Baptism and the Circumcision of the Heart

Why is participation in the New Testament Passover for Baptized members only?


Exodus 12:43-49 … The original Passover instructions that God gave to Israel states that only those who are circumcised in the flesh (for women it meant being part of a circumcised household) could participate in the Passover and this scripture forms the basis for our practice of limiting participation in the Passover service to those who are baptized.


So, why do we not do likewise and require circumcision as a requirement for participation in the Passover? Why baptism instead of circumcision?

The Meaning & Purpose of Circumcision

Circumcision first appears in scripture as a mark in the flesh and a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. Genesis 17:6-12

It was a physical act meant to accomplish two ends:

1. Physical: circumcision served as a mark or witness of the all-powerful but unseen God’s presence and action in the physical world. It served as a visible sign of who Abraham’s descendants were but even more it signified who were the covenant people.
2. Spiritual: from the very beginning circumcision was only a symbol, seal, a sign, a reminder of a spiritual reality, goal or principle

The Spiritual Symbolism of Circumcision

Romans 4:3, 10-12 - a sign of a spiritual act of faith that had already taken place
The spiritual symbolism of circumcision goes back to the very beginning of God’s covenants and is consistent throughout the old and new testaments
Deut 10:16 - a call for obedience
Deut 30:6 - a call to respond to and to reciprocate the love of God
Pictures, through the stripping away the out layer of skin called the foreskin, an awareness and sensitivity to sin by having it defined in the terms of the commandments… “ that sin might be recognized as sin “… but it did not picture the remedy for sin.

Romans 2:25-28 New Testament teaching is consistent on this aspect of circumcision:

Brief Comparison of the Covenants

A lot of people like to think of the New and Old covenants (or testaments) as if they were opposites. The old covenant goes that way the new covenant goes this way, OC is harshaNT is gentle, OT is judgingaNT is accepting, OT is lawaNT is Love…

The bible compares the two this way: Good ( Romans 7:12-13 ) aBetter ( Hebrews 7:22 )

The Terms of the Old Covenant

• Exodus 24:3-8 Israel agrees to worship and obey & sealed the deal in blood  (34:28)
• Exodus 19:5-8 God agrees to make them his chosen, special people with a special role among the nations of the earth to represent Him, to teach and set an example. (Deut 4:3)
• Exodus 6:4 God promises to give them land to dwell in safety
• Deut 29:9 Prosperity
• Deut 7:12 Mercy

… a way of atonement for inevitable sin through the sacrificial system

The Terms of The New Covenant - Hebrews 7:22 Better

• Hebrews 8:7-13 law is not done away its written on your heart and mind
• Hebrews 9:15 (better because they are eternal/everlasting)

… a better way of atonement for sin (the blood of Jesus Christ)

Circumcision Not Part of the New Covenant

Acts 15 records the historic council of the church which formally ruled that physical circumcision was not to be required of new converts to the faith… and therefore not part of the New Covenant Acts 15:1-2, 28-29

I Cor 7:19 - Note: when the council of Acts 15 removed the requirement of circumcision for non-Israelites they did not simultaneously do away with God’s commandments! As I just mentioned the New Testament teaching on this point is consistent with the Old.

Hebrews 8:7-13 - the weakness of the Old Covenant was the fault of the people, not the law. Because if ever there was a law written that could bring about righteousness this was it. The new covenant does not dispense with the commandment… no, it writes it on the heart and in the mind. The priesthood changes, the temple, the whole mechanism of atonement for sin, the symbols of the Passover, circumcision… but not the definition of sin. Not the commandments.

The Israel of the New Covenant is the Church (verse 10)

When Christ established His church it was the establishment of a New Israel a spiritual Israel, the “Israel of God” . This new Israel began with a righteous remnant from the remaining tribes of Israel and extended out to all people and races willing to believe God, to accept Jesus Christ as savior and worship God in spirit and in truth.

• Galatians 6:15-16
• Romans 9:6-8
• Romans 9:24-29

I Peter 2:9-10 - the church picks up Israel’s commission

The Circumcision That Matters Now is Circumcision of the Heart

The spiritual change that circumcision was meant to picture is still required to become part of the covenant people.

But the circumcision that matters now is the circumcision of the heart which occurs (or begins) when one repents, is baptized and is begotten by the Holy Spirit. When you put to death the Old Person and the fruits of the flesh and are raised up in newness of life as a spiritual creation

• Colossians 2:11-13 - baptism called the circumcision of Christ
• Romans 6:1-11

You could argue that baptism is no better than circumcision. The act itself just gets you wet. What counts is the repentance, the acceptance of Christ’s blood to pay your death penalty, rising again to a new life, obeying his commandments, bearing spiritual fruit, and being begotten of the Holy Spirit… Yep that’s 100% true .

However, God’s spiritual work takes place in a very physical world. As Jesus said to Nicodemus … the spirit is like the wind, you can’t see the wind but you can see its affect on the things around you.

Baptism is a physical act sign, a seal, a public rite performed in front of witnesses testifying to a spiritual reality that has begun in the person. And baptism pictures the better promises of the new covenant… the resurrection to eternal life…

Baptism is a commanded ordinance Matthew 28:19

Jesus himself was baptized (not for the remission of sins but as our example)
Jesus ministry was a baptizing ministry John 3:22, 4:1-2
… this pattern shows He would work through real people… a spiritual work in a very physical world.

Matthew 26:28 - the blood of the New Covenant
When Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples all of them had been baptized. In the flesh there were of the circumcision, the covenant people God had redeemed from Egypt. But now they were about to enter into the new covenant through the very real blood of Jesus Christ.

I don’t know how what they were thinking or how they felt. But reading through the gospel accounts you definitely get the impression that they were excited about what Jesus was doing, they wanted to be a part of what he was doing, they wanted to be part of his group which they would only later realize meant being part of His body the Church of God.

Life in the church has its ups and downs, good times and bad times, but it’s still very much something I want to be a part of… not alone, connected, part of the group, with you in the body of Christ and in the family of God.