A Prayer: Father God, You said of Your children long ago, "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!" (Psalm 81:13-14) Lord God, please help me to listen carefully to You and follow Your ways so that I will not hinder my own victory through disobedience.

Have you ever gone to a play or a ball game and had an usher come up to you and ask if you knew where you were seated?

The choice is yours, not his!

As you can see from this covenant, it was mandatory for every male whether they were born into the house or bought as a servant. If a male was not circumcised, he was to be cut off from his people since he would have broken the covenant.

Let's look at a few more references to circumcision.

I also walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies--if then their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they then accept the punishment for their iniquity, then will I [earnestly] remember My covenant with Jacob, My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham, and [earnestly] remember the land. - Lev. 26:41-42

So circumcise the foreskin of your [minds and] hearts; be no longer stubborn and hardened. - Deut. 10:16

And the Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with all your being, that you may live. - Deut. 30:6

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest My wrath go forth like fire [consuming all that gets in its way] and burn so that no one can quench it because of the evil of your doings. - Jeremiah 4:4

And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power]. In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, but in a [spiritual] circumcision [performed by] Christ by stripping off the body of the flesh (the whole corrupt, carnal nature with its passions and lusts). [Thus you were circumcised when] you were buried with Him in [your] baptism, in which you were also raised with Him [to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God [as displayed] when He raised Him up from the dead. - Colossians 2:10-12

I found it very interesting that these passages, while dealing with circumcision, are dealing not with circumcision of the flesh, but of the heart. It's a nice thought and I've heard many, many Christians speak about it before, but what does it mean exactly? Is it more than a nice metaphor?

First let's take a look at what happens with physical circumcision. The outer covering of skin is removed, which is rather painful if not done with anesthesia. The newly exposed area is much more sensitive, and the health of the male and his future bride are both safeguarded. How does this correspond to spiritual circumcision?

In the verses above we see that we are commanded to circumcise our own hearts, and we also see that God Himself will circumcise our hearts. So in spiritual circumcision the toughened outer layer is removed from our hearts and minds - our attitudes, unforgiveness, pride, anything that gets in the way of our relationship with the Lord. This isn't always a pleasant procedure and can, in fact, be quite painful.

Once this layer is removed our heart should be highly sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to not only deepen our relationship with God, but allowing us to be used by God to minister His love and mercy to others thereby bringing His kingdom to those who need it most. Also, because of this spiritual circumcision, our spiritual health is safeguarded, as is the spiritual health of those we come in contact with.

While the original covenant of physical circumcision was established with Abraham, and while it is his physical descendants through Isaac and Jacob that are bound to the physical covenant, we, as believers in the Messiah, are Abraham's spiritual offspring. While we are not bound by the physical covenant of circumcision, I believe we, his spiritual children, are obliged to keep ourselves spiritually circumcised. We still live in earthen vessels. We face daily battles with our flesh, and without the help of God I don't think any of us would get very far in the fight. And because of our current physical state, we need to search our hearts and minds daily, removing - circumcising - any offensive thought or wrong motive. This isn't always easy, but it is necessary in order to remain sensitive to God's Spirit. Let us each find a new joy in keeping ourselves free from every offensive thing and every thing that hinders our relationship with God.

-Linda Krueger

Each year before a farmer can plant he must first go rock picking. As the winter months harden the soil, pressure forces rocks upward. These rocks if left alone can break the blade of a plow and prevent him from planing the seed. So each year he must navigate his field and remove these rocks if he expects to reap a harvest.

A farmer picking rocks from the field before putting a plow to the land is like the process of our continual sanctification

I believe it is possible for Christians to make the mistake that salvation and sanctification are one in the same. I believe this is possible because each one is related to a direct act from God and each one creates a relational change in our existence with Jesus Christ.

To be saved; to receive salvation; by grace through the acceptance of the sacrifice that Jesus made is to be rescued from the cost of sin which is death. It is to be made a new creation and a child of God and heir to heaven. To be sanctified is to have forgiveness from sin and to be washed new. To be as John said “a new creation” includes the gift of sanctification. In the moment that someone accepts Jesus into their life they seek salvation from sin and forgivness of sin.

I believe that these are really separate gifts that happen at the same time, in compliment of each other. Looking at the word salvation we can observe a sense of urgency and immediacy about it. To save, rescue implies a danger or risk. Salvation is the act of removing someone from the situation that will cause them harm.

When we rescue people from a burning building we do not focus just on the fire. Our first instinct is to pull the people away from the fire. We rush in and quickly snatch them out of the grasp of the fire and bring them to a position of security. When we save a swimmer in danger we do not drain the pool or pond, but we remove them from the water. Salvation once completed does not have to be repeated.

In an eternal salvation the situation is the cost of sin which is death. We as humans can not on our own pay the full cost of our sin to God the Father. The wages of sin is death and Jesus on the cross is the atoning sacrifice for sin. It is because of his death and resurrection into glory that man can be removed from the situation he is born into.

At the same time that we pray for salvation we also pray for the forgiveness of our sins and to be washed new. This is where I believe the gift of sanctification is received. By our repentance from our sinful nature we ask Jesus to remove from us any impurity that would cause Him displeasure. We are asking this so that we can stand beside him and be pleasing in his site and so that we no longer need to carry the burden of guilt and shame.

Anyone that has walked with Christ can give testimony to the fact that our feeling of sanctification does not last forever. In our life in this fallen world we often continue to sin against the will and pleasure of God. We make choices that are not in the spirit of fellowship with Jesus. The spirit of Christ that lives in our heart convicts us of this sin, and while we are saved from the full cost (death) of sin we can not help but feel un-sanctified.

The imagery that comes to my mind is that of a farmers field. Each year before a farmer can plant he must first go rock picking. As the winter months harden the soil, pressure forces rocks upward. These rocks if left alone can break the blade of a plow and prevent him from planing the seed. So each year he must navigate his field and remove these rocks if he expects to reap a harvest.

The existence of the rocks do not cause the farmer to cast out the field or to curse the soil. He is patient and willing to remove them so that he can use the field to produce good fruits. Even though he knows that this is work that will be repeated often, the farmer continues to pour his energy and hopes into the field.

It is in this image that I see the importance of continued sanctification in our lives in this world. Where the image of the field and our life most differs is that unlike the field which is helpless against the rocks, we are not helpless against sin. We have the power of Jesus that lives in our hearts that can change our lives.

Paul said we are to “commit ourselves to the constant changing of our minds” so that we can become like Christ. It is in this task that we must put forth our efforts and energy. It is said “as a man thinks he acts” and our paradigm of the world dictates our reactions to it. If we think someone is against us, we treat them as an enemy. If we think we are helpless to our flesh then we will make immoral choices.

I believe the inner work that all followers of Jesus need to do is to daily lessen the need for sanctification in their life. To become more dead to the world and more alive to the spirit. I believe that man does not have to live with the burden of sin as a major part of his existence. I believe that God has provided a means by which we can make sin if not totally removed from our life, at least not the normal part of it.