The big snip

In my previous blog post, I discussed the difference between the physical heart and the spiritual heart. In this blog post, I will discuss the difference between physical circumcision and spiritual circumcision. 

Physical circumcision is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 17:10-14.  God told Abraham that to keep the covenant between Him and Abraham's descendants, every male child was to have his foreskin removed. The circumcision was to occur on the eighth day after the male child's birth. God also told Abraham that every male child is to be circumcised, whether he was a family member or he was bought with money; otherwise, the uncircumcised male would be cut off from his people. This is important because in Exodus 4:24-26, we read that Moses was returning to Egypt when the Lord met Moses on the road. The Lord was going to kill Moses, since Moses didn't have his son circumcised. Moses' wife circumcised Moses' son and threw the foreskin at Moses' feet. Even Jesus was circumcised, because He was a Jewish baby boy (Luke 2:21).

God is the Creator, and He had a good reason for selecting the eighth day for physical circumcision.  The level of Vitamin K in the blood is highest on the eighth day, and Vitamin K controls the clotting factor that helps stop bleeding. Today, baby boys are circumcised a few hours after they are born. Jewish boy babies are circumcised on the eighth day after birth during a religious ceremony called a bris. 

Spiritual circumcision refers to the foreskin of the spiritual heart, which I touched on briefly in my last blog post. The first time the foreskin of the heart is mentioned in the Bible is in Deuteronomy 10:16, where Moses tells Israel to circumcise the foreskins of their hearts so that they would not be stiff-necked (a/k/a rebellious) any longer. Moses also tells Israel in Deuteronomy 30:6 that if they fall away from faith in God but return to the Lord, He will circumcise their hearts and the hearts of their descendants to love the Lord with all of their hearts and souls so that they may live. In Jeremiah 4:4, Jeremiah tells Israel to circumcise themselves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of their hearts, lest the Lord's fury come forth like fire.

In the New Testament, Jews are referred to as "those of the circumcision," to differentiate them from the Gentiles, who weren't circumcised. In Romans 15:8, Paul refers to Jesus as the servant to the circumcision (the Jews) for the truth of God to confirm the promises made to the fathers (i.e., the Jewish fathers). 

So, how is the spiritual circumcision of our hearts accomplished? Paul states in Romans 2:29 that circumcision is of the heart in the Spirit. He then states in Colossians 2:11 that the spiritual circumcision is made without hands by Christ Himself. When we repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ, He will circumcise the foreskin of our spiritual heart so that we have a spiritual heart of flesh rather than a heart of stone.  

Dear reader, what is the condition of your spiritual heart? Have you experienced the circumcision of the spiritual heart but have turned away from God like the Israelites did? If so, the promise God gave to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 30:6 applies to you also. Repent of your sins and turn back to God so He can circumcise your spiritual heart and you can love the Lord with all your heart and soul, and truly live. 

Thanks, as always, for reading! See you next time!

Diane

Saints alive!

There are churches, both Catholic and Protestant, with church names that start with "St.", the abbreviation for Saint. "St.", like "Mr." and Mrs.", are honorifics, which is a word that means "a title or word implying or expressing high status, politeness, or respect." You will notice, however, that most evangelical churches are not named for a saint. 

The Catholic church has a process for how a person becomes a saint, a/k/a canonization.  Here's an abbreviated Dummies.com explanation of canonization:  1.  The person must be dead for at least 5 years; 2. When a person is accepted for consideration, they are called a Servant of God; 3. After it's determined that the Servant of God lived a life of virtue, they are called Venerable; 4. After one miracle is confirmed, the Venerable is presented to the Pope to see if he/she is considered Blessed. This process is called Beautification; and 5. After a second miracle is confirmed, the Blessed is again presented to the Pope for review to be considered a saint.

Whew! That's a long process.  But the Biblical requirements for a saint are much different.  In 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul addresses the church at Corinth:  “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.” (emphasis mine - DMS)  In order to be called a saint, you just have to believe in God and Jesus Christ. You don't have to be dead, you don't have to have miracles attributed to you, and you don't have to have the Pope review your case.  

In the Old Testament, there are many references to believers being saints. There are 20 references to saints in the book of Psalms alone and 12 references to saints in the other Old Testament books. These saints are the Hebrew believers in God. In the New Testament, there are 70 references to saints.  These saints, of course, are believers in Jesus. Here is the link to my search on BlueLetterBible.org for "saints:" Link  Once the new tab opens, click on the link to access the search. "Saints" is a collective term for all those who believe in God and Jesus. There are halos on the heads of paintings and statues of Catholic saints, but there are no references to halos in Scripture.

In our review of Scripture, we see that there is no complicated process to become a saint of God. As referenced above, all we have to do is to call on the name of Jesus and believe in Him to become saints. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, or what your ethnicity is, as long as you believe in Jesus, you are a saint. 

One of my favorite childhood hymns is "I Sing a Song of the Saints of God." The first and second verses talk about saints of God who lived in the past and their courageous actions. In the third verse, the lyricist speaks about the saints that live in the present day and where a person can find the saints - everywhere!  The last phrase of the first verse states, "They were all of them saints of God and I mean, God helping, to be one too."  In fact, that should be every believer's goal.  There's an old saying - "You're a saint or you ain't."

Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!

Diane