Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. — Philippians 3:2
Paul now turns from rejoicing to warning. There is a tone of caution here, just as there often is in Paul’s letters. The word beware is strong. It carries the idea of looking carefully, taking heed, and being on guard. Like the warnings in Mark 4:24 and Luke 21:8, this is a call to spiritual alertness.
As wonderful as the church at Philippi was, it still faced danger. That danger came through false teachers. A false teacher is someone who influences people in unsound doctrine and leads them away from the Lord rather than closer to Him. Scripture is full of warnings about them, and today they are closer than ever.
Paul gives three warnings for the same group of people-the Judaizers. He calls them dogs, evil workers, and the concision. Dogs was the term Jews often used for Gentiles, but Paul turns that language around and applies it to these Jewish false teachers. He calls them evil workers because though they appeared religious, their teaching was destructive. The word concision is a cutting term-a play on circumcision-used to expose the emptiness of their message. They taught that to be right with God, faith in Christ was not enough; you also had to keep the law and become Jewish in practice. Paul says that kind of teaching is wrong. Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ. A man is not saved because he becomes a Baptist or adopts a system-he is saved by faith in Christ alone.
Paul now turns from rejoicing to warning. There is a tone of caution here, just as there often is in Paul’s letters. The word beware is strong. It carries the idea of looking carefully, taking heed, and being on guard. Like the warnings in Mark 4:24 and Luke 21:8, this is a call to spiritual alertness.
As wonderful as the church at Philippi was, it still faced danger. That danger came through false teachers. A false teacher is someone who influences people in unsound doctrine and leads them away from the Lord rather than closer to Him. Scripture is full of warnings about them, and today they are closer than ever.
Paul gives three warnings for the same group of people-the Judaizers. He calls them dogs, evil workers, and the concision. Dogs was the term Jews often used for Gentiles, but Paul turns that language around and applies it to these Jewish false teachers. He calls them evil workers because though they appeared religious, their teaching was destructive. The word concision is a cutting term-a play on circumcision-used to expose the emptiness of their message. They taught that to be right with God, faith in Christ was not enough; you also had to keep the law and become Jewish in practice. Paul says that kind of teaching is wrong. Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ. A man is not saved because he becomes a Baptist or adopts a system-he is saved by faith in Christ alone.