Philippians 3:3
Acts 15:1 (NKJV) 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."
So, Paul was repeating the warning that he gave them in chapter one. He is trying to guard them from error.
Philippians 3:2 (NKJV) Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!
The word "beware" means: "to keep on looking out for." They are to keep on looking out for dogs, evil workers, and the mutilation. From the time the gospel began to be preached until the present day there have always been those who would pervert the gospel by adding works to it. The Philippians were to always be looking out for them and so should we. The best way to spot error is to know the truth.
In verse 2, Paul calls these Judaizers by three different names; he calls them dog, evil workers and the mutilation. The word "mutilation" in verse 2 is a play on words in the Greek with the word "circumcision" in verse 3. The words he uses are katatome and peritome. Kataome means: "To mutilate."
Paul is saying to these Jews, "You think that you are the circumcision but you are in fact the mutilation party. We (Christians) are the circumcision. Those who are rightly called the "circumcision" are those who put no confidence in fleshly rituals, but rather who are by faith circumcised in the heart, which is synonymous with regeneration.
Don't miss the force of Paul's statement here. These Jews, who demand obedience to the Mosaic ritual in order to be saved, have by their rejection of grace, forfeited the right to be called the people of God. They who prided themselves in being called "the circumcision" have given up that title because they have opposed what is the true "circumcision," not in the flesh, but of the heart.
Paul says on the other hand, 'We are the circumcision." Paul's "we" means: Paul and the Philippian believers and all other believers. In verses 2 and 3, there is a comparison between the true and the false. In verse 2, he describes the false, and in verse three, he gives us three marks, or three characteristics of those who are the true "circumcision."
Philippians 3:3 (NKJV) For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
Although the description is laid out in three elements, two of them can be described as the same, but one is positive and the other is negative. Verse 3 is a description of a Christian. And notice that it has nothing to say about outward conduct. It doesn't say we know we are Christians because of what we do or don't do. Being a Christian has to do with the heart.
Paul says that the true Christian, "Worships God in the Spirit." The best texts have, "Worship by the Spirit of God." In other words, it's not outward ceremony but inward faith. It is produced by the Holy Spirit. It is Spirit empowered worship. That is what is important about it. Legal worship consisted in the outward act and was restricted to certain times and places. There were special days and special places to worship. But to the true Christian, worship is spiritual. It is not isolated to acts but embraces the whole of life. True worship marks the true circumcision. Let's look at John 4 and see what Jesus says about true worship. In this chapter, Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman. The Samaritans were hated by the Jews, they were a mixed race of Jew and Gentile and they worshiped God in the wrong manner, in the wrong place. The Jews and the Samaritans were bitter enemies because of racial pride.
John 4:9 (NKJV) Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus points out to this woman that she has already had five husbands and the man she was presently living with was not her husband. So, she realizes that she is not talking to an ordinary man.
John 4:19-20 (NKJV) The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."
She understands that He is a prophet so she asks where the right place to worship is. The Jewish inhabitants of Samaria identified Mount Gerizim as the chosen place of God and the only center of worship, calling it the "navel of the earth" because of a tradition that Adam sacrificed there. Their scriptures were limited to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Moses was regarded as the only prophet and intercessor in the final judgment. They also believed that 6,000 years after creation, a Restorer would arise and would live on earth for 110 years. On the Judgment Day, the righteous would be resurrected in paradise and the wicked roasted in eternal fire.
The Jews worshiped in Jerusalem. So, she asks which is the right place to worship.
John 4:21 (NKJV) Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Jesus is telling her that soon it won't matter where you worship. In the New Covenant, worship is not restricted to a certain place. When Jesus said, "The hour cometh," what did he mean? Some say that he is referring to Pentecost. That is definitely in view, once Pentecost came, worship was no longer restricted to a temple. But I think that he is more specifically referring to 70 AD when Titus, the Roman general, destroyed Jerusalem. That put an end to the Old Covenant and its fleshly worship. From 70 AD to this present day, the Jews have not sacrificed animals. The Old Covenant and Judaism were brought to an end. The transition period between the two covenants was over and the Old was now gone.
John 4:22 (NKJV) "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
Anybody who wanted to get in on knowing God had to come through Judaism. They alone had the covenants and promises, they had the Word of God. Salvation came out of Judaism. Worship is to be done according to truth, and the Jews had the truth.
John 4:23-24 (NKJV) "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
God has saved us that we would be a worshiping people. But for worship to be done properly, it must be done in the spirit and it must be done in truth. This is why we are committed to expositional teaching. If you are ever going to worship God, you must know who He is, and if you are ever going to know who God is, you must learn about Him from the Scripture. Our worship is spiritual, it comes from the heart and is done anywhere and everywhere at any time.
The word "worship" in Philippians 3:3 is latreuo, and it means: "To render respectful spiritual service." There are other Greek words that are translated "worship" but this one has the primary emphasis of service.
If you were to trace worship through the Old and New Testament, you would find that the emphasis of worship is service. Worship itself means: "Honor paid to a superior being." It means: "To give honor, homage, respect, adoration, praise and glory to God." Worship is a consuming desire to give to God. Worship proceeds from the heart.
Matthew 15:8-9 (NKJV) 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"
They were attempting to worship, but their worship was vain because it was not coming from their heart. It was all outward ceremony. Worship is a redeemed heart occupied with God, expressing itself in adoration and thanksgiving. That is worship. How does worship express itself? Through praise, prayer, singing, Bible study, witnessing, giving, meeting someone's needs. All these are worship if done from a heart of love. Everything we do is to be worship. But all these things can be legalism also if done from the attitude that "I have to do this so God will accept me." If it is done to earn favor with God, it is legalism.
Some people go out at different times with the express purpose of witnessing to others. Witnessing is good and we all should be doing it, but if you do it to earn God's favor, it is legalism. It is a work of the flesh. But if we do it out of love for God and concern for our fellow man, it is worship. When you do what you do from a heart of love, it brings glory to God. When you sing from a heart of love, it brings glory to God. Motive is the issue, people. Why do you do what you do? Why are you here this morning? Many people go to church for improper motives. They go because it is the thing to do or to earn God's favor. Are you here to learn the truth so that you can love and serve God more effectively? A motive is any thought that determines a choice or induces an action. What moves you to action? Is it love?
Romans 12:1 (NKJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Why worship? Because of all that God has done for you in Jesus Christ. The bottom line of worship is how you live. You can't come here and worship on Sunday if you have been living in sin all week. Let me share with you one of the clearest pictures of worship in the Bible. In the midst of the worse calamity you can imagine, in the midst of a catastrophic disaster, Job's reaction was worship.
Job 1:20-21 (NKJV) Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."
Remember what we said worship was? Worship is a redeemed heart occupied with God, expressing itself in adoration and thanksgiving. Here is a man in the midst of the furnace of adversity and he falls on his face in acceptance of the Divine will and says, "Let it be so, Your will be done, Blessed be the name of the Lord." Worship is bowing to the sovereign will of God, whatever it is.
Paul says that the "true circumcision" worships God prompted by the Spirit, in accordance to truth. It is wholly from the heart. It is a pouring out of all of life in thanksgiving and honor to God. It has nothing to do with place, ritual or race, it is a matter of the heart. This is a true Christian.
The second thing that Paul says about a true Christian is, "They rejoice in Christ Jesus." This is the positive side. The Greek word used here for "rejoice" is kauchaomai. It means: "To boast, to glory, to pride oneself in something, to exult." Paul uses this word kauchaomai 35 times in the New Testament. It is only used twice outside of Paul, and that is by James. It is used to define two extremes of religious attitude, which can be seen in Galatians 6. It refers either to proud self-confidence as in:
Galatians 6:13 (NKJV) For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
They wanted to boast in the number of converts they had won. Or kauchaomai is used to refer to humble submission to God's grace as revealed in the cross of Christ:
Galatians 6:14 (NKJV) But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
The only thing that Paul boasted in was Christ and his work of redemption on the cross. As Christians, the only thing we should be boasting about is Christ and His work.
The origin of the word kauchaomai goes back to:
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NKJV) Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.
God delights in the person who boasts in Him. The exultation of the believer in his Savior stems from, and is based on, His finished work. Our boasting is not in ourselves, which is the essence of sin, but in Another whose arm alone has brought salvation, and on whom we rest in utter confidence and self-distrust. It is an attitude which deflates pride, especially in our religious virtues and attainments, and exalts the sovereign grace of God. False believers take credit for their salvation. But the true believer gives credit for their salvation to God, and God alone.
Philippians 3:3 (NKJV) For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,
Philippians 3:3 is not a description that would fit someone holding to Catholic theology. Catholic theology says, "By my deeds I can not only earn merit for myself, but if I earn more merit than I need to get into heaven, my extra merit goes into the treasury of merit to be applied to somebody else to get them out of purgatory." What that says is, "Not only can I, by my merit, earn my own salvation, but I can over earn it and apply what is left to someone else's salvation." This is salvation by works, and this is denying the sufficiency of Christ's work. If you are trusting in something that you've done to get you into heaven, you'll never get there.
The third definition that Paul gives of a believer is that they "have no confidence in the flesh." This is the negative side of "rejoice in Christ Jesus." The Greek word that Paul uses here for "confidence" is peitho. It means: "To rely upon or trust in flesh." The word "flesh" is the Greek word sarx which has the idea here of: "my own ability apart from God. To have confidence in the flesh is to seek life in terms of what man can accomplish of himself.
The Jews placed all their confidence in the flesh. They were descended from Abraham physically, they had the physical mark of circumcision, they physically performed the ceremonies, and they outwardly did the duties of the law and traditions, but it was all of the flesh and it got them nowhere.
To place one's confidence in anything outside of Christ, is to have confidence in the flesh. This calls for a realization of total depravity! We have nothing to offer God, we are spiritually bankrupt, and thus if Christ doesn't save us, we'll never be saved.
So, the true circumcision (true believers) worship by the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh. We joyfully and confidently sing out the words written by Edward Mote, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name."
In our remaining time this morning, I want us to look at the theological significance of Paul's description of the church of Jesus Christ as the true "circumcision." In the beginning of verse 3, Paul says, "For we are the circumcision." The "we" is referring to Christians, all Christians. Theologically, this is very significant. This is Paul's description of the church of Jesus Christ. The church is the "true circumcision."
We saw last week the significance of circumcision to the Old Covenant Jews. We saw in Genesis 17, that circumcision was given as a sign of the Abrahamic covenant. In Exodus 12:44, we can see that it was carried over into the Mosaic covenant. As it developed down through the history of Israel and even into the time of our Lord, it became very clear that "the circumcision" was a title, a technical designation of the children of Israel. Jews were synonymously called "the circumcision." There are many passages in Acts and some in Paul's letters in which instead of saying, "Israel" or "the Jews," they are simply called "the circumcision."
Acts 10:45 (NKJV) And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
The Jews who are called "the circumcision" were astonished because the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles.
Acts 11:2-3 (NKJV) And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him, 3 saying, "You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!"
The Jews, "the circumcision," were upset because Paul ate with the uncircumcised, the Gentiles.
Romans 3:30 (NKJV) since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
The circumcision" was simply a way of saying "Israelites" or "Jews." The "uncircumcisied," we the Gentiles.
Galatians 2:8-9 (NKJV) (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), 9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
Peter went to the Jews, "the circumcision," and Paul went to the Gentiles, "the uncircumcised."
Ephesians 2:11 (NKJV) 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;
Colossians 4:10-11 (NKJV) Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.
The term "the circumcision" was a technical designation for Israel. The significance of this should not be lost in Philippians 3:2-3. Paul says, "These Jews are not 'the circumcision' they are in fact the mutilators."
Who then is "the circumcision"? Paul tells us in Philippians 3:3, it is those who "worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." This is the Church, Christians, true believers. Paul is saying that the church is the "true circumcision," the true Israel, and the true Jew.
Someone may ask, "Isn't a Jew someone who descended physically from Abraham, and as a sign of his covenant relationship with God had the mark of circumcision?" Paul seems to be telling us that the "true circumcision" is not determined by ethnic derivation, not determined by the blood flowing in your veins, but rather by the faith that is in your heart. It's a matter of circumcision of the heart.
The majority of the nation of Israel rejected Jesus Christ at his first Advent, but he was accepted by the "little flock," the disciples and others. They were what constituted the believing remnant in the unbelieving nation as a whole. Throughout the Old Testament, even in times of extreme unbelief, there was always a remnant. Elijah thought he was all alone, but he wasn't:
Romans 11:3-4 (NKJV) "LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life"? 4 But what does the divine response say to him? "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."
God always has His remnant. And at the time of Israel's national rejection of the Messiah, there still was a remnant who put their trust in Jesus Christ. The little flock that accepted Him were the believing remnant within the unbelieving nation:
Romans 9:6 (NKJV) But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,
All are not Israel who are from the nation Israel. There is a true Israel, a believing remnant, within the nation Israel. He was telling them that physical decent didn't mean that you were the true people of God.
John 10:16 (NKJV) "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Jesus is talking here to the Jews, and the other sheep that he says he has are the Gentiles. There is only one flock made up of Jews and Gentiles who form one body, the true people of God. Jesus saw the realization of Israel's true destiny in the circle of His disciples, they are not a new Israel, that are not a different body but the true Israel, the believing remnant.
Matthew 16:18-19 (NKJV) "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Jesus was not prophesying some completely different body of believers cut off from the Old Covenant people. Who were the people to whom He spoke these words? Who made up the early church? Jews made up the nucleus. They played a very important function in redemptive history. Not only were they the believing remnant of Old Testament Israel who accepted Christ, but they were also the nucleus of the emerging church and those to whom the promises of Israel were fulfilled.
Point: Those disciples who made up the nucleus of the emerging church stand in direct continuity with Old Testament Israel. We are not to think that the church is a temporary interruption in God's prophetic purpose for Israel. It is, in fact, the progressive continuation of that purpose. The church is not some new, entirely different, and distinct covenant body of people but rather the maturation of the believing remnant of Israel.
If you are familiar with dispensational theology, you know that it teaches that God has two peoples, Israel and the church, with two separate destinies, one earthly and one heavenly. This is not what the Bible teaches. The church is not a separate and distinct entity from Israel but we are the Israel, of God.
Philippians 3:3 does not stand in isolation in the New Testament.
Romans 11:17-20 (NKJV) And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
What I want you to see here is that there is only one olive tree, there is only one root. The natural branches, which stands for ethnic Israel, have been broken off because of their rejection of Jesus Christ. But the unnatural branches, which are the Gentiles, have been grafted in. God did not go out and plant another tree, He put us in the one olive tree of true Israel.
Romans 11:17 (NKJV) And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
We, Gentiles, were grafted in with them, Israel, and with them partake of the root of the olive tree. Paul taught that the Gentiles in the Church shared in the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant with Israel.
Ephesians 2:11-12 (NKJV) 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.
What is "at that time" of verse 12? It is prior to Christ's first advent. They were without hope because they were aliens from Israel.
Ephesians 2:13 (NKJV) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
What were they brought near to? They were brought near to the commonwealth of Israel and the covenants and promises.
Ephesians 2:14-16 (NKJV) 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.
Ephesians 2:19 (NKJV) Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Believing Gentiles have been admitted as citizens into the commonwealth of Israel. We partake of their promises and blessings.
Galatians 3:16 (NKJV) Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ.
The promises were to one Seed who was Christ. Jesus Christ is the seed of Abraham.
Galatians 3:26-29 (NKJV) For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
If you by faith belong to Christ, you are Abraham's seed and an heir according to the promise. It doesn't matter who's blood you have in your veins, but who's faith you have in your heart. It is covenant, not race, that makes one a Jew.
Who is a true Jew? Is it ethnic background that makes you a Jew? NO! Many people today still consider the Jewish people as a race but there is no Jewish race today. After the destruction of Jerusalem, the nation of Israel, after the flesh, was scattered throughout the earth, and lost all tribal relations. This scattering was made immutable due to the fact that all tribal genealogical records were destroyed with the Temple in A.D. 70. The simple fact is that there is no existing Jewish race. Consider the following quotation from
The Encyclopedia Brittanica (1973)
The Jews As A Race: The findings of physical anthropology show that, contrary to the popular
view, there is no Jewish race. Anthropornetric measurements of Jewish groups in many parts of
the world indicate that they differ greatly from one another with respect to all the important
physical characteristics." (vol. 12, page 1054)
If you are in Christ, then you are a true spiritual Jew. In 1 Peter 1:1 and James 1:1, the designation "the dispersion" is used for the Church. It is a technical term for Israel.
1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Who is Peter writing to? The Church, believers. All of these terms are taken right out of the Old Testament, they were technical designations for the covenant people, Israel. Peter is saying, "You believers are the covenant people of God."
Revelation 1:6 (NKJV) and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Who is the "us"? It is believers, all believers. That phrase comes from Exodus 19:6 and it is used when God, on Mount Sinai, constituted Israel as His theocratic community. The terms which God gave to Israel are now applied to us, that's why Paul says that we are the true circumcision.
Are we redefining what constitutes a Jew? No, Paul did!
Romans 2:28-29 (NKJV) 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.
Being a Jew has nothing to do with ethnic background, it has to do with being in a covenant relationship with God by faith.
Zionism -- is a political movement built on the belief that the Jewish people deserve, by right, to possess the land of Palestine as their own. Do they? No! Modern unbelieving Jews have absolutely no theological, and therefore, no historical and legal right to the land of Palestine. There are no racial Jews today, and those who hold to the Jewish religion are anti Christ.
Christian Zionism is blasphemy. Christians have no theological stake whatsoever in the modern State of Israel. Religious Israelites are anti-God because they are anti-Christ. Judaism is a cult, and unless they turn to Christ, they will spend eternity in the Lake of fire. Look at what John wrote about the Christ rejecting Jews of his day.
Revelation 2:9 (NKJV) "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
An unbelieving Jew is of the synagogue of Satan. A true Jew, a true Israelite is one who has trusted in Jesus Christ and has been circumcised in heart.
Those who are the Israelites of God's prophetic purpose are not those who are Jews ethnically or outwardly. But those who are the Israelites of God's prophetic purpose are those who are Jews spiritually and inwardly.
Galatians 6:14-16 (NKJV) But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. 16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
We, believers, are the Israel of God by faith in Jesus Christ.
The church is not a temporary interruption in God's prophetic program for Israel. The church is the prophetic fulfillment of that program, because the church is Israel. Covenant, not race, has always been the defining mark of the true Israel of God.
Philippians 3:3, in context, is teaching that fleshly accomplishments don't matter to God, race doesn't matter to God. The true circumcision, the true Jew, the true Israel of God are those who trust completely and only in Jesus Christ. The true believer worships by the Spirit of God, rejoices in Christ Jesus, and has no confidence in the flesh.
What are you trusting in for your salvation? Is your boast in Christ, and Him alone?
This message preached by David B. Curtis on March 28, 1999. Tape #97.
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