Circumcision is nothing: keeping God’s COMMANDS is what counts

[tonychanyt]

NIV, 1 Cor 7:

18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.

Did not God command the Israelites to circumcise their male babies? How could Paul now say uncircumcision was keeping God's commands? What did Paul mean by God's commands?

Paul answered that in Gal 5:

5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

By "God's commands" in the earlier passage, Paul meant "faith expressing itself through love".

He elaborated in Rom 13:

8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

According to Paul, God's commands could be summarized as loving your neighbors. Circumcision is nothing. Loving your neighbors is the only thing that counts.

 

[Soyeong]

NIV, 1 Cor 7:


Did not God command the Israelites to circumcise their male babies? How could Paul now say uncircumcision was keeping God's commands? What did Paul mean by God's commands?

Paul answered that in Gal 5:


By "God's commands" in the earlier passage, Paul meant "faith expressing itself through love".

He elaborated in Rom 13:


According to Paul, God's commands could be summarized as loving your neighbors. Circumcision is nothing. Loving your neighbors is the only thing that counts.

Paul also said that circumcision has much value in every way (Romans 3:1-2) and that circumcision conditionally has value if we obey the Mosaic Law (Romans 2:25), so the issue is that circumcision has no inherent value and that its value is entirely derived from whether we keep the Mosaic Law.

 

[tonychanyt]

circumcision conditionally has value if we obey the Mosaic Law (Romans 2:25),

Right. Do you obey the entire Mosaic Law? Did Paul?

 

[Soyeong]

Right. Do you obey the entire Mosaic Law? Did Paul?

Even when the the law was first given to Moses, there was not a single person who was required to obey the entire law, and not even Jesus or Paul obeyed the laws in regard to giving birth or having a period. However, they did obey the Mosaic Law, as do I.

 

[oikonomia]

For neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation is what matters. (Gal. 6:15)