Evening Sermon

September 23, 2007

GOD'S ID CARD

Text

We are all used to carrying identification cards. You probably have several forms of ID in your wallet or purse. Some places actually require two forms of ID. It might be a driver's license. Or it might be a card that you have to wear when you go to work. Like hospital employees. Government employees wear ID cards. So do college students. When Sharon and I went to St. Thomas last winter, we had a very important ID card, a passport, that not only gave us the freedom and protection of American citizens away from the continental United States but more importantly, let us return home!

Citizens of other countries must likewise carry legal identification while traveling or living in this country. Nowadays, that is particularly essential for our national security.

This evening, we will study the identification card that God provides for his people. Actually, God's ID card is even more important than something like my drivers license. It is like the ID badge that I wear on the fourth finger of my left hand, because God's ID badge is a sign of a covenant, just like my wedding ring is a sign of a covenant. God's ID card represents a firm commitment and a solemn contract, a contract between God and his people, sealed in blood.

In the OT, the Lord's ID card was circumcision, which he used to visibly identify his covenant people. And he is very much concerned to identify those people because,

I. THE LORD REVEALS HIS POWER THROUGH HIS PEOPLE. God has a long history of revealing his power, beginning with the creation of the world in the space of six days. He is certainly able to reveal his power any way he chooses, but most often, his power is revealed in the history and events involved in the life of his covenant people. In the OT, that meant that God's power was revealed in the nation of Israel. It is impossible to read the OT and miss that point.

In the OT, the nation of Israel is God's visible kingdom. In the OT, it was a literal kingdom. The nation of Israel was a theocracy, with the Lord God Almighty ruling directly as the King. And,

A. The Lord's power ensures that his kingdom will be victorious. v.1

This whole story of Joshua is a story of the victory of God's kingdom. We are quickly reaching the climax of that victory, when the city of Jericho is conquered. And every step of the way, it is the Lord's power that ensures that victory.

And the other kings of the land knew that. The kings of the Amorites and the kings of the Canaanites knew all about God's power. They had seen it. They had heard about it. They knew about God's supernatural miracles, and his ability to dry up the mighty Jordan River and the Red Sea before that. They knew that the Lord's power had already destroyed the Kings of Og and Sihon.

They knew that God's people would be successful because God was on their side. That was the encouraging message first provided by Rahab, the woman of faith we studied chapter 2. 2:9 "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10 "For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 "And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."

The story of the conquest of Canaan is the story of God's power, power that ensures that his kingdom will be victorious. And,

B. Power that humbles his enemies. v.1 They no longer had courage, they had no spirit. Their hearts melted. What a descriptive way to say it. Because of God's power so evident in the children of Israel, those once powerful nations were completely humbled.

The prophet Nahum describes the once great city of Nineveh in a similar way: Nahum 2:10 "She is empty, desolate, and waste! The heart melts, and the knees shake; Much pain is in every side, And all their faces are drained of color."

The Lord still reveals his power through his people. God's kingdom today is no longer a nation, but it most clearly identified with the church. Today, God's power is revealed through the church. And so we read things like this,

Eph. 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

So his power is at work within us as a church. And how encouraging that is! The nations should tremble before us, their hearts should melt, because God is with us. That is how much power we actually have! God's enemies should be humbled and silenced by the evidence of God at work among us.

God's power is at work within us! To him be glory in the church. God will build his church and the gates of hell shall not overcome it. And the church must correspond to the army of Israel which went out to conquer their enemies. The church is God's army.

And so the application for us in the words of the familiar hymn, "Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ the royal master leads against the foe; forward into battle, see, his banners go. Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before."

Such is the church in whom God's power is revealed. And since God's power is revealed in his church, he needs a way to identify his church, he needs an ID badge to identify his people. And he has designed such a badge and given it to his people.

II. THE LORD IDENTIFIES HIS PEOPLE WITH THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT. In the OT age, that sign was the sign of circumcision. And the first command the Lord gave his people after crossing the Jordan River was to circumcise all the men.

Humanly speaking, that was an absolutely foolish thing to do. If the enemy had known what condition the Israeli army was in, they could have easily conquered and destroyed them. A military commander doesn't march his troops right into the middle of enemy territory, then incapacitate every one of his fighting men! But that is what Joshua did.

v.2 Circumcise them again, a second time. Doesn't mean the same men had to be circumcised twice. It means that this command to the nation of Israel is being reinstated. The command to circumcise is being repeated a second time, because for forty years it has been neglected.

v.4-6

I believe that the suspension of this sign was part of God's judgment and justice shown to his people in the wilderness because of their sinful rebellion and lack of faith. In a sense, the covenant itself was suspended, while an entire generation died in the wilderness because of their disobedience. In their disobedience, it would have been inappropriate to be outwardly identified as God's people. And even the children born during those years had to endure the punishment of rejection along with their parents.

Only those two faithful spies survived, Joshua and Caleb. It is certainly possible that their children had been circumcised because of their faithfulness. But everyone else was under 40, and uncircumcised. And now the time had come to restore to Israel this great sign of the covenant.

Joshua obeyed. v.7 v.3 Perhaps as many as 700,000 men were circumcised.

As Israel is about to conquer the promised land, God restores,

A. The outward symbol of the covenant. God continues to instruct his people to receive an outward symbol of his covenant with them. God continues to direct his people to wear an identification badge or an ID card. In the NT, that sign of the covenant is baptism, which has clearly replaced circumcision.

Col. 2:11 "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

To make it even clearer, those verses say that you were circumcised by being baptized. Paul could not have made a closer connection. So whatever circumcision meant for the people of God in the OT, baptism means for the people of God in the NT.

And with regard to the outward symbol, a couple of things become obvious. First of all, God has commanded that his people receive the sign of the covenant. It is a command. Failure to obey the command is a sin. And, that command to receive the outward sign of the covenant is given to you and to your children. The command to circumcise was given to every one of God's people, and by virtue of their faith, they were to place that sign upon their infant children on the eighth day.

The Bible commands God's people to place the sign of the covenant upon their infant children. And that very significant command has never been repealed. There is no mere dedication ceremony prescribed for us in the Bible, no christening ceremony. We simply have the sign of the covenant to be given to infants of believers.

And in the New Covenant, there are two significant ways in which the sign has been improved. Made better. Clearer. First, the NT sign is not a bloody sign, and it involves no physical pain. The OT was a time of symbols and types, shadows of things to come. And it was a time of bloody sacrifices, obviously preparing the way for the ultimate blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But Christ has come. He has shed his blood once for all. And it would be inappropriate now for the sign of the covenant to include the shedding of blood. So it doesn't!

And secondly, baptism is certainly a better symbol than circumcision, because it includes females as well as males. I understand and appreciate the theory of OT circumcision given to males only. It is a clear biblical principle that women are covered and represented and protected by men, first their father and then their husband. And when a husband or a father acted, he was acting for the whole family, he was the family representative. And so, although girls did not physically receive the outward sign of the covenant themselves, they did receive that sign through their spiritual head, their father and then their husband. In a spiritual sense, they were circumcised.

But the NT makes it very clear. There is no male or female when it comes to the means of our salvation. And unlike circumcision, baptism makes no necessary distinctions between male and female. And so, it is a better sign.

This outward sign of baptism is God's identification badge for his people. As God's covenant people, we ought to wear that badge with honor!

But one thing is true in both the OT and the OT. God is not only concerned about the outward reality of the covenant. He is also concerned about,

B. The inward reality of the covenant. That was one of Israel's problems in the wilderness. They may have been circumcised, but they didn't act like God's people. They may have had the outward symbol, but they didn't have the inward reality in their heart.

Circumcision, separated from obedience, is meaningless. 1Cor. 7:19 "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters."

Stephen, just before he was stoned to death, condemned the unbelieving Jews of his day. Acts 7:51 "You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you."

Stephen knew the OT, because circumcision of the heart was a familiar OT theme.

Deut. 10:16 "Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer."

Deut. 30:5 "Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live...8 "And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today."

Jer. 4:4 "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.".

Paul makes this idea perfectly clear. It is useless to claim the value of the outward sign of the covenant if there is nothing in your life to demonstrate the reality of that sign. In other words, the sign of the covenant doesn't do any good if you aren't willing to serve God and obey his law.

Rom. 2:23 "You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? 24 For "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," as it is written. 25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."

We could apply the very same lessons to baptism today. God is concerned about the outward symbol by which he identifies his people, but he is vitally concerned with the inward reality of that sign.

Joshua gives us one further lesson about the meaning of this sign of the covenant. And that lesson is related to the location where this took place. v.9

Gilgal means to roll away, and with this circumcision, the reproach of Egypt is rolled away. But what is the reproach of Egypt? What has God rolled away, or taken away from his people?

Reproach means shame or disgrace. It means to be ridiculed, mocked, or attacked. The reproach of Egypt was undoubtedly the shame brought upon Israel by the slavery in Egypt.

And so, by bringing them out of Egypt and now into this promised land, God is redeeming them out of that slavery and removing his judgment from them. By re-instituting circumcision as the sign of the covenant, and by again publicly identifying his people,

III. THE LORD REMOVES HIS JUDGMENT FROM HIS PEOPLE. And that is the fullest meaning of circumcision. That is the fullest meaning of baptism. That is the fullest meaning of the covenant. God has removed, or rolled away, his judgment from his people. The symbolism of circumcision shows us that the reproach, the shame and disgrace of our sin, is removed.

In this regard, circumcision and baptism have exactly the same symbolism and significance, which is that,

A. The Lord cleanses our heart by cutting away our sinful nature. That is what circumcision of the heart means. And that is what circumcision in the flesh represents.

Circumcision represents a cleansing, a cleansing accomplished by cutting away. And when a person is born again, God cuts away at their heart. He cuts away their sinful nature. He removes their heart of stone and gives them a heart of flesh. He comes to a valley of dry bones and breathes in them the breath of life so that they come to life. He comes to those who are dead in their trespasses and sins and makes them alive with Christ. That is exactly what it means to be born again.

It isn't just the foreskin that is cut away, rather it is our sinful nature. Col. 2:11 "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ."

Rom. 6:6 "...knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."

My friends, the sign of the covenant which identifies God's people represents a profound change in their heart. As God's people, we cannot say that we are slaves to sin. We cannot even say that we have a sinful nature, per se, because that sinful nature has been crucified, it has been rolled away. There is a profound difference between a fallen human nature and a redeemed human nature!

We struggle with sin because we still have the grave clothes of that sinful nature. We struggle with sin because Satan still wants to convince us that sin is more enjoyable. But if you are God's child, then your sinful nature has died, and you will not continue to live in your sin.

Paul gives us the obvious application in, Rom. 6:11 "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

The necessary conclusion is that if you are a slave to sin, and love your sin, and are living happily with your sin, then God has not changed your heart and you are not a Christian. To the contrary, if you hate your sin and struggle to get rid of it, then God has changed your heart, and you are a Christian. It doesn't mean the struggle is completed, but that the struggle to fight against sin exists!

At Gilgal, God shows his people that rolls away his judgment by cutting away their sinful nature. Also, the Lord rolls away his judgment when,

B. He cancels our guilt with the blood of the covenant. There was a reason why the OT sign of the covenant was a bloody sign. There was a reason why the religion of the OT was a bloody religion. There was a reason why the sacrifices of the OT were bloody sacrifices.

The shedding of blood was the penalty required of anyone who broke the covenant. The shedding of blood represented death, and the judgment due to covenant breakers is death.

Hebr. 9:22 "And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission."

There is a reason why the NT sign of the covenant is not a bloody sign. There is a reason why the religion of the NT is not a bloody religion. There is a reason why the sacrifices of the NT are not bloody sacrifices.

The shedding of blood has already taken place. The judgment which covenant breakers deserve has already been satisfied.

Hebr. 9:11 "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."

Hebr. 9:24 "For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another-- 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."

The shedding of blood has already taken place, once for all. And so the meaning of baptism, the sign of the covenant, is that the Lord cancels our guilt with the blood of the covenant. Like the Israelites at Gilgal, our guilt is rolled away. Our sins are removed from us as far as the east is from the west. What a glorious gospel. What a glorious freedom!

Rom. 6:1 "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?...15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!"

God forbid! Rather, with great encouragement, the promise of the gospel leads to the exhortation of the gospel,

Rom. 6:18 "And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness."

You who wear God's ID card, you who have been baptized, let me urge you to never be content with merely the outward form of that badge. You who have the sign of the covenant, you have been labeled as the covenant people of God, put your faith into practice.

Just like the nation of Israel, God identifies his people today with a sign. And it is among his people that he reveals his power. May the words of Paul be true of everyone who is a part of this body:

1Ths. 1:4 "...knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake."

You who are marked by God as belonging to him by the power of the gospel, let your life be a demonstration of that power.

Fully Searchable
Bible