“Beware of Dog” is a sign that we might see on someone’s property to warn you that there is a guard dog on the premises. It is not a phrase that we would expect to see in the Bible, yet that is precisely what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Philippi. He warns them of three things; all prefaced with the word “beware”: dogs, evil workers and the concision.
We can assume that Paul is not actually warning the church about ferocious dogs, but using the tried and true method of allowing the Bible to interpret the Bible, we find that there was previous precedent for this example. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter” (Isaiah 56:10, 11).
In this example, Isaiah is talking about the watchmen, or the supposed men of God, who were supposed to hear from the Lord for Israel. With that in mind, we can assume that Paul is warning of the spiritually lazy leadership who will not “bark” to warn you when something is threatening. This apathy unfortunately is rampant in every church age.
He also warns of “evil workers”, which is different from the dog that won’t bark. These workers actually perform evil deeds, and they influence others to do the same. David said of them, “Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God” (Psalms 119:115). The actions of the evil workers will pull the saint further away from Christ and His finished work, causing the saint to slip into wickedness.
Finally, Paul mentions “the concision”. This is the token appearance of this word in the entire Bible, and it is a statement of sarcasm. The Greek word for ‘concision’ means ‘mutilation’ in English. The next verse in this sequence shows us what mutilation that Paul is speaking of, “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). Paul is referring to the circumcision of the Jewish nation when he speaks of the concision. His warning is stern and must have struck a serious chord with the Jewish readers of that day. Circumcision was considered the single rite of Judaism that separated them from the rest of the world, like no other single act did. By warning the Philippian Christians to watch out for the ‘mutilation’, Paul was effectively lowering the act of circumcision to that of asceticism, taking all spiritual authority away from it.
In our modern age of political correctness, it is hard to fathom just how offensive and controversial that the Apostle Paul was with his preaching of pure grace. When he warned of “another gospel”, he was warning of a return to a religion of works and ordinances. When he said “Beware of the concision”, he was warning of placing your confidence in the physical act of circumcision to identify you as one of God’s chosen one’s. While there is nothing spiritually wrong with a baby boy being circumcised, Paul was adamant about all confidence being removed from the flesh and its abilities and into the finished work of Jesus Christ.
“Worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:3).
We can assume that Paul is not actually warning the church about ferocious dogs, but using the tried and true method of allowing the Bible to interpret the Bible, we find that there was previous precedent for this example. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter” (Isaiah 56:10, 11).
In this example, Isaiah is talking about the watchmen, or the supposed men of God, who were supposed to hear from the Lord for Israel. With that in mind, we can assume that Paul is warning of the spiritually lazy leadership who will not “bark” to warn you when something is threatening. This apathy unfortunately is rampant in every church age.
He also warns of “evil workers”, which is different from the dog that won’t bark. These workers actually perform evil deeds, and they influence others to do the same. David said of them, “Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God” (Psalms 119:115). The actions of the evil workers will pull the saint further away from Christ and His finished work, causing the saint to slip into wickedness.
Finally, Paul mentions “the concision”. This is the token appearance of this word in the entire Bible, and it is a statement of sarcasm. The Greek word for ‘concision’ means ‘mutilation’ in English. The next verse in this sequence shows us what mutilation that Paul is speaking of, “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). Paul is referring to the circumcision of the Jewish nation when he speaks of the concision. His warning is stern and must have struck a serious chord with the Jewish readers of that day. Circumcision was considered the single rite of Judaism that separated them from the rest of the world, like no other single act did. By warning the Philippian Christians to watch out for the ‘mutilation’, Paul was effectively lowering the act of circumcision to that of asceticism, taking all spiritual authority away from it.
In our modern age of political correctness, it is hard to fathom just how offensive and controversial that the Apostle Paul was with his preaching of pure grace. When he warned of “another gospel”, he was warning of a return to a religion of works and ordinances. When he said “Beware of the concision”, he was warning of placing your confidence in the physical act of circumcision to identify you as one of God’s chosen one’s. While there is nothing spiritually wrong with a baby boy being circumcised, Paul was adamant about all confidence being removed from the flesh and its abilities and into the finished work of Jesus Christ.
“Worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:3).
No comments:
Post a Comment