So circumcise your heart, and do not stiffen your neck any longer. (v.16)

But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God. (Romans 2:29)

Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised— (Jeremiah 9:25)

From my youth, I heard many sermons on how to live a life that is pleasing to God. I spent my youth trying to be a good person respected by others. I remember that I swore to God that I would never say anything bad and would obey God’s words. But I failed numerous times. I gave up and slowly became used to the immoralities happening around me and accepted them. I even encouraged others to do the same. I now know that I did not do a single good thing out of my will and effort.

For I know my wrongdoings, And my sin is constantly before me. (Psalm 51:3)

We often think that we are better than King David who committed adultery and murder. But we are as great sinners as him. David, who received the Holy Spirit, still fell into temptation and committed horrible sins.

Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. (Psalm 51:10-11)

God let David fall into temptation. His failure is not for us to feel better about ourselves. We are no better than David.

What the law requires is self-sacrificing love. The Ten Commandments are summarized into one word: love. However, God made the stones breakable. And they broke when Moses threw them out of anger. The written codes are made to be destroyed. True obedience comes from the Holy Spirit. Only by becoming God’s children through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we can truly call God, our Father.

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? (vv. 12-13)

Fear may sound contradictory to love. But fear and love exist together in the mind of children towards his/her father. From the beginning, God intended to create His children through His only begotten Son. The saints become God’s eternal priests and children.

Anyone who emphasizes God’ law and punishment does not understand God’s will in creation. Many Christians live a life of slavery because they do not know what God wants. They live out of fear that something they do might trigger God’s anger. Yet, they live a sinful life because sin is from not knowing God. Can anyone seek God and find Him? The answer is no. No matter whether you live a secluded life or pray all day, God is not something that you can grasp. He is like the wind.

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, The Lord GOD says this: “Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, so that they come to life.” (Ezekiel 37:9)

However, the words of admonitions in the Bible do benefit the saints. “Circumcise your heart”. We know that we cannot circumcise our hearts. We know that we did not choose to believe in God. God made us believe in Him and become His children. These words “Circumcise your heart” remind us that we are now children of God and that we must live according to our new status. We are no longer slaves but children of God.

For the reprobate, these words become a snare because they do not know God. They think they can circumcise their heart by their will and effort. They preach that God’s grace is partial and incomplete. God knows that their heart is not circumcised. They will be condemned at the end. We must remember that God’s grace is absolute, complete, and total.

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:25-26)