The concept of being "uncircumcised in heart" is a metaphorical expression found in the Bible, used to describe individuals who are spiritually insensitive, rebellious, and resistant to God's will. This term draws from the physical act of circumcision, which was a sign of the covenant between God and His people, Israel. However, the Bible emphasizes that true circumcision is not merely an external ritual but an inward transformation of the heart.

Biblical References:

1. Jeremiah 9:26 : "Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert in distant places. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart." Here, the prophet Jeremiah laments that even the people of Israel, who were physically circumcised, are spiritually uncircumcised. Their hearts are hardened and unresponsive to God's commands, aligning them with pagan nations.

2. Ezekiel 44:7 : "In addition to all your other abominations, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into My sanctuary to profane it—My house—and offered My food, the fat and the blood, and you broke My covenant." This passage highlights the defilement of God's sanctuary by those who are uncircumcised in heart, indicating a lack of reverence and obedience to God's holiness.

3. Acts 7:51 : "You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did." Stephen, the first Christian martyr, accuses the Jewish leaders of being uncircumcised in heart, equating their resistance to the Holy Spirit with the rebellion of their ancestors.

Theological Implications:

The term "uncircumcised in heart" underscores the importance of inner purity and devotion to God over mere external compliance with religious rituals. It serves as a critique of those who outwardly appear religious but lack genuine faith and obedience. The wicked, characterized by an uncircumcised heart, are those who persist in sin, reject God's authority, and fail to respond to His call for repentance and transformation.

Spiritual Application:

For believers, the call to be circumcised in heart is a call to genuine conversion and sanctification. It involves a deep, personal commitment to God, marked by humility, repentance, and a willingness to be led by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul echoes this in Romans 2:29 : "But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God."

In summary, the character of the wicked as "uncircumcised in heart" serves as a warning against superficial religiosity and highlights the necessity of a heart fully surrendered to God.Jeremiah 9:26
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Acts 7:51
You stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do you.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Covenanting Enforced by the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals.
... with the uncircumcised heathen, as uncircumcised in heart ... Jews the martyr Stephen
applies the same character. ... above all things and desperately wicked, it is ...
/.../cunningham/the ordinance of covenanting/chapter xi covenanting enforced by.htm

Perpetuity
... false prophet for calling honest men wicked, or for ... people of Israel, because he
is "uncircumcised in heart ... Vita Mosis: Illa lingua ac character quo antiquitus ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pascal/pensees/section ix perpetuity.htm

The Martyrdom of Stephen.
... they so much hated, that they were "uncircumcised in heart ... and that the violence
of the wicked should recoil ... is not of a stern and unrelenting character; it is ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture ix the martyrdom of.htm

Extent of Atonement.
... work of atonement, and those displays of the character of God ... the death of the wicked;
but that the wicked turn from ... Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart ...
/.../finney/systematic theology/lecture xxvi extent of atonement.htm

Sanctification in Fellowship with Immanuel
... bearing a human form and character, calculated for ... desires and inclinations are still
wicked, and that ... circumcises that which was uncircumcised; infuses new ...
/.../kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/viii sanctification in fellowship with.htm

Difficulties and Objections
... which, if we ignore their figurative character and fail ... God's wrath, which shall
be emptied on the wicked. ... declared "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart ...
/.../pink/the sovereignty of god/chapter eleven difficulties and objections.htm

That the Employing Of, and Associating with the Malignant Party ...
... who are uncircumcised in heart, with the uncircumcised in flesh ... hearts, and are not
engraven with the character of that ... We see now that the wicked walk on every ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/section iii that the employing.htm

John Bunyan on the Terms of Communion and Fellowship of Christians ...
... different tint, or dye, given to the character"was best ... woman and the children of
the wicked (Genesis 3 ... saith the Lord God: No stranger, uncircumcised in heart ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/john bunyan on the terms.htm

"And this is his Commandment," &C.
... because the heart of man is desperately wicked, and hath ... not, and those whose hearts
are uncircumcised, and their ... to their own seal to the character or truth ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/sermon iii and this is.htm

The First Apology of Justin, the Martyr
... For he said, speaking as in their character, "Except the ... He spoke thus, "Israel is
uncircumcised in heart, and ... told at the instigation of the wicked demons to ...
/.../richardson/early christian fathers/the first apology of justin.htm

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