Lev. 21, 22

No priest with any outer defect was to come before the Lord to worship. Message: God deserves the best we can offer. Jesus came along and spoke of inner purity … “Blessed are the pure in heart – THEY shall see the Lord.” Which is important? Inner or outward holiness?

The circumcision of the Old Testament was the physical act of cutting away the outward flesh for sanctification. The New Testament focuses upon the circumcision of the heart, an inner work of sanctification. “In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ. [Col. 2:11]

However, the outward should reflect the inner.