The Important Thing is to Keep God's Commandments

1 Corinthians 7:18-19 "For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God's commandments." NLT

      Lord, thank You again for Your wisdom!  We believers can, if we are not vigilant, get so easily distracted by the enemy.  He will choose whatever will work in a body of believers to divide and destroy the unity, fellowship, and communion with You.  He says that it is the outward and the works that earn Your favor when what You really want is simple obedience to Your commands to love others as You have loved us, and to stand for what is right and true.
     The principle You give is that we come to You in whatever condition we are and then You change the heart and mind.  I realize it is impossible for a man to become uncircumcised if he has been circumcised, and I think that's why You used that analogy.  Circumcision had so much history and meaning behind it for the Jews.  But had no meaning whatever for the Gentile.  Some were saying that one had to "become a Jew" to be saved.  Others were saying one had to "become a Gentile" to be saved because the Law had no meaning anymore.  Neither was correct.
      As Christians, it is the condition of the heart, not the body that takes precedence.  Do we present our bodies as a living sacrifice to You as it is the temple of the Holy Spirit or not? That is the question.  The heart must be totally devoted to God in purity and holiness, sanctified and set apart for Your use.  If after salvation we choose to deface and desecrate that temple to yield to the trends of the world, You hold us accountable for that sin.  But if we repent and, "If we confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " 1 John 1:9  The defaced "body" may not be able to become as it was, but You see the heart within.