Jeremiah 9:25-26

The Lord says, “Watch out! The time is soon coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh.  That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples. I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord’s sight. Moreover, none of the people of Israel are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.”

It is circumcision of the heart that our Lord God desires. In Romans 2:28-29 Paul says, “A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.” In Galatians, Paul says, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God.” It is by grace through faith in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are shaped into the “Israel of God”. We are His chosen, and that is by faith.