Episode 335- "Beware the dogs, evildoers, and those who would mutilate the flesh" - Philippians 3:1-6

Phil. 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Phil. 3:2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

How can you not appreciate someone who says, “Finally . . .” and then proceeds to write or say as much as they already have up to this point? Then, what comes from his pen? He tells the Philippians the same thing he’s told them multiple times already: “Rejoice in the Lord.” I think Paul means it, right? Paul’s point is that when you truly stop to consider who Jesus is and what he’s done to serve us, it puts everything else in perspective, and we should rejoice in our gratitude and awe. For Paul, Jesus diminishes the reality of his own incarceration and even the potential that he could be executed. This is why he states, “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.” (Philip. 3:1)

He follows that with a dose of reality by warning them about a group of troublemakers. He refers to them in three ways. He calls them “dogs, evildoers, and those who mutilate the flesh.” These aren’t three different groups. They are the same. What does he mean by this? Who are these people?

These are people who would come in among the Christians, posing as people with authority and attempting to control them by requiring them to be circumcised. Why would Paul, a Jew who had Timothy circumcised, speak of these people as evildoers and those who would mutilate the flesh if he had Timothy circumcised? The answer is that those people are not trusting in the gospel of Jesus. Their motives are not about Christ and his Church but are entirely self-serving. They would attempt to use a requirement of circumcision to create confusion and conflict among the believers in an attempt to gain control over them. These are people whose motives and mindset are not consistent with Jesus’ motives that Paul described back in chapter 2.

Circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant and was required of Jewish males. But physical circumcision does not make one righteous. It never did. It was intended to be an outward act of inner faith in God’s promises to Abraham and his seed.

Even though Paul was physically circumcised himself, as a Jewish man, he identifies those, “who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (v.3) as the circumcised. While circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, the Holy Spirit is the sign of the New Covenant. Notice how Paul explains circumcision and the work of the Holy Spirit in his letter to the church at Rome:

Rom. 2:25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

While we likely don’t have the problem today of people coming into our churches and demanding that all males be circumcised, there are “evildoers” whose only motives are to control and manipulate people and will ultimately divide the church. We need to keep a watchful eye on who might become leaders in the church. Do they exhibit the humility that Jesus did, or do they start imposing rules and acting as though they have authority over everyone?

Paul follows the warning with an “Oh! By the way . . . “ comment. He tells these Christians that if someone presents themselves as having great credentials to validate their authority, Paul has more credentials than they do. Don’t trust the outward signs. Evaluate their attitudes and actions.

Let us rejoice in Christ according to the leading of the Holy Spirit that God has given to us as a sign of his New Covenant established through the death of Jesus on the cross.

Episode 333 - "Don't grumble or complain" - Philippians 2:14-18

Phil. 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

As we pick up where we left off last week, Paul tells the Philippians not to grumble or be disputing. The idea from the Greek text is that one should neither hold on to a negative attitude nor display it more publicly by arguing with others. It seems to me that’s pretty clear (not to mention convicting.) There are two basic questions I think we should ask of ourselves. First, on what basis should we not do this, that is, not grumbling and disputing? Bad stuff happens. At the time Paul wrote this letter, he was unjustly incarcerated. If that were me, I’d be grumbling AND disputing.

The question that follows is “How might we follow Paul’s command to the Philippians, when we’re inclined to grumble and dispute?” Does Paul give us some help?

The answer to the first question is to examine the context and notice what Paul has already laid out in this short letter. One is that the Father sent the Son (Jesus) into the world to die an unjust death on our behalf in order to justify us and make us right with God based upon our faith in and relationship with Christ. The second point of why we shouldn’t grumble or dispute is that the Son willingly submitted himself and humbled himself to die on a cross for the sake of his rebellious creatures. He didn’t grumble or dispute. In light of what God has done for us without grumbling, we have no right to think that our troubles are greater than what Jesus took on himself.

Before I address the second question, notice that Paul explains the purpose of not grumbling. Verse 15 says, “that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” (v.15) This sounds like followers of Jesus have a very specific purpose in the world. If we refuse to grumble and complain, we will stand out in a positive way in the world in which we live. Does this sound familiar? This theme arises time and again in the Old Testament. God chose Abraham and blessed him with a purpose of being a blessing to the nations. That theme continues with Abraham’s descendants, whom God wanted to be a “Kingdom of Priests.” God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah to the Israelites being disciplined for their failure to be faithful to the LORD said, “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Isa. 49:6) God’s desire for those he redeems to himself is to be agents of his truth and grace to the world. In short, Paul is telling the Philippian believers, “Don’t be like the Israelites who grumbled and disputed and failed to be a light to the world.”

Now, in verse 16, Paul begins to answer our second question. What steps can we take to help us avoid grumbling, arguing, or complaining? The first thing is to “hold fast to the word of life.” (v. 16) Jesus is the word of life. Out of all the things that Christians believe or do concerning their faith, there is nothing more important than to understand and value who Jesus is and what he did for us on the cross. This is what should keep us humble and grateful. The second part of verse 16 and verse 17 is Paul saying that their tenacity in holding onto the good news of Jesus is what will validate any sacrifice or suffering he might endure, even to the point of losing his own life for that cause.

Paul returns to the theme of rejoicing, suggesting that he is glad and rejoices if his own life is the sacrifice for their participation in the gospel of Jesus. Paul himself is modeling the same attitude toward his own suffering for the sake of others that Christ demonstrated. He invites them to be glad and rejoice with Paul as well.

Is it possible to grumble and complain when we are glad and rejoicing? Thinking and dwelling upon Christ’s love for us should make us glad and rejoicing followers of Jesus who are not grumbling and complaining. Let us hold fast to the word of life.

Episode 327 - "Rejoice in the Power of God's Amazing Good News" - Philippians 1:15-18

Phil. 1:15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

In light of the circumstances of his incarceration, the apostle Paul’s attitude seems odd. Why? Because he is joyful. Multiple times throughout this letter, words like joy and rejoice will be used to express Paul’s emotional state as he writes under house arrest.

He is joyful in his prayers concerning the believers at Philippi because they have supported him from the very beginning of his ministry. While he doesn’t repeat the word joy or rejoice again in verses 12-14, his emotion is clearly present as he explains to his audience that his imprisonment has led to an even greater spread of the gospel because the imperial guard is hearing it and understands why Paul is imprisoned. In other words, while Paul was the one who was “captive,” it was the imperial guard who was Paul’s captive audience. They had to be him and keep an eye on him, and Paul took advantage of the opportunity.

In verses 15-18, Paul writes that others are taking advantage of the opportunity of Paul’s imprisonment. He explains that there are two groups of people. There are those who are preaching out of a heart of envy or jealousy of the attention given to Paul and perhaps even gloating a bit at Paul’s situation. He explains that they are doing it from “selfish ambition” (v. 17). The other group does it selflessly out of love.

This would be an opportunity for Paul to encourage the Philippians to identify those in the first group and discipline them. But what does he say? “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.” (v. 18) Wow! Paul didn’t excuse the motivations of the envious group. But his perspective is that “Christ is proclaimed,” and then he states, “and in that I rejoice.” (v.18)

There are two things from this that strike me as important to own and learn to act upon. The first thing is to have a kingdom perspective on every circumstance in life. Trust that while people are doing things from evil motivations, God is in control, and his ultimate will is not hampered by people’s attitudes and motivations. The second is closely related: the power of the gospel's message does not lie in the motivations of its speakers. Paul believes that people may have the absolute worst motivations in sharing the gospel, but God can and will still make an impact on the hearts of those who hear it. This reveals an important truth about the gospel. We are not the ones responsible for convincing people of the truth of the gospel. We are simply responsible for sharing the message that Jesus died on the cross to take the judgment for our sin upon himself. He was buried, and on the third day he rose from the dead. He is presently with the Father in heaven and will someday return to raise us who’ve trusted in Jesus to be with him eternally. Jesus’ death creates a peaceful relationship between God and us. Secondly, it gives us hope of eternal life.

Let us rejoice in this tremendous privilege and gain courage to do this, knowing that God is the one who does the hard work in people’s hearts and minds.