A Matter of the Heart
Romans 2:28-29
“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” -Romans 2:28–29
This passage concludes Paul’s larger argument that began in verse 17, and it emphasizes the reality of internalized faith. It’s true that real internalized belief will manifest outward fruit, but outward activity is not a true indicator of one’s faith if it is divorced from a believing heart. This is repeated theme in Scripture.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” -Jeremiah 31:33
“who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” -2 Corinthians 3:6
“Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” -Hebrews 4:1–2
Physical circumcision is the cutting off of the foreskin, not as representing the corruption of one part of the body, but similar to synecdoche (a part that represents the whole), it serves as a symbol of the corruption of the whole nature. Therefore, circumcision is really “a matter of the heart,” symbolizing the mortification of the flesh, the mortification of the whole Adamic nature.
To be a Jew, was to be the people of God, inwardly. The Spirit refers to the spiritual nature of the rite; whereas, the letter refers to the outward rite alone—as that which lacks the necessary inward piety.
The true Jew seeks the praise and affirmation of God, who alone sees the inward, and not the praise of man, who is limited to only seeing the outward.
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”” -1 Samuel 16:7
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