FOR THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU JUST AS IT IS WRITTEN: to gar onoma tou theou di humas blasphemeitai (3SPPI) en tois ethnesin kathos gegraptai (3SRPI): (Isa 52:5; La 2:15,16; Ezek 36:20-23; Mt 18:7; 1Ti 5:14; 6:1; Titus 2:5,8) (Torrey's Topic Blasphemy, Smith on Blasphemy)

Ezekiel speaks of the blaspheming of God's name writing...

20 "When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD; yet they have come out of His land.'
21 "But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.
22 "Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.
23 "And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD," declares the Lord GOD, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. (Ezek 36:20-23) (God will show Himself faithful to His covenant and will restore Israel to the land for His "holy name's sake" not because of any merit in them)

We must remember that God's people are His only representatives that many people see and so when we sin, we profane His name before the pagans. God acts to defend His holy name. He wants all people to know the awesome holiness which separates Him from all other gods.

"Name of God" The sacred name of God which none of these religious Jews would ever repeat with his lips was because of them actually blasphemed by the Gentiles with whom they associated. Similarly, Nathan solemnly told David, “… by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt” (2Sa 12:14). Abraham experienced essentially the same thing when he told Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister and Pharaoh took her into his harem. After the discovery Abraham and Sarah went away, and Abraham had no more testimony for God before the Egyptians.

Blasphemed (987) (blasphemeo derived from bláx = sluggish, slow, stupid +  phéme = rumor, fame) OR MORE LIKELY (derived from blápto = to hurt, injure, harm + phéme from phemí = to speak) means literally to speak to harm and in general therefore means to bring into ill repute and so to slander, to defame (to harm the reputation of by libel or slander), speak evil of, to rail at (revile or scold in harsh, insolent, or abusive language and rail stresses an unrestrained berating), to speak calumny (noun form = a misrepresentation intended to blacken another’s reputation = the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to damage another’s reputation), to calumniate (verb form = to utter maliciously false statements, charges, or imputations about - calumniate imputes malice to the speaker and falsity to the assertions) (Click for detailed word study of blasphemeo)

Written (1125) (grapho) means to engrave and then to write and here is in the perfect tense which signifies that this truth was written down at some time in the past (in this case by the prophet Isaiah) and it remains in written down and in effect. This speaks of the permanence of the written word of God.

Paul is quoting in part from the Septuagint (LXX) of Isaiah 52:5. Paul reminds his Jewish reader that God had stated in the Old Testament that the failure of the Jew to obey the law was the cause of His holy Name being continually blasphemed by the Gentiles!

Paul appeals to the testimony of the very Law they boast in as that which in fact condemns them. The Jews were so zealous for the Name of God that they would not pronounce the Tetragrammaton (YHWH or "Yahweh" when one adds vowels - see study of Jehovah) and yet the tragic irony was that they acted in such a way that the Gentiles blasphemed the very Name the Jews claimed to so revere!

The Old Testament prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel and now Paul, all declare that God's character and honor are at stake and that the opinion of Him on the part of the pagans is based at least in part on the conduct of those who claimed His Name. The captivity of Israel and Judah, because of continual national unfaithfulness to Jehovah resulted in the Gentile nations scoffing at the God of the Jews. In other words His name was blasphemed because of them.

Application: If you claim the Name of Jesus as your Lord, what is the opinion your family members, co-workers, neighbors, etc have of your God because of what they know of your character and conduct?

A Modern day illustration of how God's Name is Blasphemed by those who claim to know Him:  Stuart Briscoe tells about having to deal with a fellow employee who had embezzled a large sum of money from the bank for which they both worked. The reason the man embezzled was that he had two wives and families to support. When he was apprehended and fired, he stunned everyone by saying,

“I am very sorry for what I have done, and I need to know whether I should fulfill my preaching commitments on Sunday in our local church.”

Briscoe says that in the following weeks he spent a great part of his time mending the damage done by that man’s blatant inconsistency. To his chagrin, he found that his fellow workers not only despised the man, but “… were quick to dismiss the church he belonged to as a ‘bunch of hypocrites,’ the gospel he professed to believe as a ‘lot of hogwash,’ and the God he claimed to serve as ‘nonexistent.’”

Right In Our Front Yard (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Grass or weeds? Bluegrass or quack grass? Thick or thin? Browning out or greening up? These are the things I look for when I drive by the front yard of a nearby office building. To the credit of its keepers, the lawn has been green and weed-free for some time now. Even in the middle of summer that grass looks first-class.

There's a good reason I'm always checking out this lawn. It graces the corporate offices of a highly competitive and well-known lawn-care firm. I suppose they would have a good excuse if their turf was not picture-perfect. They could claim they're so busy servicing the lawns of others that they don't have time for their own. On the other hand, who's going to respect a business that doesn't use its own product?

Throughout history, the people of God have been in a similar position. They have always been on display, representing the true and living God. Unfortunately, as the apostle Paul pointed out, many professing believers have been a poor testimony for the Lord (Ro 2:24).

Today, because we call ourselves Christians, we turn the heads of curious passersby. As if by reflex, people naturally watch us. They want to see if what we claim to have is really working--right in our own front yard. --MRDII

I do not ask for mighty words
To leave the crowd impressed;
Lord, grant my life may ring so true
My neighbor may be blessed. --Anon.

What we practice proves what we profess.

FOR INDEED CIRCUMCISION IS OF VALUE IF YOU PRACTICE THE LAW: Peritome men gar ophelei (3SPAI) ean nomon prasses (2SPAS): (28,29; 3:1,2; 4:11,12; Dt 30:6; Jer 4:4; Gal 5:3-6; 6:15; Ep 2:11,12) (Circumcision in Torrey's Topic, Easton, Smith ISBE)

Circumcision (4061) (peritome from perí = around + témno = cut off) (Click for more in depth word study of peritome) refers literally to cutting and removal of the foreskin. (See related discussion on Circumcision) As discussed below both the Old and New Testament also use the concept of circumcision in a figurative or metaphorical sense.

Is of value (5623) (opheleo from ophéllo = heap up) means to provide assistance, with emphasis upon the resulting benefit. It means to be useful or profitable.

Practice (4238) (prasso) means to perform repeatedly or habitually and stresses the process leading to the accomplishment. The present tense emphasizes this is to be one's continual activity.

Paul recognizes that a Jew may protest, and say that his salvation is based on the fact that he is a descendant of Abraham; but Paul rightly says that this is irrelevant regarding justification. (Ge 17:11).This was a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants, and therefore another token, besides the Law, of the special privileges which were granted to the Jew and in which they gloried and perverted the significance of.

As illustrated by the Rabbinical quotations below, the Jew believed that circumcision guaranteed his salvation. He might be punished in the world to come, but could never be lost. Paul recognized that a Jew might protest in this manner & say that his salvation is based on the fact that he is a descendant of Abraham. And so Paul proceeds to point out that circumcision is irrelevant regarding justification.

BUT IF YOU ARE A TRANSGRESSOR OF THE LAW YOUR CIRCUMCISION HAS BECOME UNCIRCUMCISION: ean de parabates nomou es (2SPAS) e peritome sou akrobustia gegonen (3SRAI) e peritome sou akrobustia gegonen (3SRAI): (23; Jer 9:25,26; Acts 7:51)

But if you flout the Law you are to all intents and purposes uncircumcising yourself! (Phillips Paraphrase)

Transgressor (3848) (parabates from from pará = beyond or contrary to +  baíno = to go) describes one who goes beyond and thus is a violator of the law. A transgressor is one who goes beyond the line. So, also, trespass, which is transpass, from the Latin trans, across, and passus, a step.

Become (1096) (ginomai) means to come into existence. The perfect tense speaks of the permanence of the resulting condition (uncircumcision).

Uncircumcision (203) (akrobustia from ákron = the extreme + búo = cover) means uncircumcised or uncircumcision and thus referred to the prepuce or foreskin.  What Paul is picturing is that the physical rite of circumcision without any internal transformation equates with a foreskin! Akrobustia was also used as a term of scorn and derision by Jews, for they equated "uncircumcision" with being a pagan Gentiles. Can you imagine how a self-righteous Jew must have felt when he read Paul's argument!

Why does Paul address circumcision so directly? The Jews had been taught and had come to believe that physical circumcision secured eternal salvation. Below are a few quotations from Jewish sources that express this false belief...

Rabbi Menachem, commenting on Book of Moses writes that...

Our Rabbis have said that no circumcised man will see Hell.

Another rabbinic saying was...

Circumcision saves from Hell.

The Midrash (Jewish traditions compiled about 200AD, basic part of the Talmud) Tillim says,

God swore to Abraham that no one who was circumcised should be sent to Hell.

The Midrash also taught the absurd notion that...

Abraham sits before the gate of hell and never allows any circumcised Israelite to enter.

In sum, the rabbis taught a "false gospel" declaring that...

God will judge the Gentiles with one measure and the Jews with another. All Israelites will have part in the world to come

Paul is arguing that physical circumcision (or physical water baptism or any rite or ritual for that matter) does not secure salvation for anyone. It is well known for example, that the Egyptians circumcised their boys and obviously they were not saved. It is amazing and sad that many, if not most, of God's chosen people were willing to stake their eternal destiny on a lie.
 

SO IF THE UNCIRCUMCISED MAN KEEPS THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LAW: ean oun e akrobustia ta dikaiomata tou nomou phulasse (3SPAS): (Isa 56:6,7; Mt 8:11,12; 15:28; Acts 10:2-4,34,35; 11:3-18; 1Cor 7:18,19; Phil 3:3; Col 2:11)

"If the uncircumcised man" is more literally rendered  “if the foreskin”. This was a phrase used by the Jews as a slang expression describing a Gentile.

Keeps (5442)(phulasso) (Click for in depth study of phulasso) means to watch, to carry out the function as a military sentinel (Luke 2:8). The present tense emphasizes that they continually keep the requirements of the law.

Requirements (1345) (dikaioma from dikaióo = to justify in turn from díkaios = just, righteous) in the present verse refers to an ordinance, to what God has declared to be right, referring to His decree of retribution or that which is deemed right so as to have the force of law.

In Isaiah God prophesied that Gentiles would come into His kingdom writing...

"Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And holds fast My covenant; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples." (Isa 56:6,7)

Jesus affirms God's heart for the Gentiles writing...

"And I say to you, that many shall come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven;
12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Mt 8:11,12)

Peter echoes the truth about the Gentiles...

And opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him. (Acts 10:34-35)

This verse is part of God’s answer to the skeptic who asks

"What about the Pygmy in Africa who has never heard the gospel?"

God will judge them by what they have heard, and how they have lived by it - which means that they are guilty.

The problem of the "innocent native" is that we can’t find an innocent natives anywhere!

Two questions are actually more important:

What will become of you who has heard the gospel?

What will become of you if you do not take the gospel to the native?

WILL NOT HIS UNCIRCUMCISION BE REGARDED AS CIRCUMCISION: ouch e akrobustia autou eis peritomen logisthesetai (3SFPI):

Regarded (3049) (logizomai) (Click in depth word study of logizomai) means to reckon, compute, calculate, to take into account, to deliberate, weigh and implies a process of reasoning. Logizomai refers to a settled conclusion by careful study and reasoning and thus in short a reasoned conclusion. It refers to a process of reasoning which results in the arriving at a conclusion. Logizomai was a bookkeeping term and used to describe the making of an entry in the account book, as when figuring an entry in a ledger. The purpose of the entry is to make a permanent record that can be consulted whenever needed. This word is used at least 19 times (out of a total of 40 NT uses) in Romans and often is translated reckoned or imputed.

God will regard the believing Gentile as favorably as a circumcised, believing Jew. This statement for example could potentially encompass men like Job, Enoch, Noah, etc, men who existed before God called out a people (Jews) to be His chosen possession.

The evidence of our rightness with God is not contained in outward signs or works, and it is not assured because of our parentage; the evidence is found in the work of God in our hearts, which shows itself in fruit.

EBC writes that...

Circumcision was to Jewry what baptism is to tho