By the time Abraham was 99 years old, God had already made some big promises to him. Some 25 years earlier God had promised to make him the father of a great nation, and to give his descendants the land in which he was living (Genesis 12:2, 7). And because he had trusted God to keep those promises, God had considered him to be righteous (Genesis 15:6). Abraham is thus rightfully considered the father of all the faithful (Galatians 3:7).

But in today’s passage, God asked Abraham to demonstrate his faith in a very personal way, to cut off his foreskin. This visible sign of the covenant pointed to Christ in at least two ways: because it affected Abraham’s reproductive organ, it demonstrated that Jesus would be his biological descendant. And because it involved the shedding of blood, it looked forward to the sacrifice Jesus would make so that all who share Abraham’s faith might receive the promises God made to him.

That’s why Christians don’t insist on circumcision anymore. Because Christ has already come and has already shed His blood for us, we now use the sacrament of baptism to indicate membership in God’s covenant community. In fact, the Jerusalem Council made it clear that Gentile believers did not need to continue this Old Testament practice (Acts 15:22-29).

But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn something from what God asked Abraham to do. For aren’t we also called to keep God’s covenant (Genesis 17:9)? Aren’t we also called to demonstrate our faith in Christ in outward and visible ways? Aren’t we called to be baptized, thus declaring our union with Christ and our fellowship with other believers? And aren’t we called to live as though we have the mark of Christ on us?

But as our faith is displayed not only in our thoughts and feelings but in our actions, and as we live as those who have been set apart from sin and for God’s worship and service, we shouldn’t be surprised if we experience some pain. Just Abraham’s circumcision was painful, it will hurt us to give up some of our old habits and old priorities. And as our culture moves further away from respect for Christian ethics, following Jesus more consistently may also cost us some of our friends.

So, are we willing to suffer in order to be faithful to Christ? If circumcision points to the cross of Christ, are we as willing as Abraham was to take the pain and the shame of the cross into our own lives? For how else can we share the faith of Abraham? How else can we bear witness to the One Who died for us?

Genesis 17:1-10 (NASB)

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be blameless.
2 “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 And Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, And you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
5 “No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the father of a multitude of nations.
6 “And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you.
7 “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
8 “And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
10 “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.