Romans 2:27-29 - Exposition

And shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature ( i.e. men in a state of nature, Without any distinct revelation, or sign of a peculiar covenant) judge thee (thou presumest, in virtue of thy position, to judge them; nay, rather, they shall judge thee ) , who by (rather, with, i.e. though in possession of ) the letter and circumcision dost transgress the Law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter (or, in spirit, not in letter. Both the nouns, πνεύματι , and γράμματι , here are without the article, so as to bring out their inherent significance. See above as to ὁ νόμος and νόμος ) . Whose praise is not of men, but of God . In these two concluding verses we observe the double sense in which the term ἰουδαῖος may be used. It denotes here one possessed of the true spirit of Judaism; in which sense the Gentile might be the better Jew. In a like double sense we may use the word "Christian'' (cf. John 1:47 , ἀληθῶς ἰσραηλίτης ; John 8:39 , "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham;" also John 4:1-54 . and Galatians 3:7 ). So, too, περιτομή for spiritual circumcision ( περιτομὴ ἀχειροτοίητος Colossians 2:11 ), in the sense of inward dedication to God's service, and " putting off the body of the sins of the flesh" ( Colossians 2:11 ; see also Philippians 3:2 , Philippians 3:3 ). Such ethical significance of the rite appears even in the Old Testament. We read there of "uncircumcised lips" ( Exodus 6:12 , Exodus 6:30 ), or "ears" ( Jeremiah 6:10 ), or "hearts" (Le 26:41); and in Deuteronomy 30:6 we find the significant words." The LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live;" and in Jeremiah 4:4 , " Circumcise yourselves to the Loan, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem." (Cf. Isaiah 3:1 , " Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.")