Title: The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 6) 

Subject: Circumcision
Summary: In this sixth installment of the Covenants, Grace and Law series, John Ritenbaugh warns that human nature, if it believes something is 'done away' will willfully ignore whole portions of scripture. Interestingly, when Jesus referred to 'every word of God' (Matthew 4:4) and Paul referred to 'all scripture' (II Timothy 3:15), the New Testament had not yet been written. In Ephesians 2:15, Paul was not referring to God's laws or any part of the scripture, but instead the extra-scriptural Jewish regulations (or code of law) which exacerbated the separation from the Gentiles. Circumcision was a token, sign, or seal (pointing to something unseen) that one was the heir of Abraham. No physical sign has the power to transfer righteousness to the doer. Circumcision, according to Deuteronomy 10:1-6,12 Jeremiah 4:4, and Acts 7:51-53 is chiefly a matter of the heart, reflecting an inward yielding to God's Laws.

Keywords: Aliens from the Commonwealth Anger of Gentiles Antagonism to law Authentication Begats Blood as token Burden Circumcision Circumcision of Timothy Closing doors on Sabbath Code of Jewish law Commandments of men Commonwealth of Israel Cooperative effort Cultural issue Customs Done away Draw a picture Economy of words Enmity Every word of God Foreskin of heart God's laws Inward circumcision Islamic fundamentalism Jewish code of laws Judaism Law established forever