Thursday, May 22, 2025

           Jeremiah the prophet spoke God’s Word during some dark days in Judah.  The dark days were connected to the nation’s sinfulness and the impending Babylonian invasion.  Both of these realities were connected.  The nation’s sinfulness and rebellion against God led to the Babylonian invasion.  And the invasion was God’s way of bringing His wrath and judgment upon the waywardness of His people.  Jeremiah summarized the spiritual climate of Judah in a single verse, “My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding.  They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”  Wow!  What an ancient indictment!  But the prophet’s words were true and still ring true today.  We are skilled sinners.  We have accumulated a huge sin debt before the Lord—often choosing our ways over His ways and loving our desires more than we love Him and His perfect ways.
            Paul memorably wrote, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15).  If we are honest, we find ourselves in agreement with Paul.  We can raise our hands and plead just as guilty.  We don’t need any particular expertise to recognize the sinfulness of the world in general and our sinfulness in particular.  Most of us are keenly aware of where and how we have departed from God and His perfect ways of love, justice, goodness and righteousness. 
            But Jeremiah also brought some good news.  In Jeremiah 4:4, we read, “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts.”  There are two ways that the Bible typically presents circumcision.  One is the physical act of circumcision performed on infant males.  The other is a spiritual circumcision of the heart where the sinful, calloused and rebellious pieces and parts are excised and cut away.  While humans can perform physical circumcision, only God can perform the greater spiritual circumcision.  God is the only One qualified and capable of pruning away the bitter roots of sin and disobedience.  Only God can see our hearts with perfect clarity and know precisely what needs to be removed.  
            How does God circumcise hearts?  The Holy Spirit shows us our sinfulness and convicts us of wrongdoing.  We hear and recognize that conviction.  We confess our sins and turn from them.  We receive the abundant and all-sufficient grace of God.  And we cast those confessed and acknowledged sins to the cross—believing that Christ has paid the price to cover that debt in full.  While we may possess talents and skills, only God can forgive and cut away the sins of the heart that leave us guilty before Him.  Jeremiah promised that God will write a love story on the newly circumcised heart, “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33). 
            It is a blessing to know that God can replace our old heart with a new one and remove the inclination to sin with a desire to know, love, worship and obey Him.  We cannot do that for ourselves.  But, as Paul discovered, God can change even the worst sinners into saints and even the bitterest heart into a new and gracious one.  Our sins do not have to reign in us or claim us.  We can be set free—or circumcised in the heart as Jeremiah would put it.  This new heart is a cause for celebration.  Have a great Thursday!  We’ll see you on Sunday as we gather to study God’s Word at 9:45am and worship at 10:55am.