Beware of The Evil Workers

[Christsfreeservant]

“Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:2-3 NASB)​

“The dogs” being referred to here, in this context, appear to be specifically targeted toward the Judaizers who were trying to convince Gentile believers in Christ that they had to be circumcised as part of their salvation from sin; as part of the gospel message. And Paul continually refuted that lie. For, as those who are under the New Covenant God has with his people Israel (Jew and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ), we are free from the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, dietary and circumcision laws.

But “the dogs” were not just the Judaizers, but they were all who were false apostles or prophets or preachers or teachers of the Scriptures who were teaching lies to the people, who were manipulating and taking advantage of the people, and who were leading them astray to a false gospel. They were the spiritually unclean who promised the people freedom while they were themselves slaves of depravity. So they were also hypocrites. They were and they still are the contemptible in the sight of God who lead his people astray.

For, instead of teaching death to sin and obedience to God as necessary components of believing faith in Jesus Christ, they teach that all we have to do is make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now all our sins are forgiven and heaven is our eternal destiny, and it cannot be taken away from us. And many of them are literally telling the people that they don’t have to turn away from their sins (repent), and they don’t have to obey our Lord and his commandments. But that is a lie from hell. Just read the New Testament!

Rather than leading the people out from under slavery to sin, many of them are actually leading them to continue in their sins, or perhaps to even sin beyond what they did before because they convince them that their sins are all covered now by the blood of Jesus and God will not judge them for their sins. Some of them are teaching the people that God cannot even see when they sin, so even if they are engrossed in some of the most egregious sins, habitually, they tell them that God only sees Jesus when he looks at them.

So, some of these “dogs” not only are teaching lies and a false gospel message, but they are serving as messengers of Satan to the people convincing them that they can keep sinning and that God will not judge them. And they do this through trickery, mind manipulation, and the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. And those who are following Jesus with their lives, they will set traps for, just like they did for Jesus, in hopes to be able to accuse them of some wrongdoing.

So, these “dogs” are users and abusers who take advantage of others for their own conquests, who manipulate, who trick, who scheme, and who lay traps for us to fall into (not physical traps, but mental ones). If they can’t bring us down through tempting us to sin, they will use other means to try to break us and to get us to fail. And deception is one of the biggest ways they are leading people into sin by convincing them that God is pleased with them even if they continue in deliberate and habitual sin against God.

But what did Jesus and his New Testament apostles teach us?

By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

The grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

So, don’t fall for the lies of these “dogs” who are “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” We are not saved from our sins so that we can keep on sinning deliberately and habitually without judgment and without consequence. Might we sin sometime? We might (1 John 2:1-2). But if we continue in sin, and not in walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands, the Scriptures state it perfectly clear that we will die in our sins, and we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what faith in Jesus we profess with our lips.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

Beware of the Evil Workers
An Original Work / May 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love