Expert: Pastor Don Carpenter - 1/11/2008

Question
   Whart does the phrase "uncircumcised in heart and ears" mean? Please be truth full. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Ray,

Thanks for this great question.  I am sorry for my late response.

Acts 7:51
51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

Stephen was preaching to Jews who refused to believe the Messiah, Jesus.  They were proud of all of the rituals that they kept, such as circumcision.  Circumcision in the mind of the Jew was an external symbol that they were different, they were God's covenant people, and different than everyone else, enjoying a special relationship with God.  To be called uncircumcised was a great insult.  WHen Stephen said that they were uncircumcised in heart and ears, it meant that even though they had an external operation, in the hidden parts of their inner man, they were just like every other gentile unbeliever.

I hope that this helps you.

In Christ
Pastor Don