Paul rebukes the Jews (and what we could call nominal Christians) here for their hypocrisy. They boast about their superiority over the Gentiles (those without God) by bragging about their knowledge of God's word and their God-given mission of being Bible teachers for the world (a kingdom of priests and a holy nation). They had the embodiment of knowledge and truth at their fingertips in God's word. But though they taught others, they failed to learn themselves. They would preach against robbery and adultery, but they themselves committed these same acts. Their hypocrisy blasphemed God's name to the Gentiles.

Then Paul gets to the heart of the matter. What is a Jew? Is it anyone who can claim ancestry with Abraham? Is it anyone who reads the Bible and goes to church? Is it circumcision that makes a Jew? No! The true Jew is one whose inner heart is circumcised. It is the keeping the law's requirements (through faith in Jesus) that makes a true Jew. "No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code." (29a)


Application: Father, circumcise my heart, inwardly by the Spirit of God. Cleanse my heart through the blood of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Make me a true Jew.
One Word: Circumcise my heart!