to be circumcised?
This question troubled the Galatians and was one of the things Paul deals with in his letter to them. Turn with me to Galatians 5v1-6
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

The short answer is no. The long answer is no, because Christ has set us free from the law. Under the Jewish law one had to keep the whole law to be justified. But Christ died for our sins so that we might be set free from the law which we could never keep. What counts now, is not what we do, but what we believe. It is our faith that saves.

If you have any long words you want explained or indeed any other comments or questions about this article then please e-mail me at a.wood@assemblyyouth.net

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