Romans Chapter 2 Vs. 25

God's Judgment and the Law

For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Rom 2:25

but if thou... Paul here shows that circumcision was only profitable if the law was kept. If they broke the law they were just as much uncircumcised as Gentiles, for this was a sign of keeping the law of Moses. If Gentiles who were not circumcised in the flesh kept the law by nature (Rom. 2:12-16), then, in reality, they were the circumcised ones (Rom. 2:26-27), for circumcision was a rite representing something spiritual-the purification of the heart (Jer. 4:4-10; 9:26; Eze. 44:7-9; Rom. 2:29).

Condemnation Because Of Their Trust In Rites

The Jews trusted not only in the Law of Moses, as the preceding paragraph shows (Rom. 2:17-24), but also in circumcision as the sign of their special covenantal relationship with God. But Paul argued that trust in the rite itself was meaningless and was a basis for God’s judgment.

Circumcision has value if you observe (“are practicing”) the Law. Conversely, if you break the Law (and they did), you have become as though you had not been circumcised. In the Greek this second part of Rom. 2:25 is interesting: “If you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become a foreskin.” In other words a Jewish lawbreaker is just like a Gentile lawbreaker; the Jews’ rite of circumcision counts for nothing.