Romans 2:17-29
In Romans 2:17-29 Paul continues making his argument that the distinction between Jew and Greek is now gone. And one of the chief symbols, circumcision of the flesh, is not what we should be considering. However, it is the circumcision of one’s heart that matters. To be clear, Paul is saying that being a Christian is not about what is one the outside of our lives but what’s on the inside. Many of us would say “I knew that already”. However, our lives don’t show that belief all the time. Sometimes we convince ourselves that if we dress a certain way, talk a certain way, go to church, or even know the Bible that we are God’s people. Although those expressions are the fruit of a changed heart, those expressions are not what separate God’s people from the world. What “separates” us as God’s people is the “circumcision of the heart”.
God wants to pull away the layers that surround our hearts so that we could love God with all our hearts. Paul is not coming up with an new idea, in fact Deuteronomy 30:5-6 confirms this by saying “The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live”. Romans 2 concludes by saying “this is a work of the spirit”, meaning that we are dependent on the Holy Spirit to tear away the “junk” that surrounds our hearts. In the Old Testament circumcision is a onetime event; by the circumcision of the heart is an everyday event. Here is a prayer we should pray every day “Holy Spirit am I loving something that I shouldn’t, am I not loving something that I should? Touch my heart today, so I could love you and your creation with all my heart.”