It is a shame.
My Humble Interpretation
Circumcision is part of the Abrahamic Covenant which is everlasting and still applicable to his descendants. Not for Gentiles unless they were slaves. Also not issued as a means of eternal life.
Ge 17:10
"This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.
Ge 17:14
"But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people ; he has broken My covenant."
It appears later in the OT that circumcision is used to join the group. Again nothing to do with eternal life.
Ge 34:22
"Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people: that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised.
Later God won’t let the uncircumcised eat of the Passover, but if you really want to join the group in Passover then get circumcised. Again nothing to do with eternal life, just a way to join the party.
Ex 12:48
"But if a stranger sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it.
Abraham gave the custom of circumcision, not Moses. Again no eternal life promised.
Ac 7:8
"And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
So the gentlemen from Judea have apparently misinterpreted their customs. It happens over time. This forum has seen a lot of evidence of that.
Ac 15:1
Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."
Some men (so maybe a handful out of how many Jews?) began to teach incorrectly that circumcision is a must to be saved, but they didn’t include the Mosaic laws in this statement. Paul took the question to the apostles.
Acts 15:2
And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.
Acts 15:5
But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses."
But the Pharisees didn’t say these were necessary for eternal life. They were still functioning as their ancestors did that this was how you became part of the Jewish Community. So the apostles and the elders pondered the situation. Then Peter spoke.
Acts 15:11
"But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are."
And then decreed:
Acts 15:19-21
"Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. "For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."
So they gave them some basics to abstain from while they learn the rules of the community. Again these things have nothing to do with eternal life, but have everything to do with being part of the Jewish Community.
Even in their letter they stated that the ones claiming that circumcision was a means of eternal life were not taught that by the apostles or elders.
Acts 15:24
we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,
The Mosaic laws governed the temporal life of a nation and was never stated as being a means to eternal life.
See Message 66
Ro 3:28-31
For we maintain that man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
So following any Mosaic laws that are still viable today, does not negate eternal life, nor does it promise eternal life. Many of them are part of our society anyway.
Whether you call them principles or standards, rules or regulations, guidelines or suggestions, or the "fruit of the spirit"; any group worshipping together, working together, or living together needs a set of behavioral guidelines for temporal situations. Just as this forum has a set of guidelines.
From my experience I've noticed that the ones that cry "foul" and say that works are being promoted for eternal life, are usually the ones that aren't showing "the fruit of the spirit" and are difficult to deal with. So when you quote scripture to show they should behave better, they throw back that "faith alone gets us eternal life."
Faith gets you eternal life, but fruit of the spirit makes temporal life livable.
A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
™ Version 4.2
