The Dogs and the Evildoers

If you have a Bible, Philippians 3:1-3 is where we will be at today. I want to welcome you to this video series on the book of Philippians and if you are wondering why we are beginning in chapter 3 instead of the beginning of the book, it is because my students and I just spent roughly the last 10 weeks or so studying Philippians 1-2 in person and now we are taking a small break until our ministry picks up again at the start of the school year. In many ways, this series of videos is largely for them so that we can finish what we started but I trust that the Lord will guide who He wants to to these videos. My intention is for these videos to not be exhaustive so hopefully no longer than than 15 minutes but we will see what the Lord does as we work through these passages. I’ll be reading from the ESV translation if you would like to read along but I will also put the verses up on the screen to follow along with. I would encourage everyone watching to go back and read Philippians 1-2 because there will definitely be some references that we will make to those chapters in this video and in future videos. So, that is a lot of background info but I think you should be all set to sit back and enjoy what will hopefully be a beneficial time of study in God’s Word over the next several minutes and weeks. Let’s go ahead and dive into these verses and then I will give a little bit of background as to what Paul is writing. Paul says in Philippians 3:1-3

Philippians 3:1–3 ESV

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

Verse 1

We’ll look first at verse 1 and then we will make our way to verses 2 and 3. As Paul is writing to the church in Philippi, he is currently in a Roman prison, waiting to stand before Caesar, possibly waiting to be put to death. He actually writes this letter almost as a thank you letter to the church in Philippi because they were worried about Paul and sent him a gift and now Paul is responding to their love for him. Paul loves the church in Philippi. I know that there are some churches that are an absolute chore to their pastor and their are churches that are an absolute joy to their pastors and the Philippian church was a joy to Paul. In chapter 1, Paul highlights how his imprisonement for the Gospel has actually caused the Gospel to go further than if he was out of prison. Like Paul is reaching people with the Gospel that would not have been reached without his imprisonement and it is amazing how this is not something that is uncommon for God. God uses circumstances that on paper should slow down or even blot out the advancement of the Gospel and uses it to but the advancement of the Gospel into overdrive. I think of great moments of persecution throughout history where the Church has just exploded onto the scene. You see this in the book of Acts which we will be going through this fall. You see this in the history of the early church. You see this in many hard to reach countries even today. Human circumstances do not dictate the speed by which God moves. In Philippians 2, Paul gives what is likely the greatest chapter on humility in the Bible and he emphasizes what the life of the believer should look like and he gives some examples in Timothy and Epaphroditus. Verse 1 is really a transition statement as Paul goes from oone section to the next. Now remember, the New Testament was not originally written with headings, chapters, and verses, those were added in later, so it would be beneficial to read the entire book of Philippians in one sitting so you can see how these chapters and verses all connect together. Paul begins chapter 3 by saying, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.” At first glance, it looks like Paul would have made for an excellent Baptist preacher. He says finally and it looks like he should be wrapping up his message but you’ll notice that he still has 2 chapters and one more finally still to go. How often have you heard a preacher say finally or in closing and then carry on preaching basically an entire extra sermon? But that isn’t what Paul means here in verse 1. Really what Paul is saying is, “Furthermore, my brothers.” Or, “now then, or because of this my brothers.” In a way, it’s how Paul is reimphasizing what he has already said. What is he reimphasizing then? “Rejoice in the Lord.” The central theme of Paul’s letter to the Philippians is joy. In just 4 chapters, Paul uses the Greek word for joy or rejoice 16 times. 16 references to joy in only 104 verses, that’s about every 6 or 7 verses Paul references this. Paul’s circumstances did not dictate the joy that he had in Christ, just as our circumstances should not dictate the joy we have in Christ. The next phrase that Paul writes is, “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.” This statement really works in both directions pointing back to what Paul has already said, emphasizing the need to rejoice in the Lord and the previous 2 chapters and then it also points ahead to what Paul is going to write in the next few verses and remaining chapters. Paul is not necessarily saying anything new to the Philippians. Paul has likely corresponded with them in other letters that have been lost and we know that he did spend a lot of time teaching in Philippi prior to his arrest. Paul has no problem emphasizing the need to rejoice in the Lord. We all need that beat into our head. We never outgrow the need to remember that our ability to rejoice in the Lord does not correspond to our present circumstances or feelings. For times sake, let’s go ahead and read verses 2-3 again.

Verses 2-3

Paul writes in Philippians 3:2-3

Philippians 3:2–3 ESV

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

At the end of verse 1, Paul said that it is safe for the church for him to write the same things to them. Here in verses 2-3 we see Paul warning the church about those that are out seeking to destroy the church and reminding believers who they are in Christ. Looking squarely at verse 2, Paul has always warned all of his churches to be on the lookout for those that are out to destroy the faith. The church needs to always be on the lookout for those that mean harm. The pastor should never stop warning his congregation to be on the look out for those that seek to extinguish the light of the church. The pastor should always be looking out for the health of his congregation. On my desk I have a plaque that my Dad bought for me when I got my Master’s degree and on it is a quote from John Calvin and I have it right under my computer monitor so as I write my sermons, I’m always mindful of it. The quote says, “The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both.” Calvin writes elsewhere of the importance for the pastor to repeatedly warn his people about the dangers of false teaching and to always be on the lookout for those that are enemies of the Gospel. He basically said, what’s the point of the pastor warning the church about something 6 or 7 times if he is going to fail to do it the 8th or 9th time that it happens. We are to be ever vigilient in our fight for the truth of the Gospel and forever on the lookout for those that are spreading false teachings. Notice in verse 2, Paul uses the phrase, “look out for” three times, back to back to back. This was meant to draw the eye of the reader in and highlight that what the author is about to say is of utmost importance. The church is to look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, and look out for those who mutilate the flesh. Now as to who Paul is referring to, it could be non-Christians or it could also be Christians that are insisting on a works based salvation like in the book of Galatians. It could be those Christians that believe that circumcision must be an essential mark of the faith and that obedience to the Law of Moses is required. Regardless of who exactly Paul very well could be referring to both camps because either camp should be looked out for. Paul says that the church is to look out for the dogs. He’s not talking about the cute little puppies that like to snuggle in bed with you. Back in Paul’s day, there would be groups of wild and sometimes feral dogs that would walk around the streets looking for garbage. They would attack anything that got in the way of their search for food. They would often bring disease with them. Paul says that just as we should be on the look out for those dogs that bring destruction, disease, and death, we should be on the look out for humans that bring the exact same thing. They’re just looking for trouble, for a fight, to spread false teaching like a disease spreads from one to another. They’re out for blood and we need to be on the look out for such things. Next Paul says that we are to look out for the evildoers. The word that Paul uses there in the Greek does not describe someone who is caught in a difficult situation and therefore acts out. It doesn’t refer to someone who is mostly good but has a few bad moments here and there. The word that Paul uses for evildoers actually means someone that is morally and socially reprehensible. It is someone who’s behavior is described as worthless and set squarely on that which is evil. There is no desire for goodness or truth, it is someone that seeks solely to hurt others. These people are so set on doing that which is evil, it is like they have made a career of it! These men have no desire but to push that which is contrary to the Bible and solely in line with sin. Next we are to look out for those that mutilate the flesh and this is in line with Paul says next in verse 3 where the Christian is the circumcision and that we put no confidence in the flesh. To call someone a mutilater of the flesh was to say that they were partakers in false worship. As they mutilate their flesh in their false teaching and false worship, they are removing themselves from being faithful to Christ alone. The prophets of Baal during the time of Elijah would cut themselves in the name of worship and many Jews throughout history believed that circumcision would save them. All of what Paul is saying here is a firm reminder that we are to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth and never place even the smallest ounce of confidence in our own works or righteousness. David Strain writes, “It is not enough to rejoice; we must also beware. We must be on guard, because it is easy to slip into self-righteousness and self-reliance. It is easy to begin to transfer our trust from the Lord to other people or other things.” We never outgrow our need for grace and we never outgrow the need for Scripture. Our truth comes from God and His Word alone. We need to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 where we take every thing that we are taught straight to the Word of God to see if it lines up with what the Word of God has already said. God is not revealing any new revelation, we have the completed Word of God and that is all that we need. The primacy of all that we teach is the Word of God. In verse 3, we see the contrast to verse 2. Paul writes, “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.” We’ll pick this up more in our next video but by way of closing, I will mention this: The true Christian is one that is changed both body and soul. Just as circumcision was a distinguishable mark that changed the man, our true circumcision is a changing and distinguishable mark of who we are in Christ. That mark leads us to be those that worship in spirit and in truth, the only way that worship can be done. Our boast is solely in Christ alone and the confidence of our salvation is never in our flesh or what we have done. The most joyful Christian is the one that recognizes that his utmost satisfaction is squarely on Christ alone and Christ’s righteousness. The Christian that holds fast to the doctrines of faith alone apart from works, by grace alone apart from merit, and Christ alone is he that is truly joyful. This is because our lives grow to reflect our appreciation for the Savior and His finished work. I cannot rejoice in Christ as much as I should if I believe that there is still a work on my part for salvation. If I have to work for my salvation, I could never earn it. That’s why we need grace. Just as we had nothing to do with our own physical birth, we have nothing to do with being born again. The person that is reliant on the flesh will never experience the joy of being made new and living by the Spirit. We will talk more about this joy-filled life in the Spirit next week. Let’s pray together.