8 Bible Verses about Circumcision

But certain individuals came down from Jerusalem and taught the brothers that "unless you get circumcised after the custom of Moses you cannot be saved."

so, as Paul wished him to go abroad with him, he took and circumcised him on account of the local Jews, all of whom knew his father had been a Greek.

in his own flesh he put an end to the feud of the Law with its code of commands, so as to make peace by the creation of a new Man in himself out of both parties,

In it there is no room for Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free man; Christ is everything and everywhere.

These men who are keen upon you getting circumcised are just men who want to make a grand display in the flesh ??it is simply to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

But some of the believers who belonged to the Pharisaic party got up and said, "Gentiles must be circumcised and told to observe the law of Moses." The apostles and the presbyters met to investigate this question, and a keen controversy sprang up; but Peter rose and said to them, "Brothers, you are well aware that from the earliest days God chose that of you all I should be the one by whom the Gentiles were to hear the word of the gospel and believe it. read more.
The God who reads the hearts of all attested this by giving them the holy Spirit just as he gave it to us; in cleansing their hearts by faith he made not the slightest distinction between us and them. Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? No, it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe and are saved, in the same way as they are." So the whole meeting was quieted and listened to Barnabas and Paul recounting the signs and wonders God had performed by them among the Gentiles. When they had finished speaking, James spoke. "Brothers," he said, "listen to me. Symeon has explained how it was God's original concern to secure a People from among the Gentiles to bear his Name. This agrees with the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent, its ruins I will rebuild and erect it anew, that the rest of men may seek for the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, saith the Lord, who makes this known from of old. Hence, in my opinion, we ought not to put fresh difficulties in the way of those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but write them injunctions to abstain from whatever is contaminated by idols, from sexual vice, from the flesh of animals that have been strangled, and from tasting blood; for Moses has had his preachers from the earliest ages in every town, where he is read aloud in the synagogues every sabbath." Then the apostles and the presbyters, together with the whole church, decided to select some of their number and send them with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. The men selected were Judas (called Bar-Sabbas) and Silas, prominent members of the brotherhood. They conveyed the following letter. "The apostles and the presbyters of the brotherhood to the brothers who belong to the Gentiles throughout Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: greeting. Having learned that some of our number, quite unauthorized by us, have unsettled you with their teaching and upset your souls, we have decided unanimously to select some of our number and send them to you along with our beloved Paul and Barnabas who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. We therefore send Judas and Silas with the following message, which they will also give to you orally. The holy Spirit and we have decided not to impose any extra burden on you, apart from these essential requirements: abstain from food that has been offered to idols, from tasting blood, from the flesh of animals that have been strangled, and from sexual vice. Keep clear of all this and you will prosper. Goodbye."

Well then, there is one God, a God who will justify the circumcised as they believe and the uncircumcised on the score of faith.

Christ, I mean, became a servant to the circumcised in order to prove God's honesty by fulfilling His promises to the fathers,

In it there is no room for Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free man; Christ is everything and everywhere.

in him you have been circumcised with no material circumcision that cuts flesh from the body, but with Christ's own circumcision,

in him you have been circumcised with no material circumcision that cuts flesh from the body, but with Christ's own circumcision,

he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual not literal ??praised by God, not by man.

Now the Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were amazed that the gift of the holy Spirit had actually been poured out on the Gentiles ??46 for they heard them speak with 'tongues' and magnify God. At this Peter asked,

and when they recognized the grace I had been given, then the so-called 'pillars' of the church, James and Cephas and John, gave myself and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Our sphere was to be the Gentiles, theirs the circumcised.

Well then, there is one God, a God who will justify the circumcised as they believe and the uncircumcised on the score of faith.

So when Peter came up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party fell foul of him.

Now is that description of bliss meant for the circumcised, or for the uncircumcised as well? Abraham's faith, I repeat, was counted to him as righteousness.

Now the Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were amazed that the gift of the holy Spirit had actually been poured out on the Gentiles ??46 for they heard them speak with 'tongues' and magnify God. At this Peter asked,

and when they recognized the grace I had been given, then the so-called 'pillars' of the church, James and Cephas and John, gave myself and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Our sphere was to be the Gentiles, theirs the circumcised.

For there are plenty of insubordinate creatures who impose on people with their empty arguments, particularly those who have come over from Judaism;

Remember, then, that once upon a time you Gentiles in the flesh, who are called 'the Uncircumcision' by that so-called 'Circumcision' which is itself the product of human hands in the flesh ??12 remember you were in those days outside Christ, aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the Promise, devoid of hope and God within the world.

So when Peter came up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party fell foul of him.

God also gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, whom he circumcised on the eighth day, Isaac was the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

Then what is the Jew's superiority? What is the good of circumcision?

He only got circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which belonged to his faith as an uncircumcised man. The object of this was to make him the father of all who believe as uncircumcised persons and thus have righteousness counted to them,

they are not all children of Abraham because they are descended from Abraham. No, it is through Isaac that your offspring shall be reckoned ??8 meaning that instead of God's children being the children born to him by natural descent, it is the children of the Promise who are reckoned as his true offspring. For when God said, I will come about this time and Sara shall have a son, that was a word of promise. And further, when Rebecca became pregnant by our father Isaac, though one man was the father of both children, read more.
and though the children were still unborn and had done nothing either good or bad (to confirm the divine purpose in election which depends upon the call of God, not on anything man does), she was told that the elder will serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I loved but Esau I hated.

He replied, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." "No, sir," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table."

God also gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, whom he circumcised on the eighth day, Isaac was the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

He only got circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which belonged to his faith as an uncircumcised man. The object of this was to make him the father of all who believe as uncircumcised persons and thus have righteousness counted to them,

Moses gave you the rite of circumcision (not that it came from Moses, it came from your ancestors), and you will circumcise a man upon the sabbath.

in Christ Jesus circumcision is not valid, neither is uncircumcision, but only faith active in love.

For what counts is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, it is the new creation.

Circumcision counts for nothing, uncircumcision counts for nothing; obedience to God's commands is everything.

Having learned that some of our number, quite unauthorized by us, have unsettled you with their teaching and upset your souls,

For there are plenty of insubordinate creatures who impose on people with their empty arguments, particularly those who have come over from Judaism;

These men who are keen upon you getting circumcised are just men who want to make a grand display in the flesh ??it is simply to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

To them Peter said, "You know yourselves it is illegal for a Jew to join or accost anyone belonging to another nation; but God has shown me that I must not call any man common or unclean,

"You went into the houses of the uncircumcised," they said, "and you ate with them!"

Before certain emissaries of James arrived, he ate along with the Gentile Christians; but when they arrived, he began to draw back and hold aloof, because he was afraid of the circumcision party.

Christ, I mean, became a servant to the circumcised in order to prove God's honesty by fulfilling His promises to the fathers, and also in order that the Gentiles should glorify God for His mercy ??as it is written, Therefore will I offer praise to Thee among the Gentiles, and sing to thy name;

Beware of anyone getting hold of you by means of a theosophy which is specious make-believe, on the lines of human tradition, corresponding to the Elemental spirits of the world and not to Christ. It is in Christ that the entire Fulness of deity has settled bodily, it is in him that you reach your full life, and he is the Head of every angelic Ruler and Power; read more.
in him you have been circumcised with no material circumcision that cuts flesh from the body, but with Christ's own circumcision, when you were buried with him in your baptism and thereby raised with him as you believed in the power of the God who raised him from the dead. For though you were dead in your trespasses, your flesh uncircumcised, He made you live with Christ, He forgave us all our trespasses, He cancelled the regulations that stood against us ??all these obligations he set aside when he nailed them to the cross, when he cut away the angelic Rulers and Powers from us, exposing them to all the world and triumphing over them in the cross.

in him you have been circumcised with no material circumcision that cuts flesh from the body, but with Christ's own circumcision,

We are the true Circumcision, we who worship God in spirit, we who pride ourselves on Christ Jesus, we who rely upon no outward privilege.

He is no Jew who is merely a Jew outwardly, nor is circumcision something outward in the flesh; he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual not literal ??praised by God, not by man.

We are the true Circumcision, we who worship God in spirit, we who pride ourselves on Christ Jesus, we who rely upon no outward privilege.

Circumcision counts for nothing, uncircumcision counts for nothing; obedience to God's commands is everything.

Circumcision is certainly of use, provided you keep the Law; but if you are a breaker of the Law, then your circumcision is turned into uncircumcision.

Are you such fools? Did you begin with the spirit only to end now with the flesh?

I insist on this again to everyone who gets circumcised, that he is obliged to carry out the whole of the Law. You are for justification by the Law? Then you are done with Christ, you have deserted grace,

in his own flesh he put an end to the feud of the Law with its code of commands, so as to make peace by the creation of a new Man in himself out of both parties,

Remember, then, that once upon a time you Gentiles in the flesh, who are called 'the Uncircumcision' by that so-called 'Circumcision' which is itself the product of human hands in the flesh ??12 remember you were in those days outside Christ, aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the Promise, devoid of hope and God within the world.

I was circumcised on the eighth day after birth; I belonged to the race of Israel, to the tribe of Benjamin; I was the Hebrew son of Hebrew parents, a Pharisee as regards the Law,

He only got circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which belonged to his faith as an uncircumcised man. The object of this was to make him the father of all who believe as uncircumcised persons and thus have righteousness counted to them,

in Christ Jesus circumcision is not valid, neither is uncircumcision, but only faith active in love.

Well then, there is one God, a God who will justify the circumcised as they believe and the uncircumcised on the score of faith.

Now the Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were amazed that the gift of the holy Spirit had actually been poured out on the Gentiles ??46 for they heard them speak with 'tongues' and magnify God. At this Peter asked,

and when they recognized the grace I had been given, then the so-called 'pillars' of the church, James and Cephas and John, gave myself and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Our sphere was to be the Gentiles, theirs the circumcised.

Moses gave you the rite of circumcision (not that it came from Moses, it came from your ancestors), and you will circumcise a man upon the sabbath.

and on the eighth day came to circumcise the child. They were going to call it by the name of its father Zechariah,

When the eight days had passed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus ??the name given by the angel before he had been conceived in the womb.

The promise made to Abraham and his offspring that he should inherit the world, did not reach him through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Now is that description of bliss meant for the circumcised, or for the uncircumcised as well? Abraham's faith, I repeat, was counted to him as righteousness.

Circumcision is certainly of use, provided you keep the Law; but if you are a breaker of the Law, then your circumcision is turned into uncircumcision.

He is no Jew who is merely a Jew outwardly, nor is circumcision something outward in the flesh;

Why, even the circumcision party do not observe the Law themselves! They merely want you to get circumcised, so as to boast over your flesh!

He only got circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which belonged to his faith as an uncircumcised man. The object of this was to make him the father of all who believe as uncircumcised persons and thus have righteousness counted to them,

Circumcision is certainly of use, provided you keep the Law; but if you are a breaker of the Law, then your circumcision is turned into uncircumcision. (If then the uncircumcised observe the requirements of the Law, shall not their uncircumcision be reckoned equivalent to circumcision? And shall not those who are physically uncircumcised and who fulfil the Law, judge you who are a breaker of the Law for all your written code and circumcision?) read more.
He is no Jew who is merely a Jew outwardly, nor is circumcision something outward in the flesh; he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual not literal ??praised by God, not by man.

But even my companion Titus, Greek though he was, was not obliged to be circumcised. There were traitors of false brothers, who had crept in to spy out the freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus; they did aim at enslaving us again. But we refused to yield for a single instant to their claims; we were determined that the truth of the gospel should hold good for you.

Remember, then, that once upon a time you Gentiles in the flesh, who are called 'the Uncircumcision' by that so-called 'Circumcision' which is itself the product of human hands in the flesh ??12 remember you were in those days outside Christ, aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the Promise, devoid of hope and God within the world.

Circumcision is certainly of use, provided you keep the Law; but if you are a breaker of the Law, then your circumcision is turned into uncircumcision. (If then the uncircumcised observe the requirements of the Law, shall not their uncircumcision be reckoned equivalent to circumcision? And shall not those who are physically uncircumcised and who fulfil the Law, judge you who are a breaker of the Law for all your written code and circumcision?)

I insist on this again to everyone who gets circumcised, that he is obliged to carry out the whole of the Law.

When her neighbours and kinsfolk heard of the Lord's great mercy to her they rejoiced with her, and on the eighth day came to circumcise the child. They were going to call it by the name of its father Zechariah, but the mother told them, "No, the child is to be called John." read more.
They said to her, "None of your family is called by that name."

Moses gave you the rite of circumcision (not that it came from Moses, it came from your ancestors), and you will circumcise a man upon the sabbath. Well, if a man gets circumcised upon the sabbath, to avoid breaking the Law of Moses, are you enraged at me for curing, not cutting, the entire body of a man upon the sabbath?

He is no Jew who is merely a Jew outwardly, nor is circumcision something outward in the flesh;

he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual not literal ??praised by God, not by man.

Now, they have heard that you teach all Jews who live among Gentiles to break away from Moses and not to circumcise their children, nor to follow the old customs.

so, as Paul wished him to go abroad with him, he took and circumcised him on account of the local Jews, all of whom knew his father had been a Greek.

God also gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, whom he circumcised on the eighth day, Isaac was the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

Well, if a man gets circumcised upon the sabbath, to avoid breaking the Law of Moses, are you enraged at me for curing, not cutting, the entire body of a man upon the sabbath?

Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear?

and on the eighth day came to circumcise the child. They were going to call it by the name of its father Zechariah,

so, as Paul wished him to go abroad with him, he took and circumcised him on account of the local Jews, all of whom knew his father had been a Greek.

When the eight days had passed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus ??the name given by the angel before he had been conceived in the womb.

I was circumcised on the eighth day after birth; I belonged to the race of Israel, to the tribe of Benjamin; I was the Hebrew son of Hebrew parents, a Pharisee as regards the Law,

We are the true Circumcision, we who worship God in spirit, we who pride ourselves on Christ Jesus, we who rely upon no outward privilege.

But certain individuals came down from Jerusalem and taught the brothers that "unless you get circumcised after the custom of Moses you cannot be saved."

When the eight days had passed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus ??the name given by the angel before he had been conceived in the womb.

He only got circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which belonged to his faith as an uncircumcised man. The object of this was to make him the father of all who believe as uncircumcised persons and thus have righteousness counted to them,

in him you have been circumcised with no material circumcision that cuts flesh from the body, but with Christ's own circumcision,

he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual not literal ??praised by God, not by man.