God, according to the Bible, made a covenant with Abraham. The sign of this covenant was to be circumcision. If a male child was not circumcised, he would be cut off from the covenant of God as noted in Genesis:
And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.Circumcision was a sign declaring that a person was in covenant with God. Although this was the purpose of outward fleshly circumcision in the Old Testament, Jesus came and made another covenant with mankind which doesn't require outward circumcision. This new covenant is based on placing faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and to be born again.
He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any stranger who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.
(Gen. 17:9-14 NKJ)
When we place faith in Christ, the Bible teaches us that we're circumcised on the inside, in our hearts. The old spiritual heart is taken out and a new one placed in. The Old Testament outward circumcision was symbolic of what was to come.
"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead" (Col. 2:9-12 NIV).
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Joe Cameneti Sr. is the lead pastor of Believers Church, located in his hometown of Warren, Ohio. Pastor Joe, along with his wife Gina, pioneered Believers Church in 1983 following his graduation from Bible School.
In addition to leading a thriving local church, Pastor Joe is the host of a weekly show called "BCTV." The program is aired locally, reaching over 30,000 people each month.
Pastor Joe is a gifted communicator, skilled in the art of building bridges to unchurched America. Transparent and authentic, you'll walk away challenged and encouraged to connect with God in a deeper way.
