Why was circumcision in the flesh added to GOD'S covenant with Abraham after GOD had credited Abraham with righteousness? According to Paul’s arguments should not circumcision of the flesh have come first?
If righteousness is credited apart from the law because Abraham believed GOD'S promise according to Paul, why then add more requirements to the covenant? But if righteousness is believing in the promised Son (WORD) first, walking in obedience to the Father's commandments would align with that righteousness.
James 1:25
ESV - 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
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Asked April 18 2024
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Dave Larsen
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Tim Maas
I would say that circumcision was not an addition to the covenant, but was a visible outward sign of a male's inclusion in the covenant.
Shirley H
Indeed in Genesis 17:9-14, God had made a covenant with Abraham that included circumcision. But since that time, Christ came and sacrificed His blood to procure a new covenant. Now we are in a different time. Remember that the Pharisees had many, many laws. God looks at the heart. David was a man after God's own heart. See 1 Samuel 13:14 and 16:7. Paul was forging a new way of seeing God. He was revealing what God really wanted: faith, not sacrifices. God desires hearts that love and trust Him. He wants a heart free from rituals and demands, a heart that honors God's love by loving others and sharing the truth of the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Walking and talking and reading the Word, and hiding it in our hearts honors God, trying to be more like Jesus every day.
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