Is circumcision Relevant Today? This is one of the questions that are still asked in a Christian world. Most rituals of the Old Testament were symbols of the things to come which is after Jesus Christ and now. But because somehow religion was mixed with culture especially the gospel was brought to the world by the Jews and then they didn’t have clear revelations of the things like now.
People are still seeing this matter as an acceptance or rejection. For example here in this country some churches who got their origin from Europe still don’t accept a circumcised man because they misunderstood the verse in Galatians which says “if ye be circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.” (Galatians 5:2) While others they don’t accept you because you are not circumcised and they quote Genesis 17:14 where God said to Abraham that any male who is not circumcised shall be cut off from Him.
But what is import or what is important about this? I believe Abraham was the first person on the earth to circumcise because God wouldn’t use what is used by others as His standard. The answer is simple: Identity – they belonged to a new culture that didn’t exist before because Abraham was the root of a new nation, the Israelites. Many ancient nations learnt this thing from the Israelites especially the people who lived with Abraham.That’s why all the Jews boasted about circumcision.
Now Jesus Christ came and everything is revealed clearly. Nothing is symbolic but realistic. Circumcision is not sinful but also not profitable for spiritual life or Christianity. Today we know its main basic is for hygiene matters e.q. STD’s etc. it Is also practices by other African tribes as a symbol of a boy reaching his adulthood.
Now Paul condemned it in Galatians 5:1-3, yet in Acts 16:3 he circumcised Timothy Now was he contradicting himself? No, the answer is there, he didn’t want to lose many souls because of circumcision as they would use it to stop Timothy from being a pastor there so he used wisdom.
But in South Africa where there are still many people who practice this in a traditional way of going to the bush it is advisable that all Christian families to stop sending their sons there in the mountains because this involves bad treatments plus the danger of being exposed or being made vulnerable to the power of witchcraft and spiritism because those places are monitored and managed by traditional healers which we all know that they get their powers from the dead.
If a man feels the need to circumcise then he may go to the professional health practitioners not because he will be accepted by the Lord but on his health reasons if there be any. The best circumcision is the believing and confession of the Lord Jesus Christ in your life. The speaking in tongues is the common way to identify the Born Again Christians.
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails any thing nor uncircumcision…” (Galatians 5:6). This means that he who is circumcised must not be proud and neither the uncircumcised should feel inferior. Some say that but Jesus was also circumcised, (Luke 2:21) Yes, Paul also. Jesus Christ was circumcised by his parents when he was eight days old and they were not Christians because they lived under the law but we are Born Again. We are not living under the law.
We must not have the mind of the Christian Pharisees in the time of the apostles who insisted that people should be circumcised before they become Born Again and Peter corrected them. (Acts 15:5-10). Moses was nearly killed by the Lord because his son was not circumcised. (Exodus 4:24-27) and also after 40 years in the desert the Israelites who were born on the way were all circumcised by Joshua. (Joshua 5:2-9)
Jesus said “to be accepted by the Father one must come through Him” or else no way because He is the way and He didn’t say He will show us the way but He said He is the way. Today if you are not Born Again then you are equal to any Israelite of 3000 years ago who was not accepted of God because he was not circumcised. Like where God nearly killed Moses and his son in Exodus 4:24-29 so is anyone this time both male and female are already condemned to eternal death and are not accepted by God except they are Born Again.
Now lastly, Paul said in Galatians 5:3 “that anyone who circumcised must obey the whole law. He is not saying today we must not circumcise rather anyone who do it because of the law of Moses then he must also follow other laws, For your information the law was not only ten rules as many think rather it is 647 rules when its complete, read Exodus 20 until the last book of Deuteronomy. So no one can keep the Law.
Any man who is not circumcised let him not feel inferior though some may feel excluded especially many other West, North and Eastern Africans where after eight days a child(male) is still circumcised and it is that Islam which practices this, has been ruling those countries for many years and they claim they follow Abraham. We follow and we are in Christ now. Let’s wake up and embrace the Truth. As it is written “Stay free in the liberty that Christ has given us” (Galatians 5:1) Amen!
Originally published in the print edition of DIVINE Magazine, Issue 01.
