Valery writes: If the law is eternal, according to , why did Paul abolish circumcision? Genesis 17:7-10 clearly states, “This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your descendants after you: that all your males shall be circumcised.”

Peace to you!

Paul did not abolish circumcision. There is not a single text in the Bible where we see that the commandment of circumcision has been abolished. But Paul tried to explain the meaning of this commandment. The point is that this is a sign of belonging to the Jewish people, once chosen by God to carry out His plan of salvation (). Just a sign, nothing more.

The fact is that the Jews of that time were confident that they were saved solely because they are circumcised. Even if somewhere by chance the law turned out to be broken, then they still have the seal of salvation, the seal of belonging to God - circumcision. They are simply meant to be saved! However, Paul puts everything in its place and says that if you are circumcised, but break the law, then you lose everything: both salvation and belonging to God’s chosen people. Then even a pagan (by nature uncircumcised, but keeping the law) will be a reproach to such a Jew.

“And he who is uncircumcised by nature and does the law will not condemn you, criminal of the law at Scripture and circumcision? ()

The apostle opposes the understanding of salvation “according to circumcision” that was widespread at that time.

“Behold, you are called a Jew, and you reassure yourself with the law, and you boast in God, and you know [His] will, and you understand the best, learning from the law, and you are confident in yourself that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in darkness, a teacher of the ignorant, teacher of infants, having in the law an example of knowledge and truth: How can you, while teaching others, not teach yourself? While preaching not to steal, are you stealing? When you say, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? By abhorring idols, are you blasphemous? You boast about the law and by breaking the law you dishonor God?» ()

Do you see? This is not about repealing the law, but rather about implementing it. And we are talking specifically about the Ten Commandments.

“When you preach not to steal, do you steal?” ()
“When you say, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery?” ()
“By abhorring idols, are you blasphemous?” ()

And Paul continues without any sarcasm, but meaning exactly what he says:

“Circumcision is beneficial if you keep the law; what if you criminal of the law, then your circumcision has become uncircumcision.”

And the last sentence of the second chapter of Romans puts an end to it:

“For he is not one who is a Jew outwardly, nor is circumcision made outwardly in the flesh; but [he] is a Jew who is [such] inwardly, and [that] circumcision [is] in the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter: his praise is not from men, but from God.”

What does it mean to be internally a Jew? For example, how Moses loved God, loved people, laid down his life to save your people, and did not need stone tablets, because the Almighty Himself taught you the law.

In another letter, Paul even says that there is an undeniable advantage in being circumcised. But he is not talking about salvation, but about the fact that it is to this people (to whom the covenant of circumcision was given) that EVERYTHING has been given, and even Christ according to the flesh!

“So what is the advantage [of being] a Jew, or what is the benefit of circumcision? A great advantage in all respects, but especially [that] they have been entrusted with the word of God» ().

“There is great sadness for me and constant torment in my heart: I would like to be excommunicated from Christ for my brothers, my relatives according to the flesh, that is, the Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the law, and the worship, and the promises; theirs and the fathers, and from them Christ according to the flesh, who is over all God, blessed forever, amen» ().

The Jews who believed in Christ, unfortunately, not fully understanding the whole essence of Christ’s mission, boasted to the pagans who believed in Christ that they, the Jews, were circumcised, which means they were already saved, therefore every pagan, too, in order to be saved, must to be circumcised. Paul says that this law of works has no bearing on salvation. Because we are not saved by circumcision, but by faith in Christ crucified and risen.

"for there is one God, who will justify the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith" ().

"in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is valid but faith working through love" ().

Do you see? Paul does not abolish circumcision, it remains so a carnal sign that a person belongs to the Jewish people, the people from whom Christ is according to the flesh. But Paul focuses the attention of believers on the fact that circumcision, i.e. belonging to the Jewish people according to the flesh is not a guarantee of salvation, as they all thought. That is why Paul is so careful about when exactly God imputed righteousness to Abraham, i.e. forgave all his dreams and iniquities: before or after circumcision.

“Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute sin.

Does this blessedness relate to circumcision or uncircumcision?

We say that Abraham's faith was counted as righteousness. When did you get imputed? after circumcision or before circumcision? Not after circumcision, but before circumcision.

And he received the sign of circumcision, [as] seal of righteousness through faith, which [had] in uncircumcision, so that he became the father of all those who believe in uncircumcision, so that righteousness would be imputed to them, and the father of those who are circumcised, not only [receiving] circumcision, but also walking in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham, which [he had] in uncircumcision.” ()

And further Paul says that salvation is not in fulfilling the law (they say, he was circumcised, fulfilled all the commandments and was immediately saved once and for all), but by faith that God saves, God is merciful, God is omnipotent, God is ready to even give you His righteousness, just to correct your ways and return you Home. That is, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you go out of your way to fulfill the law, you will be saved not because he did it, but because God wanted to save you and you BELIEVE in it.

The Jews insisted that pagan believers undergo the rite of circumcision. This is what Paul opposed, not circumcision itself.

“Jesus Christ became a minister for the circumcision - for the sake of the truth of God, to fulfill what was promised to the fathers, and for the pagans - out of mercy, so that they glorify God, as it is written: For this I will glorify You (Lord,) among the Gentiles, and I will sing praise to Your name. And it is also said: Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people. And again: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and glorify Him, all you nations. Isaiah also says: the root of Jesse will arise and rule over the nations; The pagans will trust in Him» ().

Paul does not cancel anything, he only says that circumcision, as an action performed on the human flesh, does not give anything:

“If anyone is called to be circumcised, do not hide himself; If anyone is called uncircumcised, do not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but [all] in keeping the commandments of God».

Paul asserts that if previously the Gentiles (uncircumcised) were alienated from everything that God had given to the Gentiles (circumcised), now they are united to the Jews by faith in Christ. They join not according to the carnal law, but according to the spiritual, by faith.

"So remember that you, once pagans according to the flesh, who were called uncircumcised, so-called circumcised by the flesh [circumcision] done by hands, that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and being godless in the world. And now in Christ Jesus you who were once far away have become close through the Blood of Christ» ().

Paul urges the Gentiles not to rely on the flesh, as the Jews do, not to hope that circumcision will be their ticket home, because if they start thinking that way. they will immediately begin to think that they are saved by the works of their flesh and will gradually forget about Christ the Savior.

“Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of circumcision, for we who are the circumcision are those who serve God in the spirit and boast in Christ Jesus, and those who trust not in the flesh, although I can rely on the flesh. If anyone else thinks trust in the flesh, then moreover, I, circumcised on the eighth day, from the family of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, a Jew of the Hebrews, according to the teachings of a Pharisee, through zeal I am a persecutor of the Church of God, and according to legal righteousness I am blameless. But what was an advantage to me, I counted as loss for Christ’s sake.” ().

Jews had to circumcise this way, then they should have understood well that it was only a carnal symbol of belonging to the Jewish people, nothing more. If you want to belong to this people according to the flesh, be circumcised, but this does not guarantee you 1) salvation from sins and 2) salvation for Eternity.

Sincerely,
Sasha.

Read more on the topic “Law, sin”:

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!

According to the Law of Moses, the law given by the Lord Himself to Abraham, anyone who wanted to be a member of the people of Israel, God’s chosen people, had to undergo a special bloody operation. This applied to all males. The so-called circumcision was performed. The sign of circumcision remained for life. He was a reminder that this man was a member of the people of Israel.

But almost everything that happened in the Old Testament was only a shadow pointing to an object that was about to appear. The Old Testament constantly talks about the coming New Testament. Much that happened in the Old Testament, sometimes explicitly, sometimes covertly, pointed to events that were to take place at the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and after Him. So physical circumcision served as a sign of a new circumcision in the New Testament, circumcision no longer physical, but spiritual. What is this spiritual circumcision? The Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly said: " Who wants to follow Me, - i.e. for the Lord Jesus Christ into the Kingdom of God, into the glory of God, - he must deny himself and, taking up his cross, follow Me". This denial of oneself is spiritual circumcision. But what does it mean to deny yourself? - This means to reject sin, which has so penetrated the soul and body of every person that to reject sin is tantamount to as if a person must reject himself.

A person is filled with all sorts of passions that have eaten into him, like cancer - a disease eats into a person’s body, grows at the expense of it, and only a difficult and painful operation can save a person. Likewise, sin must be operated on, circumcised, that is, cut off from oneself, cut out, so that a person remains healthy.

For, just as without circumcision, which took place in the Old Testament on the 8th day after the birth of a baby, a person could not enter the society of the chosen people, so without spiritual circumcision a Christian cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

We must constantly, daily, one might say every minute, perform this spiritual operation on ourselves. I will give you a number of examples showing how we can perform spiritual circumcision on ourselves. So a man sits down at the table, his appetite develops, and although he has been full for a long time, he keeps filling his stomach, drinking if possible, and, in the end, turns from a person into some kind of animal. The situation is even worse with all sorts of carnal, prodigal sensations and desires. So it is with other sins.

A person must realize these illnesses of his and, as it were, cut them off from himself, abstain from overeating, from drunkenness, from all kinds of fornication - cut them off from himself. For the most part, however, a person himself cannot do this on himself, for he has become a slave of sin, a slave of the devil, who necessarily attaches himself to every sin and inflames a person, touches his nerves, body, and, if the Lord allows, touches his mind, perverts it is so that a person can, for example, overeat to such an extent that he then suffers very seriously.

Another example. So the thought came to go somewhere on holiday. It is clear that if a person goes somewhere: to a neighbor or to another place, then he will definitely talk there, judge, judge, or even get drunk, etc. And if he was in church that day, received some grace and spiritual relief, then by going to others, he will lose everything and acquire a demonic state there.

Therefore, a person must cut off all these sinful thoughts, desires and intentions at the very beginning. “Thou shalt do six days, and in them shalt thou do all thy works,” says the Lord, “but the seventh day is a feast unto the Lord thy God.” Therefore, try not to go anywhere on this day, sit at home, read the Word of God, get up and pray, if possible and the situation allows, or silently pray, maintain the spiritual mood that you received in the temple, and do not run somewhere, to talk idle, don’t judge, etc.

So we left the temple, prayed as if, but we walk down the street and what do we do? - We look: this so-and-so, that one is coming from there, we look at what kind of nose someone has, what kind of face they have, who is handsome, or even look out the window. And so, by the time a person reaches home, he will commit a thousand sins. This is the thought that scatters a person, forces us to look, listen and see what we should not, we need to cut off from ourselves, cut off.

And envy, and lies, and deception, and vanity, and so on, and so on! How many sins have clung and stuck to a person, become, as it were, a part of him, and only with great pain, with great difficulty, calling on the name of God for help: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy, help me,” only with prayer, tension, effort you can cut them off from yourself.

That is why the Gospel often says: The Kingdom of God is taken by force, effort, tension. A person must be attentive all the time, crying out: “Lord, have mercy.” What does it mean to say “Lord, have mercy”? It means to be awake, i.e. take care of yourself, fight against all sinful things, not only in deed, but also in word, thought, and feeling, cut them off from yourself, cut them off. If you can’t do it yourself - for the most part we cannot do this, we are already so mired in sins - then call on the name of God: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, help me.” So a person must, throughout his life from youth to death, watch himself every day, every minute, not give free rein to his eyes, ears, especially his tongue, or any desires, not allow himself any dreams, and reject everything bad from himself, cut off, destroy with the help of calling on the name of God, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is with great regret that I must say that people who seem to be reasonable, people who seem to be ahead in the eyes of many, do not understand what I am telling you about.

They think that if she sometimes goes to church, if at home she still reads the akathist and the psalter, and does household chores, then she has already done everything and there is no one better than her, and if she ever makes more worshipers, or reads the midnight office, then There is no one higher than her. She condemns everyone and does not see that she herself is full of all sins, that in her entire life she has never fought, has never looked after herself, has not purified herself, has not worked on it. And therefore it remains full of all sins: gluttony, drunkenness, fornication, all kinds of uncleanness, envy, pride, condemnation, idle talk, hatred, enmity, resentment. So often a person, being completely filled with all sins, all abominations, being disgusting to the Lord, considers himself righteous, because he goes to church, sometimes reads the psalter, akathists. But is that really the point? And akathists, and divine services, and prayers, and fasts - everything is given in order to help a person throw out all kinds of abomination from himself, help him circumcise himself, take on the cross of the fight against sin. And the Lord helps in this, sending help in the form of involuntary grief. A person, for example, cannot overcome gluttony, or drunkenness, or fornication - the Lord sends illness. A man is proud and vain, but the Lord will humiliate him before everyone so that he becomes the last person in the eyes of people. If a Christian person is attached to earthly things and directs all his strength, all his desires, all his dreams towards how to acquire earthly well-being by hook or by crook, theft, deception - by any means, then the Lord will take and take away everything that he It has. So, in addition to our labors in our own struggle with sin, the Lord also sends us involuntary sorrows, as help in this struggle. It is from this constant struggle with sin and involuntary sorrow that the cross is formed for every Christian.

If a Christian truly understands his purpose and the meaning of sorrows, then he will bear his cross without complaint. And if he does not understand this, then he begins to grumble, begins to judge the Lord Himself: why does the Lord send me sorrows, illnesses and the like, am I worse than others - and remains outside the Kingdom of God.

So it is with the Gospel - you see that the Lord constantly talks about us being vigilant, watching over ourselves, carrying our cross of fighting sin and enduring sorrows, so that we deny ourselves. If the Lord Himself was crucified on the cross for our sake, became the Lamb of God, taking away the sins of the world, if He suffered for us, then we, Christians, must bear our little cross and suffer in the fight against sin to purify ourselves, in order to become worthy to enter not to some place similar to earthly, but to enter into the Kingdom of God itself, into communion with the Lord, to become children of God. But for this we need to work hard, we need to love the Lord, we need to thank Him, beg Him to help us cleanse ourselves of our sins, to give us the strength to bear our cross until the end of our lives. And just as the Lord descended from the cross into the tomb and then rose again, so we all have to go from the cross to the tomb in order to go to the Lord in eternal resurrection. So, during our earthly life, we must deny ourselves, cut off all sin from ourselves, bear without grumbling, with gratitude, the cross that the Lord laid on us, beg Him to help us live our lives like Christians, die like Christians, and to inherit the Kingdom of God, prepared for all true followers of Christ from the creation of the world, where everyone will be enlightened like the sun, with the inexpressible joy of the Divine Light.

Religious scholars identify a large group of so-called “Abrahamic” religions, which go back to a single root - the history of Abraham, who received the commandments from God. The 3 most famous of them are Islam, Judaism and Christianity. They have both similarities and differences, but one of the most interesting points is the attitude towards circumcision.

Jews are obliged to do it, Muslims - at will, while among Christians the attitude changed: from recognizing it as necessary to indifference and complete denial.

If in the early Christian tradition it was recognized not only as desirable, but also as obligatory, but already at the beginning of our era the attitude changed dramatically.

Thus, at the Council of the Apostles, Peter expressed his opinion that circumcision, which, according to the Old Testament, is prescribed for all newborn boys and adults who have converted to Christianity, is completely unnecessary. If in Judaism circumcision symbolized the child’s entry into religion, then in Christianity baptism began to play this role. What complicated the situation was that Christ was circumcised according to all the traditions of the Jews: on the eighth day. By the way, many attributes significant for religion are associated with this event: the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord, the Hill of Circumcision, numerous icons and canvases.

It was quite difficult to explain this incident to ordinary priests, and even more so to the laity. It was argued that just as Judaism was the forerunner of Christianity, circumcision should be considered a prerequisite for the sacrament of baptism. Theologians explained its advantage by the fact that baptism affects the spirit of a person, while circumcision affects the body. The controversy continues to this day.

Another important turning point was the decision of the Ferraro-Florence Council, which in 1442 changed the wording to a more strict one. Man, as we know, was created in the image and likeness of God, which means that any unjustified distortion of him is a serious sin. Of course, this decree had not only a philosophical meaning, but also political implications. In particular, it was directed against Copts who practice and continue to practice this ritual.

Since then, in most Christian countries, circumcision has not been performed for religious reasons. But there remained branches of the Christian Church that preserved numerous ancient traditions common with the Jews, including the worship of the Sabbath and circumcision. These include the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian. In them, infants are circumcised even before baptism.

But with the weakening of Church pressure in Europe, circumcision began to be used quite often again. Now they put into it not a religious, but a medical and moral meaning. It was believed that it prevented sexual promiscuity in boys and also prevented many diseases. But with the development of science, this theory showed itself to be completely untenable, and the number of supporters of circumcision began to decline again.

Now Christian Churches look at circumcision quite calmly when it is done for medical or cultural reasons. It is difficult to say whether Christianity will once again change its attitude towards circumcision, but the current situation suits everyone for now.

Dear readers, on this page of our website you can ask any question related to the life of the Zakamsky deanery and Orthodoxy. The clergy of the Holy Ascension Cathedral in Naberezhnye Chelny answer your questions. Please note that it is better, of course, to resolve issues of a personal spiritual nature in live communication with a priest or with your confessor.

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Date: 03/08/2014 15:48:25

Anna, Naberezhnye Chelny

Why don't Orthodox Christians perform circumcision, even though Scripture says so?

Protodeacon Dmitry Polovnikov answers

Hello! “But the uncircumcised male who does not circumcise his foreskin, that soul will be cut off from among his people; for he has broken My covenant” (Gen. 17:14). Forgive me for asking, but Orthodox males these days don’t circumcise and why?

The Apostle Paul writes: “Behold, you call yourself a Jew, and you comfort yourself with the law and boast in God... Circumcision is beneficial if you keep the law; and if you are a transgressor of the law, then your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So, if an uncircumcised man keeps the statutes of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted against him as circumcision? And he who is uncircumcised by nature and keeps the law, will he not condemn you, a transgressor of the law under the Scripture and circumcision? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that is outwardly in the flesh; but he who is a Jew inwardly, and that circumcision which is in the heart, is in the Spirit, and not in the letter: his praise is not from men, but from God. (Rom. 2: 17, 25-29) And again: “If anyone is called circumcised, do not hide himself; If anyone is called uncircumcised, do not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but all to keep the commandments of God” (1 Cor. 7:18-19).

Circumcision is an Old Testament ritual institution, which consisted of the removal of the foreskin of the genital organ from all male infants on the 8th day after birth. In the first Jerusalem Christian community, circumcision extended to all Jewish Christians without exception. And some representatives of the Jewish Christian community insisted that the pagan believers undergo the rite of circumcision. This is what Paul opposed, not circumcision itself. “Jesus Christ became a minister for the circumcision - for the sake of the truth of God, to fulfill what was promised to the fathers, and for the pagans - out of mercy, so that they glorify God, as it is written: For this I will glorify You (Lord,) among the Gentiles, and I will sing praise to Your name. And it is also said: Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people. And again: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and glorify Him, all you nations. Isaiah also says: the root of Jesse will arise and rule over the nations; The Gentiles will trust in Him” (Rom. 15:8-12). But Paul did not abolish circumcision even though he was circumcised. There is not a single text in the Bible where we see that the commandment of circumcision has been abolished. But Paul tried to explain the meaning of this commandment. The meaning is that this is a sign of belonging to the Jewish people, once chosen by God to carry out His plan of salvation (Rom. 4: 7-12). Just a sign, nothing more.