For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light-1st Corinthians 11:13-14 NIV

Every once in a while, I will bump up against a key difference between the first century and the twenty-first century and it will take me by surprise. Such was the case this past week as I was reading through Philippians. In Philippians 3:2 (NASB) the Apostle Paul gives this warning:

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision- Philippians 3:2 NASB

Yikes.

Imagine, for one moment the fallout that would occur if your pastor got up on a Sunday morning and referred to members of your congregation as “evil workers”, “dogs” and the “false circumcision”?  

He’d be out on his ear. For sure. 

 Paul doesn’t stop there. All of chapter three is a detailed explanation of how to go about identifying a “dog”, “evil worker” and the “false circumcision. 

I will not lie.

All this was more than a little unsettling to my twenty-first century sensibilities. We simply don’t talk about people in those terms.  However, because all scripture is “God breathed” (1st Timothy 3:16-17). I was forced to move the past the temptation I felt to ignore a passage of Scripture that made me uncomfortable. So, I went back and reread the entire chapter and decided Paul’s declaration begs a couple of critical questions for every Christian no matter the century they live in. Those questions include: 

Do these warnings still apply to the church today? 

What does a “dog” or “evil worker” look like? 

And finally:

What exactly do we do with this passage of Scripture? 

 It’s probably safe to say Paul’s words were likely just as shocking to the original readers as they are to us. I suspect they were intended to shock because Paul understood a churches overall health is one-hundred-percent dependent on the spiritual state of the people in it (Matthew 7:16-18). A church filled primarily with spirit-filled, obedient followers of Jesus will be a church with an abundance of spiritual power. It will be a church that reaches the lost, leads baby Christians to maturity and impacts the culture around it in a positive, life-giving way. It is a church that will make a difference in the darkest of days. Conversely, a church filled with the kinds of people Paul is warning about will be a troubled, powerless church that will struggle to inspire transformation even in Christians. Such a church cannot help but have a net-negative impact on the community around it. 

Sigh. 

The world is every bit as dark today as was in the first century. People living in darkness still need the salvation and personal transformation only Jesus can bring. People need transformation every bit as much today as they did in Paul’s day (Ephesians 2:1-9, Acts 4:11-12, Romans 1:16-17). Therefore, Paul’s concern over how Christians live and treat others is every bit as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago. 

 According to Paul “dogs” “evil workers” and the “false circumcision” fall into two distinct categories. 

The first type is very proud of their own goodness. This group fails to understand Christians are only good because Jesus makes us good. Any “goodness” we possess is Jesus’s goodness working through us (Romans 3:22, Romans 4:23-25, Philippians 1:11, Philippians 3:9).  This type of “dog” or “evil worker” believes salvation is something to be earned—not received. This type of “Christian” encourages (sometimes even demands) other Christians follow rules not found in the Bible to be saved and accepted by God.  

Paul describes the other type of “dog” or “evil worker” in this way:

 They are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their [appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things- Philippians 3:18b-19 NASB

These folks were unwilling to tell themselves “no” to any earthly pleasure. They did what they wanted with no thought to how their behavior affected other people or their own spiritual walk (1st Corinthians 8:9, Colossians 3). These Christians failed to understand we can only achieve maturity in Christ if we are willing to die to self (Matthew 10:38, Luke 9:23) and let go of the old way of doing things.  Death to self simply means we put Jesus first.  We do what He wants. His desires become our priority and we willingly let go of any behavior, attitude or desire that isn’t His will for our lives. Dying to self, sucks, because the death of anything is always difficult and painful, but in this case has beautiful results. Death to self is the first step in being transformed into the glorious image Jesus (2nd Corinthians 5:17, Romans 12:1-2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18). 

Christians must be cautious about judging others (Matthew 7:1-3).  We must look at our own actions and attitudes first. It is imperative we make sure we are not the “dogs” “evil doers” or “false circumcision” before we go around judging anyone else’s actions. When we do see a need to judge or confront another’s behavior it must be done in a spirit of helping that person to become a better, healthier version of themselves so that the church, and all the people in it, can become what our world needs to see right now.