1 Corinthians 7:19 Commentary and Bible Study

They were not always nothing, of course; they were signs; they were given by God and it was the duty in Old Testament times to be faithful to them all, because they were great teaching symbols, circumcision, in particular. It pointed to Abraham's faith. Scripture is quite clear about that, both in the book of Genesis and throughout the Bible. Paul tells us in Romans 4 that circumcision was given to Abraham as a sign. It is nothing now, but it was a sign of Abraham's faith given to the Jews to point them to the fact that Abraham’s standing with God depended upon his trusting in God's promise and God's word. It was sign of the ancient covenant to encourage them to follow Abraham’s example. It was a sign of purification that the child of God must seek to live rightly before God, and it was chiefly and most of all a sign that, from Abraham's line, would come the child of promise, the promised Saviour, the one through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. But now, of course, Christ has come, and the New Testament revelation has come, and the manner of procuring salvation is now clear. The signs are finished; they were pointers, and they have gone, and so Paul rightly says, now in the present scheme of things since the coming of Christ, circumcision and all the other rites and ceremonies that go with it are nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing. Elect Jews and Gentiles are together in the church of Jesus Christ.