Beware!

Scripture

Phil. 3:1   Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. 

 To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard.

Phil. 3:2   Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ³ For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— ⁴ even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. 

Observation

While we find a “finally” here, it doesn’t seem that Paul is quite finished with this letter. However, there are important items that he feels that he needs to interject as he continues his thoughts. Again, he brings them back to an attitude of rejoicing. He seems to be concerned the possible despondency of the Philippians, and quite possibly, this is because they thought that he was dead. Maybe they find following Christ difficult, but again, he encourages them to rejoice. 

He feels the need to reiterate some of his greatest concerns to this congregation. He is the good shepherd who wants desperately to protect the flock that is within his care. While there will be attacks upon this church from the outside world, he sees the most dangerous potential as coming from within Christianity itself. The Judaizers are his concern, because they are determined to force gentile believers into adopting all the practices of the Jewish faith. For Paul, living out the gospel is what is at stake for the church in Philippi. This has been the purpose of his letter from the very beginning — that the church would be a living testament to the life of Jesus in the world. 

Now Paul begins his “beware” statements. First of all, “beware of the dogs.” This phrase had significant meaning to his readers. Dogs were not fluffy and friendly household pets, but were scavengers and pests. The term was very derogatory and it was one that was used consistently by Jews to refer to the unclean gentiles. Paul is turning the statement on its head, and is now referring to the Judaizers as the impure dogs, suggesting that through their insistence upon circumcision they are the ones who are unclean. 

Secondly, they are to beware of the evil workers. Paul is again playing on the Jew’s knowledge of the Old Testament where, in the Psalms, “evildoers” were those who failed to obey the Torah and were known as God’s enemies. There may have been preachers who would go through the cities preaching about salvation through becoming a Jew. They were creating division in the newly formed church because they refused to recognize that through the work of the Holy Spirit, all of humanity could be united to Christ. They were evil because they were dividing the work that Christ had already done. 

Finally, they were to beware of those who mutilated the flesh. This was an intentional play on words for he was hinting at those who insisted on physical circumcision, while using an Old Testament term that spoke of mutilation of the flesh that would occur in pagan ritual practices. Their insistence upon circumcision was detestable to Paul, as much so as the idea of ritual mutilation was to a practicing Jew. 

Finally, Paul’s conclusion leads to a new understanding of adoption into the family of God. There was to be no boasting about the physical flesh, or works, but only in Christ Jesus. Worship was to be done in the Spirit of God, and this was not a description of a Sunday morning service, but a life of spiritual sacrifice which is our worship. “Paul views having confidence in the flesh and putting confidence in Christ as mutually exclusive attitudes” (Flemming, NBBC, 217). Therefore, if these disciples in Philippi are to be witnesses to the life of Christ, they must beware of all those who may try to lead them astray. 

Application

We may not have Judaizers coming into our lives today, but there is always something. Anything or anyone who distracts us from being shaped and formed in the image of Jesus Christ will become a problem for us. 

Beware of the distractions!

Beware of anything that takes us away from living our worship through our daily lives. When we come together to worship on Sunday, whether in person or virtually, it should be the culmination of an entire week of worship in the form our sacrificial living. Sunday is not a singular form of worship, but is the celebration of our lifestyle of worship. 

Beware of a lifestyle that lacks the humility of Christ!

Without intentional attentiveness on our part, we can be easily lulled into a type of Christianity that Jesus would not recognize. We become the Judaizers, the evil workers and the mutilators. That sounds harsh, but I’m guessing that those who preached this ideology were zealots and thought they were doing the right thing. The problem was that they were not living in the Spirit, and nor did they know Christ. Being drawn back to Christ on a daily basis is the only way that we can remain focused on the source and pattern for our lives. 

Beware of being lulled! 

The call to follow Christ is not simple, nor is it easy. This is a journey in which we actively engage with our risen Lord on a daily basis, touching the world with the good news. Living life in the Spirit must become a living testament to the work of Jesus. 

Prayer

Lord, may I beware of anything that would take me from you and your mission.  Amen.