Is circumcision still necessary today?
There is a growing movement today among parents to leave their male children uncircumcised
and controversy is growing as to whether it is necessary or even desirable to circumcise male
children or not. Some say it is a cruel and barbarous practice while others say it eliminates
hygienic problems that could occur later in life. So what is the answer for today? Let's see what
the Scriptures have to say about the issue.
The original purpose of circumcision was given by God to Abraham to separate his descendants
from the nations surrounding them, and He gave the covenant of circumcision as a visible sign
and reminder of that separation. However many of the Jews of old didn't realize that the physical
act of circumcision was symbolic of a spiritual event, namely the cutting away and casting off of
the sins of the flesh, and the following of a spiritual covenant, codified in the Old Testament
Mosaic Law set down by God Himself.
Before Jesus' atoning death and resurrection, it was required of every Jewish man or any man
who became a convert to Judaism to be circumcised in accordance with the Law. However the
apostle Paul realized that after Jesus' fulfillment of the Law, circumcision of the Gentiles was no
longer necessary as God had cleansed their hearts by faith outside of the works of the Law.
Problems still persisted though. As the book of Acts records concerning the early church;
ACTS 15:1-6
1 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.
3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.
4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.
5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
Even after Jesus' death and resurrection, the Jewish believers were still stuck in the traditions of
the Law not discerning that the Law, while requiring physical action had spiritual implications
and meaning. God's exact words to Abraham were;
GENESIS 17:9-14
9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male child among you shall be circumcised;
11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.
13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
Circumcision was not in itself a form of salvation, but was a demonstration of obedience by the Jews to God's covenant to Abraham. And the Abrahamic covenant was later superceded by the Law given to Moses 400 years later. However the Law didn't nullify the covenant given to Abraham, as God included circumcision in the Law itself. So essentially God included the covenant of Abraham within the covenant of the Law.
LEVITICUS 12:1-3
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean.
3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
By the time of Jesus' appearance here on Earth the actual rite of circumcision had become more important to some of the Jews than the spiritual meaning behind the act. The Pharisees would diligently seek to make converts and the rite of circumcision would be an occasion for them to bring honor to themselves by the public display of the circumcision rite so they could receive adulation for having made a convert. Paul pointed out this hypocritical act when he said;
GALATIANS 6:12-13
12 As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.
13 For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
The issue of circumcision therefore became a hot argument between the believing Pharisees who required that the Gentiles be circumcised according to the Law and follow the dictates of the Law to be saved, and Paul who believed that the Gentiles were saved by faith alone.
Even Peter caved in on the issue and succumbed to peer pressure while in the city of Antioch, bringing a stinging rebuke from Paul before all of the Jews who were there at the time. As Paul recounted;
GALATIANS 2:11-16
11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed;
12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.
13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?
15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
Surprisingly enough, it was the apostle Peter who made a pointed observation that brought about an end to the dissension in Jerusalem. He referred back to the well-known incident in which he had preached to the Roman centurion Cornelius and his household, Gentiles all, and had watched with astonishment as the Holy Spirit fell upon them in the same fashion as He had with the 120 people in the upper room at Pentecost. Luke, the author of the book of Acts recounts;
ACTS 15:6-12
6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,
9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
Note that Peter in verses 9 and 10 said that God made no distinction between Jew and Gentile when it came to the giving of the Holy Spirit. God looked at their hearts, not their flesh. This was echoed by Paul when he said;
EPHESIANS 2:11-17
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—
12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
The prophet Samuel had been told to go to Jesse and anoint one of his sons to be the next king of
Israel. As Jesse's first born son Eliab passed before Samuel, the prophet was impressed by what
he saw. But as Scripture records;
I SAMUEL 16:6-7
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Paul, understanding the true meaning of circumcision later put the issue of circumcision and observance of the Law by the Gentiles to rest when he said;
GALATIANS 3:6-14
6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.”
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”
11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”
12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Note what the first two verses say here? Abraham was justified by faith! He didn't have the Law to go by, therefore God accounted Abraham to be righteous because of his faith in God apart from the Law. So all who believe in God and have accepted Jesus Christ are children of Abraham, and are inheritors of the covenants given to him and his descendants.
The Law was under a curse so that no one could be saved through the Law. Why? Because the Law required that a man be sinless and perfect in every way all of his life, something that Man because of sin could never hope to attain to. God will not allow anything imperfect into His kingdom which is His right. It is His kingdom, and He is perfect, and He demands that those who enter be perfect even as He is.
He also knew that Man could never be perfect because of sin, no matter how righteous he tried to be. Knowing this, God provided the Law as a test of obedience. The Law could never save as it required that a man live a perfect life to attain salvation. And the Law also put all men on a level playing field, so that no man could attain salvation by his own works.
As Paul concludes;
GALATIANS 3:21-22
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.
22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Those who died in obedience to the Law were still sinners, because Jesus had not yet freed Man from the curse of sin as defined by the Law. But as they died in obedience, believing in the One who gave them the Law, their obedience was counted as righteousness by God.
But even so, they were still not worthy to enter Heaven yet, for while the Law credited them for obedience their sins still had not been paid for. Only after Jesus' death and resurrection were they allowed to enter Heaven.
After Peter's dissertation, the assembled elders and apostles agreed with Paul and Barnabas, and by the command of James, Jesus' brother, a letter was sent to the Gentile believers as to what to do. (Note: the command came from James who was the head of the Church, not Peter.)
ACTS 15:23-29
23 They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:
24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment—
25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
Therefore as the Gentiles are under grace by faith and are not bound under the Law, circumcision is not a commandment for today should parents not wish to do so to their male children.
However from a hygienic standpoint, circumcision is indeed beneficial, and parents should take this into account when having a male child born to them.
As Paul told the Jews in Rome;
ROMANS 2:25-29
25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?
27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law?
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
Since we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts today, we no longer need a physical
reminder of God's covenant with us. And as Paul says, outward appearances or race do not justify
us before God, but our hearts are judged by God and will bring us praise or condemnation from
the Lord.
Ever wonder why the laws set down by Jesus in the New Testament are harsher than those in the Old Testament Ten Commandments? For example, the seventh commandment says,
EXODUS 20:14
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Easy enough to do. Just don't sleep with your neighbor's wife.
And yet Jesus said;
MATTHEW 5:27-28
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed
adultery with her in his heart.
Uh oh.....
In the time of the Old Testament the spirit and the flesh were essentially inseparable. The Spirit of God would rest upon a person, but would not indwell him. (Until Zacharias and Elizabeth, John the Baptists parents). Therefore the flesh and the spirit were in close association, and God, knowing this set down laws that were more of a physical than a spiritual nature. In other words, "Do this"and "Do not do this". Easy enough to follow for the most part.
But when the Holy Spirit was given to men, a circumcision of the spirit from the flesh was instituted as we are under the spiritual laws of grace rather than the physical laws of the Old Testament. In this new circumcision, the human spirit is given authority over the flesh and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to help us to resist fleshly temptations, something the people in the Old testament didn't have.
And that is why the Law couldn't save anyone. It was never meant to be a means of salvation. Just as the animal sacrifices required by the Law could never take away sins;
HEBREWS 10:1-9
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come— in the volume of the book it is written of Me— to do Your will, O God.’ ”
8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law),
9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that
He may establish the second.
The Old Testament sacrifices were created to put the Jews under obedience until the true
sacrifice, namely Jesus Christ, could come. The Law demanded the sacrifice of a perfect life
and Man could not meet that requirement, so God Himself provided the perfect sacrifice.
So as we see, the Law was a physical reminder of spiritual events and pointed to the New Testament covenant which would be installed by God in His timing. A Law of works could never save anyone, as it required perfection beyond Man's ability to provide.
The Law was instituted to remind the Jews of their covenant with God, and a reminder of their
sinful nature before a perfect, holy and just God, and a reminder in their flesh of their separation
from the nations around them.
In a typically Satanic twist, during WW II when the Nazis had doubts as to whether a man was a Jew or Gentile, they would force the suspect to drop his pants and he would be checked for circumcision as they knew that Jewish males would be circumcised according to the Law.
In conclusion, circumcision is not necessary for male Gentile children today, and parents you are not in violation of God's covenant today if you do not circumcise your children. God sees the heart and that is where the true circumcision occurs in those who believe. The Law was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and therefore Gentiles who believe and accept Jesus Christ as savior are accounted in God's sight as the children of Abraham and are heirs of the promises given to him, just as much as the believing Jews.
However, if you choose to circumcise your children for hygienic reasons, you do well, and may
save your child physical problems later in life.
Questions? Comments? E-mail me at: watchmen_777@yahoo.com