Beware of dogs

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so:  circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. - Philippians 3:2-6

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of those who require keeping the Law.

As we read the New Testament we find, nearly exclusively, that the harshest words and the severest judgement is reserved, not for the lost trapped in their sin, but for the false teacher and legalisers who would deny the grace of God by adding rules and regulations. Religious leaders are the ones who received the greatest condemnation.

Paul goes so far as to call the legalistic Jews dogs. Dogs was a very harsh word. Dogs were not seen in those day like they are today. For the most part they were garbage feeding mongrels seen as a filthy brutes.

What made these folks so bad? Why such harsh language?

They were what some have called ‘grace robbers’ who denied the power of the cross.
These people tried to replace the grace of God with requirements of the Law. They said that part of the faith was to keep the Law.

There is not a whole lot of that around anymore, but there are still those who would add works to the grace of God. Some do it to acquire salvation, some do it to stay saved, but for the most part it is those who try to tell us that there are certain things that we do or we don’t do to be ‘spiritual.’ I’ve been in churches that said good Christians will do this or that or not do this or that or go to or not go to certain place or wear certain things or listen to certain types of music or whatever without even a slightest application of scripture. Sometimes well intentioned way to apply scripture to daily living became man-made standards that made the requirements of man more important that the word of God. These rules are elevated to the point where obeying them replacing the grace of God in daily living.

I’ve been there. Don’t let man’s expectation rob you of the grace life. The grace life is never an excuse or a licence to sin. It is the liberty to live for Jesus without trying to satisfy the standards of men.