Philippians - Week 6 - Day 3

READ 

Philippians 3:2-3 

2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort 

Dogs in the land of Israel were dirty, filthy scavengers. The proud Jewish people often called the Gentiles “dogs” because they did not have the law. Paul here turns the term against the false teachers in Judaism because they were more concerned about the physical act of circumcision than its spiritual significance. To say that someone needed to be circumcised to be saved was adding works to what Christ had already accomplished. Adding anything to believing in Christ for salvation was and is false teaching that Paul condemned. 

REFLECT 

As you think of your own situation, Do you believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone? Or do you feel the need to do something in addition to what He has already done for you. On the cross, He said, “It is finished” (see John 19:30). 

RESPOND 

Read Romans 2:25-29 to see the true purpose of circumcision.