The foreskin of the heart

I've always liked the verse in Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

It makes me think not only of the covenant sign God writes on our hearts, but also of the removal of the filth in our hearts that should accompany it, and the relaxing of our necks to allow them to be flexible so as to follow God's voice, rather than go our own way. In the Old Testament, there was a requirement for physical circumcision, which was a sign of God's covenant with Israel. I believed that just as physical circumcision removes an obstruction for better functionality and sensitivity, so circumcision of the heart removed the stony, stubborn barrier of our hearts to make them more sensitive to God's prompting.

However, in recent times, I've been surprised at how some of those claiming to be Christians have behaved. With some, it's as though this stiffneckedness is still in place, with others, some of the uncleanness is clearly present. I wondered if Christians could have uncircumcised hearts, or if the heart circumcising could just take much longer than 15 minutes.

My current thinking is that the "foreskin of the heart" is our sinful nature, more than the individual sins themselves, and Christians hearts are circumcised from a covenant perspective, but constant battle is still required with our sinful nature, to prevent that "foreskin of the heart" from taking root again and reinfecting us with uncleanness and sin.

Two other passages on the subject are below, but I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts.

Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God

I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts.

My current thinking is that the "foreskin of the heart" is our sinful nature, more than the individual sins themselves, and Christians hearts are circumcised from a covenant perspective, but constant battle is still required with our sinful nature, to prevent that "foreskin of the heart" from taking root again and reinfecting us with uncleanness and sin.

I highly doubt that. From what I've seen you want to hear from people who agree with you and X whoever disagrees with you.

I'm not without fault either. I apologise for the posts where I haven't been fair to you. I truly think you are incredibly wrong about some things and stand by x's on these, but I also acknowledge that in the heat of debate, I've sometimes said things I didn't truly mean.

I appreciate that. I think the whole situation has shocked the world. But we as Christians, no, we as believers and followers of Christ must not be at odds. We have to find a peace somewhere because we have a world to win to Christ.

Amen!

Thank you for the kind words. I'm used to the red x's, so don't feel bad if ever your temptation should overcome your patience not to use!

I am curious to know what your first account was, though. The username that comes to mind is Kaylagrl...

Yes sir, that was me, with the little white dog. That was her namesake. She died tragically just after Christmas last year. I couldn't even stand to see her name I was so heartbroken. I have no kids so she kind of took that place. So was so fierce and brave for such a little mutt. So I contacted admin. and they allowed me a new account and a name change. I'm really grateful for their understanding. I told some of the older CC crowd, the ones here the longest, who knew me. But it's rather sad this Christmas. Her favorite thing was laying under the Christmas tree. Still miss her.

Well thanks Mo, guess I know where I stand with you now huh? Got it.

Awww. Sad to hear. Animals (especially dogs) are amazing creatures. They can teach us such lessons about love, loyalty, courage, etc. My condolences. Also, I'm pleased you are still around. We had (and still have) some heated exchanges, but I did notice and wondered what happened when your old account went to guest.

Lol. Since this topic and some of your posts, I've been paying my own heart more scrutiny, and am trying to use the red x less! Your post below (from a different thread) really made me think. (It was true that I didn't truly mean the post you replied to).

I've always liked the verse in Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

It makes me think not only of the covenant sign God writes on our hearts, but also of the removal of the filth in our hearts that should accompany it, and the relaxing of our necks to allow them to be flexible so as to follow God's voice, rather than go our own way. In the Old Testament, there was a requirement for physical circumcision, which was a sign of God's covenant with Israel. I believed that just as physical circumcision removes an obstruction for better functionality and sensitivity, so circumcision of the heart removed the stony, stubborn barrier of our hearts to make them more sensitive to God's prompting.

However, in recent times, I've been surprised at how some of those claiming to be Christians have behaved. With some, it's as though this stiffneckedness is still in place, with others, some of the uncleanness is clearly present. I wondered if Christians could have uncircumcised hearts, or if the heart circumcising could just take much longer than 15 minutes.

My current thinking is that the "foreskin of the heart" is our sinful nature, more than the individual sins themselves, and Christians hearts are circumcised from a covenant perspective, but constant battle is still required with our sinful nature, to prevent that "foreskin of the heart" from taking root again and reinfecting us with uncleanness and sin.

Two other passages on the subject are below, but I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts.

Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God

I believe that removing the foreskin of the heart is genuine repentance that brings a real change in the individual. I also believe we can go back to being hardhearted just like Israel did. The final falling away is a hardening of the heart that finds no repentance because the individuals aren't looking for it. Pure rebellion.