Did Paul Teach Truth About Circumcision?

Did Paul Teach Gentiles The Truth About Circumcision?

To examine Paul’s writings without critically evaluating his claims about circumcision would be a terrible omission or oversight indeed! As mentioned previously, Paul the pharisee claimed to be the “Apostle to the Gentiles”, & teacher of the Gentiles in faith & truth.

1 Tim 2:7

Whereunto I am ordained a preacher and an Apostle (I speak the truth in Messiah & lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith & verity…

Let’s examine Paul’s teachings to the gentiles on the subject of circumcision from the context of what the actual Scriptures say about circumcision.

First, let’s look again at the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 again. As mentioned previously, the decision of the Acts 15 Jerusalem Council was that gentile believers in the Messiah should abstain from idolatry, sexual immorality, from things strangled, & from blood, for Moses is read & preached in the synagogues every Sabbath day(Acts 15:20-21).

Acts 15:20-21

But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.

The clear implication of this is that circumcision is not a prerequisite for salvation, but that gentiles must abstain from certain activities & dietary items while they learn more of the Torah every Sabbath day.

Now, let’s examine what the Torah & YAHUSHA HaMashiach say about circumcision to continue to find out the truth about circumcision. We will then be able to better discern whether Paul is actually teaching Gentiles the truth about circumcision or not.

Gen 17:9-14

And Elohim said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, & thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every male among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me & you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male in your generations, he that is born in the house or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, & he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people, he hath broken my covenant.

A note about the previous passage is that the KJV says every male child, however the word “child” was inserted by the translators. What the actual Hebrew text says is, “circumcise every male”. This is important to realize, otherwise people may easily get the false impression that circumcision is not for adults, even though Abraham was circumcised at 99 years old!

Our Heavenly Father also told us to circumcise our hearts…

Deuteronomy 10:12-16

And now Israel, what doth YHWH require of thee, but to fear YHWH thy Elohim, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve YHWH thy Elohim with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of YHWH & His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?… Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, & be no more stiff-necked

Deuteronomy 30:6

And YHWH thy Elohim will circumcise thine heart & the heart of thy seed, to love YHWH thy Elohim with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

Our Heavenly Father told the children of Israel in Deuteronomy that He wants their hearts to be circumcised. This was so that they would keep His commandments, & love Him with all their hearts & souls. Nevertheless, circumcision of the flesh was still physically required, & would ideally signify the inward circumcision of their hearts.

Exodus 12:48-49

And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to YHWH, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

Leviticus 12:3

And in the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised…

These passages indicate that the covenant of circumcision was given to Abraham & his descendants. Circumcision was also commanded for the children of Israel in Leviticus 12:3, as well as for strangers or gentiles who desired to keep the Passover. What does YAHUSHA say about circumcision?

Luke 22:19

And He took bread, gave thanks, brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

How does Luke 22:19 have anything to do with circumcision? Luke 22:7-20 indicates that YAHUSHA & His disciples were keeping the Passover when He urged them to keep Passover in remembrance of Him in Luke 22:19. Exodus 12:48-49 indicates that any stranger, gentile, or uncircumcised person who wants to keep Passover must be circumcised. A gentile individual or family dwelling with the children of Israel was generally not forced to immediately become circumcised. They would be keeping the same Torah as the children of Israel, yet they would still be considered strangers since they were uncircumcised & not part of the covenant. If a stranger or gentile wished to keep Passover, all the males of that family would have to be circumcised. They were then to be considered as native born Israelites. Circumcision is clearly the mechanism our Heavenly Father chose for grafting gentiles into the children of Israel!

When a gentile believer in the Messiah developed the desire to keep the Passover, in obedience to YAHUSHA’s instruction of Luke 22:19, that gentile believer had to be circumcised according to Exodus 12:48-49. Once circumcised, the gentile believer was to be regarded as a native born child of Israel, regardless of his ethnic background or physical lineage. If gentile believers in the Messiah were obedient to YAHUSHA’s instruction of Luke 22:19, they would have been grafted in to the children of Israel via the mechanism of circumcision!

Now let’s take a look at some of the things Paul wrote about circumcision in his New Testament letters to gentile congregations.

Galatians 5:2-3

Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is debtor to do the whole law.

Paul tells gentiles that if they become circumcised, that they would then have to keep the whole law. In reality Paul is clearly insinuating that if they are not circumcised, gentiles are not subject to the Torah of our Heavenly Father. Isn’t this another grossly false teaching in itself?

When our Heavenly Father brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, Exodus 12:38 reveals that a “mixed multitude” came out of Egypt with the children of Israel. This “mixed multitude” were considered strangers because they were not part of the covenant of circumcision that our Heavenly Father made with Abraham & the children of Israel. Although they were all expected to keep the same Torah, Law, or instructions, the gentiles were still considered strangers. The following verses indicate that our Heavenly Father’s Torah is for all people that seek to serve Him...

Exodus 12:49

One Law(Torah) shall be to him that is homeborn, & unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

Leviticus 24:22

Ye shall have one manner of Law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am YHWH your Elohim.

Numbers 15:16

One Law(Torah) and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.

The children of Israel & the gentiles (or mixed multitude) were all expected to keep the same Torah. Once the gentiles became circumcised to keep Passover, the gentiles were then to be considered as native born children of Israel. All people who wish to serve our Heavenly Father are clearly subject to the Law or Torah of our Heavenly Father, regardless of whether or not they’re circumcised. When Paul implies that gentile believers are not subject to His Torah or Law, this assertion is grossly false, & incorrect!

Similarly, Paul “teaches” the gentiles,

1 Corinthians 7:17-19

But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches. Is any man called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, & uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the commandments of God.

Here Paul basically instructs the gentiles that if they are uncircumcised, they are not to become circumcised! Paul’s “teaching” is a clear contradiction of Exodus 12:48-49, in which our Heavenly Father instructs gentiles who want to observe Passover that they must be circumcised.

Exodus 12:48-49

Once circumcised, the gentiles are then grafted in, & were to be considered as native born children of Israel. YAHUSHA instructed his followers in Luke 22:19 to observe Passover in remembrance of Him. To observe Passover, gentiles had to be circumcised according to Exodus 12:48-49.

Del Tondo points out that Paul’s statement of 1 Cor 7:19 is also self contradictory since circumcision is itself a commandment of Elohim, as found in Leviticus 12:3 & Exodus 12:48-49.

In effect, Paul is preventing the full grafting in of gentile believers into the children of Israel. He is also contradicting YHWH & YAHUSHA in the process!

According to Acts 15, circumcision is not necessary for salvation. The pharisees who insisted on this were not correct. Paul goes to the other extreme & insists that gentiles should never be circumcised. This is also an equally false teaching! In his letters, Paul failed to teach gentiles the simple truth about circumcision!

Acts 15:20-21

Galatians 2:10

Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

The Jerusalem Council had already decided in Acts 15:20-21 that gentiles do not have to be circumcised to be saved. The Acts 15 Jerusalem Council did decide that gentiles should abstain from sexual immorality, things strangled, blood, & idolatry. Paul the pharisee failed miserably to mention this decision even once in any of his New Testament letters.

In Galatians 2:10, Paul the pharisee claimed that the only thing the Jerusalem Council decided was that they should be “mindful of the poor.” Of course, this has nothing to do with whether gentiles should be circumcised to be saved. As mentioned previously, Paul’s mischaracterization of the Jerusalem Council decision of Acts 15:20-21 also puts Paul the pharisee in clear violation of Deuteronomy 17:8-13.

Deuteronomy 17:8-13

If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which YHWH thy Elohim shall choose; And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment: And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which YHWH shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before YHWH thy Elohim, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

The truth about circumcision is found in Exodus 12:48-49. Any gentiles who wanted to keep Passover were to be circumcised, & then they were to be considered as native born children of Israel. Circumcision was our Heavenly Father’s mechanism for grafting gentiles into the children of Israel, & Paul basically worked to prevent this through his false & erroneous “teachings”.

1 Tim 2:7

Whereunto I am ordained a preacher and an Apostle (I speak the truth in Messiah & lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith & verity…

Paul claimed to be a teacher of the gentiles in the Truth of the Scriptures. Yet, in his letters, Paul absolutely failed to teach gentiles anything meaningful at all regarding The Messiah's Teachings, the Sabbath, or the dietary restrictions of Leviticus 11. Paul’s letters also completely fail to teach gentiles the truth about circumcision! How could 1 Tim 2:7 possibly be true?