Romans 2:29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. (NKJV)

Romans 2:29 is quoted as one of the ‘proof‘ verses that the Law of Moses, and more specifically ‘circumcision of the flesh’, is no longer binding for God’s set-apart people.

However, you have to ask yourself, where did the apostle Paul get this notion of a ‘circumcised heart’? Is this a brand new doctrine for the New Testament times, or was he preaching very old and established doctrine that these believers in Rome had neglected?

Mainstream theology claims that since Paul says in this verse above that ‘circumcision is inward and of the heart in the Spirit and not in the letter’, that this ‘must mean’ that Paul is claiming ‘the letter of the Law is no longer valid’ (even though it doesn’t say that).

This dogma claims that since Paul has described a second kind of circumcision “in the Spirit”, he ‘must by some necessity’ be claiming that circumcision of the heart eliminates the need for, and/or abolishes the commandment of God regarding circumcision of the flesh, “in the letter” (even though it doesn’t say that).

This argument rests on the premise that there’s only one of two options available to us; it is either circumcision of the heart or circumcision of the flesh, but not both.

That premise, that only one of the two types of circumcision can exist at a time, is a false dichotomy. A false dichotomy is when one argues that there are only two possible and mutually exclusive alternatives, when in fact there are other alternatives; or the categories are not in fact mutually exclusive.

What does the text say?

It says: a “Jew” is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit not in the letter. The English word “inwardly” in the Greek is Strong’s G2927 κρυπτῷ/krypto, which Thayer’s Greek Lexicon states as: hidden, concealed, secret; privately, in secret; inner part of man, the soul.

First of all, Paul is just stating a fact. ‘Circumcision of the heart is by the Spirit and not by the letter’; it is a fact. Period. Paul states that this is what defines a real “Jew”. Contrary to what we’ve been taught, Paul is not saying the ‘letter of the Law is abolished’; those words are not in the text. When Paul says “in the Spirit and not in the letter” he is not saying that the “letter” is done away with, all he’s doing is making a distinction, a statement of fact: ‘circumcision of the heart is not by the letter, it is by the Spirit’.

Secondly, and most critical, Paul is not introducing some new doctrine to take the place of another doctrine, as today’s mainstream theology would have us believe. Paul, the eminent scholar of his day, is quoting the Law of Moses and the Prophets in order to prove his point. He is preaching very old and established doctrine; that circumcision of the heart is by the Spirit, secretly and hidden, which only God sees. The circumcision that man sees is outward and by the letter of the Law. What he’s reminding the ‘believers’ in Rome is that which they had forgotten, which is the difference between the two.

Paul is reminding us in this second chapter of Romans, what it actually means to have a circumcised heart, and what that looks like in practice.

A biblical fact that is never taught by mainstream theology is that it has always been the will of God that His people have a circumcised heart.

What does the text say? ~

Deuteronomy 10:12-16 ₁₂And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn;

Deuteronomy 30:6-8 ₆And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today;

Leviticus 26:40-42 ₄₀But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land;

Jeremiah 4:1-5 ₁“If you return, O Israel, declares the LORD, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver, ₂and if you swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.” ₃For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. ₄Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” ₅Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’

Jeremiah 9:25-26 ₂₅Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart; [**this is an End-Times event**].

Ezekiel 11:17-20 ₁₁Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. {see also Jeremiah 31:31-33};

Ezekiel 44:6-9 ₆And say to the rebellious house, to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: O house of Israel, enough of all your abominations, in admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations. And you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep my charge for you in my sanctuary. Thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary; [**this is an End Times event**].

Zechariah 7:9-12 ₉“Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts.

And here in the New Testament, even before Paul believed in the Messiah, Stephen describes how “the Fathers” resisted the Spirit leading to uncircumcised hearts ~

Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

According to the verses listed above how does God describe someone with an “UNcircumcised heart“? ~

• A heart of stone
• Stubborn/stiff-necked
• Resisting the Holy Spirit
• Committing iniquity against God
• Walking contrary to God
• Rebellious towards God
• Committing abominations
• Breaking covenant with God

According to the verses listed above how does God describe someone with a “Circumcised heart”? ~

• Loves the LORD God with all their heart and soul
• Obeys the voice of the LORD and keeps all his commandments
• Humble
• Confesses iniquity/sin
• Walks in the LORD’s statutes and obeys His rules

Since the time of Moses, before David, before Jesus, and way before Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, that is how God defined a circumcised heart; one who walks humbly before the LORD, loving Him with heart and soul, desiring from that heart to keep all His commandments, statues and rules. Why do you think ‘David was a man after God’s own heart’???

So, if you were taught by mainstream theology like I was, that the ‘circumcised heart’ has “only” occurred post-resurrection, that the “new” testament believer is “now” circumcised by the Spirit, and that circumcision is “only now” of the heart”, you can see that this is a completely false doctrine. We are being lied to; whether it is on purpose or in ignorance, it’s still deception.

The Word of God reveals that “circumcision of the heart” is not the “new testament revelation” from Paul that we’ve been led to believe; it has always been a requirement of God for His set-apart covenant people.

In the next few studies we’ll go over the actual context of Romans chapter 2 and the real reason Paul had to make this statement in verse 29.

Final Thought: Have you ever been taught what Paul said in the verses directly after Romans 2:29, regarding ‘circumcision of the flesh’? ~ Romans 3:1-2 “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way!”

• For further study of Paul’s teachings, as well as the original Greek, see the ‘Links’ at the top of this page or blog posts at the bottom. Be like the Bereans, and test Paul’s doctrines to the “Scriptures”; look up for yourself more than 60 of the “forever verses” listed directly below. Please ‘share’ this study. Thank you for your time!