“But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”
Romans 2:29 (NASB)
Under the law delivered through Moses, the people of God were compelled to perform many physical rituals. These rituals were difficult both to keep track of and perform appropriately. Additionally, if anyone were to keep the law perfectly, the law could never completely remove sin. Even still, that law was the only way to be pleasing to God.
Now, since Christ died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, we are freed from the rituals of the old law. We can’t perform physical rituals in a quest to keep the law perfectly. It wasn’t possible for God’s people then, and it still isn’t possible today.
Of course, we still have commandments to observe today. However, we don’t observe them to somehow make the flesh clean. Instead, we focus on the heart; we allow the gospel to cut away the things that keep us from pleasing God. The process of correcting the heart brings about changes in the flesh. We have chosen, out of love for him, to not let fleshly cares take priority over serving him.
Tomorrow is the first day of the week. Should the world continue, we will have another opportunity to serve him. To those who serve him in spirit, that service won’t be a burden. On the other hand, many people consider serving him to be a burden, so they simply won’t serve. Worse still, many will serve him as if worship is a weekly ritual to check off a list—much like the physical requirements of the law. But those who worship in spirit and in truth will do so simply because they love him.