Philippians 3:1-2
¹ Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. ² Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
TRANSCRIPT
Our text for today's message is taken from Philippians 3 verses 1 and 2. Allow me to read for you Philippians 3 verses 1 and 2: "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.” The title of our message is "The Importance of Spiritual Discernment."
The devil cannot do anything against the salvation that Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross of Calvary. But what he can do is to cause the people to doubt their salvation or to deceive the people into believing that they are saved, when in reality, they are not. Many people believe that they are saved because of a past experience. Perhaps they prayed to receive Christ as a child, or they have responded to the altar call during a gospel rally, or they have signed a card indicating they believed in Christ. But nowhere in Scripture does it point to a past conversion experience as the assurance of salvation.
In Acts 8:21-23, Simon Magus, the sorcerer, not only professed to believe, he was also baptised and continued with Philip the evangelist for a period of time. Yet, he was never saved. Some people believe they are saved because of the way they have lived their lives. They have lived a superficial moral life, but many unbelievers have also lived morally good lives. They are honest, kind, and generous, some even better than believers, but they were never saved. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, "For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." There are many reasons why people would live moral lives. Some people live an outwardly moral life because they are afraid of God, or they feel the pressure to conform to standards and expectations from their peer groups. All little children are led to live moral lives to please their parents and to avoid being punished, but they were never saved. Others believe that they are saved because of their knowledge, but mere knowledge of the Bible does not mean that one is safe. James 2:19 says, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble."
Yet, others believe that they are saved because they have been attending church faithfully week after week. They have been baptised, partaken of the Holy Communion, and faithfully participated in all the spiritual activities of the church. Well, all these spiritual activities are good, but they are no guarantee that one is saved.
Sadly, many people are deceived by all these reasons to believe that they are on the narrow road to heaven, but actually, they are on the broad road to hell. So, it is extremely important that we have the spiritual discernment to examine ourselves whether we are saved or not. And if we are true believers, we also need this spiritual discernment so that we will be able to recognise false teachers and their false teachings. They will deceive the people into believing they are safe, but in reality, they are not.
Salvation comes when a person acknowledges his sins, that he is totally depraved, and he believes in the gospel that Jesus had come, He died on the cross, shedding His precious blood to cleanse and wash away all his sins. Only Jesus alone is able to provide the forgiveness of sins. The Philippians had believed in the gospel and they all do rejoice. That was why Paul said in verse 1, "Rejoice my brethren, rejoice in the Lord." This biblical joy was not based on our circumstances. When the situation is good, one is happy. When the situation is not good, one is unhappy. It is not based on our emotional feelings, but it is based on one's relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
To know that you are safe, it is a joy unspeakable, eternal, and unshakable. It is a supernatural joy produced by the Holy Spirit. Remember, joy is one of the facets of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. We cannot lose our salvation, but we can lose the joy of our salvation. This joy could be robbed away from us by the false teachers and false teachings that will cause us to doubt, cause us to question.
Therefore, Paul immediately warned the Philippians. Look at the second part of verse 1. He said, "To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe." Previously, Paul had already warned the Philippians. That's why he said, "To write the same things to you, to me is not grievous." Which means to repeat the same warnings to you. For me, it is not troublesome, it is not burdensome. It is necessary, it is safe for you.
The word "safe" means not to trip or not to stumble. In other words, it is to safeguard you. You see, if the Philippians were true believers, that means they had true faith. And that true faith had to grow and mature. That true faith had to be protected, because the devil will sow deceptions and doubts to hinder their growth. And therefore, it is the duty of the pastor to warn the church. The duty of the pastor is to preach and teach the whole counsel of God's word. And in order for him to do that, he must be diligent in the study of God's truth. But as diligent as he is, he must also remember that the adversary, the devil, is also diligent to sow deceptions and doubts.
As 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour." And he loves to devour those who are gullible, those who are lacking in their knowledge, those young Christians. The devil loves to devour these people. So the pastor must be vigilant, alert when he sees the false teachers and false teachings creeping into the church. It is his duty and responsibility to raise the spiritual alarm. That was what Paul was doing here.
Notice one word stands out in verse 2, and that is the word "beware." Three times this word was used. "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision." To "beware" is to see with this sermon, to see with understanding. Do not just see with your physical eyes, but see it with a pair of spiritual eyes. Here, Paul was not referring to three different groups of people, but rather one group and that was the false teachers.
I. Beware of dogs
Our first point is "beware of dogs." The word "dogs" is not a reference to the pet dogs we have in modern times, those cute little animals. It was referring to the wild scavengers roaming the cities. These dogs would feed on garbage, they would attack humans. They were dirty and smelly, and they were despised. In those days, the Jews would commonly refer to the Gentiles as "dogs." In other words, the word "dogs" was used in a very demeaning way. Interestingly, Paul himself was a Jew and here he called the Jewish false teachers Judaizers "dogs." It was as if he was saying, "Are dogs unclean and filthy? So are the false teachers. Are dogs vicious and dangerous? So are the false teachers. Are dogs to be avoided? So are the false teachers."
Oftentimes, people would accuse the church of being harsh and unloving to point out doctrine, address some errors. Some would even say, "Why be so critical? Why not just live with it, just some errors? Why must point those errors out, it is so unloving." Is it unloving for the church to do that?
If I may give you an illustration: If you are a parent preparing meals for your children and you discover that the food your children are about to eat is uncleaned, filthy, and even poisonous, what would you do? Surely, you would take the food and throw it away, right? And then you warn your children never to touch that kind of food again. But let's say someone comes along and says to you, "But it is so unkind and unloving of you to do that." What would you say? Surely, you would say, "I'm doing that because I love my children." On the contrary, if I do not do that, then it is most unloving and unkind. That is the idea we have here.
Likewise, in the spiritual sense, God's people must feed on the pure, unadulterated spiritual milk of God's word, not the filthy, unclean, and dangerous erroneous doctrines, whether it be charismatism, neoevangelicalism, the New Age movement, neofundamentalism, and so forth. So when the pastor sees these strange doctrines coming into the church, what must he do? Warn the people, "Beware of dogs, beware of these false teachers." Jesus himself warned his disciples, "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15).
Dear friends, do you feel safe when you send your children to the Sunday School? Do you feel safe when you send your children to the youth fellowship meetings? Do you believe that they will truly learn God's word there? Do you believe so? Do you feel safe when you bring your friends to church, that they will truly hear the preaching of God's truth, nothing but the truth? Do you feel safe when you bring your unbelieving loved ones and family members, that you trust and believe they will hear the pure gospel, and by God's grace and mercy they will be saved? Do you feel safe? Are you confident? Do you realise that the only way we can feel safe is when we are a discerning church? When we are discerning people, always on guard? “Beware of dogs”. Take heed of this warning. Always be diligent, be vigilant, be alert, watching out for the dogs as in the false teachings. Because we want our people to hear the pure, unadulterated spiritual milk of God's word and nothing else.
II. Beware of evil workers
Our second point is "beware of evil workers." The word "workers" means labourers. Standing on its own, it tells us that these people were in the church. They were workers, they were serving, they were involved in the religious work of the church. But with the word "evil" added to it, it describes the kind of workers, the nature of their work. Instead of being good workers, they were evil workers.
You see, just because a person is a church worker or a church member serving in the different ministries, or he is an office bearer, a pastor, an elder, or a deacon, it does not mean that he is surely a good worker. Outwardly, he may be serving and performing his duties, but his work may oppose the gospel instead of advancing it. That is an evil worker.
What do you call those people who strive, quarrel, fight, and cause division? What do you call those people who are busybodies and causing troubles wherever they go? People may be serving outwardly, but they are evil workers. Can a person be preaching the word of God and even be effective, and people gravitate toward him, people love to listen to him, and yet be an evil worker? Yes. Why do we say that? Because if his work brings glory to himself instead of God, if his work is done out of selfish reasons, if his work is done out of pride, out of strife, out of contention, what kind of work is that? It is evil work, and he is an evil worker.
Dear friends, as a church, we have to be discerning. There will always be needs in the church, we need workers, there's no doubt about that. We can be so overwhelmed with the needs of the ministry. If the pastor is old, he will be desperate to look for someone to take over him, and sometimes we will accept anyone who comes along and says he wants to serve. We are willing to accept anyone who professes he or she has given their lives to serve the Lord full-time, no questions asked, because of the need. But we do not just want workers, we want good workers. Most importantly, we do not want evil workers. When these evil workers creep into the ministry, what happens? The people will not be edified and encouraged, they will not preach faithfully, the church will be divided, there will be troubles, the problems go on and on and on. Isn't it true that it is better not to have such workers than to run the risk of destroying the church? I believe you understand what I mean. We want good workers, not just any workers, and definitely not evil workers.
Jesus himself warned, "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). Not everyone who says he is serving God is truly serving God. Why? Because he's serving according to his own terms, not according to God's will and purpose. So just because a person is serving as a pastor or a deacon or teaching in the Sunday School, facilitating the DHW classes and fellowship groups, it does not mean that he or she is a good worker. We have to be a discerning church, a discerning people. We have to test the work. Is the work done glorifying to God or glorifying the person? Is the work done advancing the gospel or opposing the gospel? Is the person able to work with others, uniting the church, or dividing the church? We have to ask all these questions, test the work.
While it is true that we cannot see the heart, but God knows. At the end of the day, God will scrutinise all our works, not just outwardly, but inwardly. He knows the intentions and motivations behind the things we do. In the final analysis, will God say to us, "You are a good worker," or "You are a bad evil worker"? May the Lord have mercy that none of us will be called an evil worker.
There's only one kind of work that is good and pleasing to God, which only the believers can do. You see, the unbelievers can do evil things for evil reasons, and they can also do good things, but out of selfish pride, not for God's glory. Only the believer who is controlled by the Holy Spirit is motivated by a desire to glorify God. And only such a believer is able to perform such work that is good and pleasing to God. You and I must be such workers, controlled by the Holy Spirit, and our motivation must always be, "How can I glorify my God? How can I praise His name? How can His gospel be advanced? How can I do His mission work that the unbelievers in the mission fields will come to know Him? It's all about Him."
III. Beware of the concision
We have to test our work. Our third point is "Beware of the concision." Circumcision has always been essential to the Jewish people because it is the distinguishing mark of God's covenant with their forefathers, Abraham. God promised to make Abraham a father of many nations, his descendants would be like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. He will be given the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession. But most importantly, God said, "I will be your God."
That was the covenant God made with Abraham, and the sign, also a symbol of the covenant, was circumcision. Genesis 17:11, God said to Abraham, "And he shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you." From then onwards, every Jewish boy was circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, and anyone who was not circumcised would be cut off from the covenant community. Circumcision was so significant to them that they would refer to fellow Jews as "the circumcision" or "the circumcised," and they would refer to Gentiles as "the uncircumcision" or "uncircumcised." But what they failed to understand was the true meaning of circumcision.
You see, circumcision symbolises man's need to be cleansed from his sins. The blood that was shed in the physical act of circumcision symbolises the need for the sacrifice to accomplish that cleansing. Only the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, can accomplish that cleansing. So, they must believe in the heart when they come to be circumcised. They must believe in their heart when they bring their children for circumcision. Essentially, circumcision was an outward sign of an inward reality, the transformation of the heart. Therefore, God commanded the Israelites to "circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskin of your heart" (Jeremiah 4:4).
However, the Jews only focused on the physical act of circumcision, the outward religious ceremony. But their hearts had become so detached from God. So, these Judaizers, false teachers in the Philippian church, just because they were circumcised, they saw themselves as being set apart unto God, they saw themselves as special. But Paul said this was a false circumcision. And instead of using the usual word for circumcision, he used another word which was a very strong word, "concision," which means cut off or mutilated. In other words, Paul was like saying, if your heart is not cleansed, if your heart is not transformed, it doesn't matter whether you are circumcised or not. Your circumcision is not only a meaningless exercise, it is a mutilation. It is no different from the ritualistic mutilation of the pagan religions.
Dear friends, what can we learn from here? Our baptism, just like circumcision, is an outward sign of an inward reality. We are baptised because we believe. We are baptised because our hearts are transformed. If that is not the case, then our baptism means nothing. The same thing goes with our worship, our services, our Holy Communion, our giving of tithes and offerings, our singing of hymns, our prayers, and so forth. All these spiritual activities would be absolutely meaningless if our hearts are not transformed. It would be just a meaningless exercise.
Paul says, "Beware of the concision." Because these false teachers, primarily the Judaizers, place their confidence in their circumcision. But their hearts were never transformed. And they would teach others that you can only have salvation if you believe in Jesus plus circumcision plus something else. The salvation they teach, salvation plus something else, is not the salvation of the Bible. The salvation of the Bible is by faith alone, by grace alone, by Christ alone, by Scriptures alone, and to the glory of God alone. It is not "plus something else."
The church must be discerning. God's people must be discerning. We cannot allow false teaching, false teachers, to creep into the church. And what must we do? Beware of dogs—people who teach unclean, filthy, and dangerous strange doctrines. They may be our family members, friends, influential people. It doesn't matter. We must mark them, we must avoid them. They are dangerous.
Beware of evil workers—people who say they are serving God, but in reality, they are serving themselves. They are serving for their own selfish reasons, they are serving according to their own terms and for their own glory. Test the work. If we know that they are evil workers, as painful as it is, we must cut them away to keep a pure church that will glorify God.
And finally, beware of the concision—people who put their trust in who they are and what they have done. People who teach that in order for you to be saved, you must believe in Jesus plus baptism plus church membership plus giving of your money plus anything else. Salvation is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, plus nothing else. This is the gospel we must preach. We must keep the pulpit pure so that this gospel will be dispensed to the glory of God. Let us pray.
Father in heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to consider these two verses in Philippians chapter 3. We ought to have spiritual discernment, even as we examine ourselves whether we are truly saved or not. We need this discernment. If we are true believers, we also need this spiritual discernment so that we can recognise false teachers and their teachings. They will creep into the church to deceive the people into believing that they are saved, into believing that salvation is Jesus plus something else. Oh Lord, may Thou be gracious and merciful to help this church, that we be obedient today, that we will take heed to beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, and beware of the concision. We put our trust not in ourselves, in who we are, or in the things we have done, but we put our confidence and trust in Thee and Thee alone. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
SERMON OUTLINE
PHILIPPIANS SERIESGrowing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Pressing Toward the MarkPressing Toward the MarkPhilippians 3:13-14
Let's Have FellowshipLet's Have FellowshipPhilippians 2:1-4
The Power of Christ's ResurrectionThe Power of Christ's ResurrectionPhilippians 3:10-11
Elements of True JoyElements of True JoyPhilippians 1:3-6
In Times of AdversityIn Times of AdversityPhilippians 1:12-18
To Live is ChristTo Live is ChristPhilippians 1:19-26
Living Worthy of the GospelLiving Worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-11
Work Out Your Own SalvationWork Out Your Own SalvationPhilippians 2:12-18
Moving Forward Not BackwardMoving Forward Not BackwardPhilippians 2:13-14
The Cure for AnxietyThe Cure for AnxietyPhilippians 4:6-7
The Church at PhilippiThe Church at PhilippiPhilippians 1:1-2
The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)Philippians 1:3-5
The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)Philippians 1:6
What are the Things Most Important to Us?What are the Things Most Important to Us?Philippians 1:7-8
Growing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Are All Things Really Working For Good?Are All Things Really Working For Good?Philippians 1:12-14
Trouble in the ChurchTrouble in the ChurchPhilippians 1:15-18
For to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainFor to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainPhilippians 1:19-26
Live your life worthy of the GospelLive your life worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)Philippians 2:1-2
Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Philippians 2:3-4
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-8
The Greatest NameThe Greatest NamePhilippians 2:9-11
Living a Sanctified LifeLiving a Sanctified LifePhilippians 2:12-13
Stop Murmuring and ComplainingStop Murmuring and ComplainingPhilippians 2:14-16
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulPhilippians 2:17-18
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyPhilippians 2:19-24
The Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentThe Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentPhilippians 3:1-2
True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthTrue Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthPhilippians 3:3, John 4:4-30
Nothing to Boast OfNothing to Boast OfPhilippians 3:3-6
What Is Gain To Me Is LossWhat Is Gain To Me Is LossPhilippians 3:7-9
What are Your Spiritual Goals?What are Your Spiritual Goals?Philippians 3:10-11
Pressing Toward The MarkPressing Toward The MarkPhilippians 3:12-14
How to Know the Will of GodHow to Know the Will of GodPhilippians 3:15
Who Are You Following?Who Are You Following?Philippians 3:16-19
Heavenly Or Earthly MindedHeavenly Or Earthly MindedPhilippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
How Do You Stand Fast?How Do You Stand Fast?Philippians 4:1
How to Maintain Christian UnityHow to Maintain Christian UnityPhilippians 4:2-3
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Philippians 4:4-7
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Philippians 4:8-9
Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Philippians 4:10-12
How To Be An Overcoming ChristianHow To Be An Overcoming ChristianPhilippians 4:13
What Is Christmas?What Is Christmas?Philippians 2:6-11
Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Philippians 4:13-19
My God Shall Supply All Your NeedsMy God Shall Supply All Your NeedsPhilippians 4:19
Living By Grace and For God's GloryLiving By Grace and For God's GloryPhilippians 4:20-23
Message 5: Praying for the ChurchMessage 5: Praying for the ChurchPhilippians 1:9-11
Morning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouMorning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouPhilippians 3:13-14
Message 6: Praying for the TroubledMessage 6: Praying for the TroubledPhilippians 4:6-7
