A Jew was one outwardly, but now... a Jew is one inwardly (Brief Breakdown)

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes- 'the Jew first' and... 'also the Gentile.'

There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek.
Romans 1:16; 2:9

 

Romans 2:28-29

For 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. His praise is not from man but from God.

OLD TESTAMENT:

Old Covenant:

 Genesis 17:11

You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

 

The New Covenant foretold in the Old Testament:

 

This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel 

Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.

And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Jeremiah 4:4; 24:7

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”

I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

 

Ezekiel 36:25-27

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Jesus Fulfills The Law:

Jesus:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus:

“How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 

 

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

John 3:2, 4-7

NEW TESTAMENT: 

we serve in the new way (of the Spirit), and not in the old way of the written code.

The New Covenant fulfilled, in The New Testament, foretold in The Old Testament:

1 CORINTHIANS 7:19

For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.

Galatians 6:15

For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation (Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Colosians 2:11

In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ

We were once foreigners (Gentiles), uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh.

We are still Gentiles, in the flesh, but now we are Jews inwardly because of the circumcision of heart.

In The Old Testament,

You were a Jew, outwardly because of Circumcision (in flesh), and it had value.

 

If you were a Jew, You observed the Law, but if you broke The Law...

The Priest (from The Tribe of Levi, The Levitical Priest), made atonement for you (Sin Offering- an animal had to die in your place to atone for your sin), and the sin which you committed.

 

Hence, your circumcision (in flesh), has become uncircumcision. 

So basically what was done, has become undone, because you can not keep the law.

 

Circumcised in heart, has value... whether you observe the Law or if you break the Law, because we can not keep the law. Jesus, our High Priest, made atonement for you (The Ultimate Sin Offering- He died in your place to atone for your sins).

 

He suffered, He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

He Himself bore the sin and gave His life as a ransom for many. He poured out Himself to death. 

 

God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice.

For the death that He died, having been offered once, bearing the sins of many, He would have had to suffer repeatedly... But now He has appeared once for all (passing over the sins committed beforehand), doing away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

He was indeed crucified yet He lives by God's power. Since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.

 

Since Christ raised us from the dead, we cannot die again.

Your circumcision of heart, can not become uncircumcision. Because... if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 

 

A Jew was one outwardly, but now... a Jew is one inwardly.

A circumcised heart (a Jew inwardly), secures your eternity in The Kingdom of God.