Circumcision of the Heart

Song: Circumcision of the Heart
Music, Lyrics & Voices: Ai

[Verse1]
Upon the early Church, a shadow fell,
A rising question, with a binding spell.
From Judea, certain men arrived,
Insisting faith alone could not suffice.
"Unless you're circumcised," they boldly preached,
"Salvation's grace can never be reached".
The Gentile converts heard, and grew afraid,
Their newfound freedom suddenly betrayed.
[Verse2]
Paul and Barnabas, with fierce disdain,
Disputed this oppressive, heavy chain.
To Antioch, the word of grace they brought,
But Judaizers stirred up doubt and thought.
So off to see the elders they were sent,
To find what God, in truth, had truly meant.
In Jerusalem, the Council came to be,
To solve the truth for all the church to see.
[Verse3]
The arguments filled the apostles' hall,
Until old Peter rose to stand up tall.
He spoke of how the Spirit filled the clean,
The hearts of Gentiles, a faith-based scene.
"No yoke should be imposed," he said with might,
"That burden that our fathers bore with plight".
For Jew and Gentile, all are saved the same,
By grace through faith, in Jesus' holy name.
[Verse4]
Then Paul and Barnabas shared wondrous tales,
Of God's great work beyond the Jewish pales.
And James, with wisdom, sealed the final word,
In favor of the grace they all had heard.
No Gentile need be cut to find the Son,
The law of Moses' burden was undone.
They must abstain from things to idols bound,
And things that strangle, and things bloody found.
[Verse5]
In Galatians, Paul would later write,
To those who lost their gospel-given light.
"You foolish ones, who seek salvation's key,
In works of flesh, and not in liberty".
For in Christ Jesus, nothing can avail,
Except the faith whose love will never fail.
He called the legalists the "mutilators,"
And warned his flock to turn from such creators.
[Verse6]
And in his letter to the Roman crowd,
He spoke of circumcision and what God allowed.
A Jew is one who's circumcised inside,
A matter of the heart, with holy pride.
By Spirit's hand, and not by outer deed,
For Abraham found righteousness, his spirit's seed.
Before the knife, his faith was counted so,
The father of all nations, God would know.
[Verse7]
The outward sign, a custom of the past,
Could never make a fallen soul to last.
The New Creation, where the Spirit reigns,
Had set the people free from legal pains.
For Christ fulfilled what ancient law required,
And by his cross, a new hope was acquired.
And so the verses tell the old and new,
A timeless truth for Gentiles and for Jew.