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Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh\u2026 (Philippians 3:1-3).

As Pastor Anthony mentioned yesterday, the opening words of this chapter echo the beginning of the letter. But they also appear to introduce the second half. When Paul mentions repeating himself, it is not clear whether he is referring to what came before or what comes after. I think it is helpful to remember that this is a letter, not a theological treatise. Paul is not a professor delivering a lecture from a distance, but a pastor writing to a congregation dear to his heart.

As Paul begins to address the issue of false teaching, his tone changes. Clearly, he is upset with these people and the things they are teaching. But I think there is more. He is warning the Philippian Christians not to believe these things; it will rob them of their Christian joy.

We must recognize that we do not know who these people were. They are not named, nor does Paul give their teaching a specific title. By referring to them as dogs, evildoers, mutilators of the flesh, it is abundantly clear he passionately opposes them. In his day, dogs were not pets, but scavengers, roaming the streets rummaging through garbage in search of food scraps. Often roaming in packs, they could be dangerous.

What these people believed will become clearer later in the chapter. For today, it is sufficient to say that they believed in Jesus Christ\u2019s saving work, but also that believers needed to adhere to certain elements of the Mosaic laws to be real Christians. The big issue in Philippi was circumcision. For Gentile Christians to be genuine, they needed to get circumcised in the flesh. These teachers denied the sufficiency of the work of Christ; to be righteous before God, one also needed to be circumcised. Paul refuses to give them the dignity of being true followers of Moses.

At times, the Israelites had placed such confidence in this physical mark they felt their election was secure even if they worshipped other gods. In response, their prophets reminded them that the physical rite should be symbolic of a deeper commitment. They called this commitment \u201ccircumcision of the heart,\u201d and they looked forward to a time when God would circumcise the hearts of his people so that they might be committed to him (Jer. 4:4; cf. 9:25; Deut. 30:6). Paul believes that this time has arrived, and that circumcision of the heart is the critical qualification for entrance into God\u2019s new people. Physical circumcision is now irrelevant (Colossians. 2:11-12).

Those led by the Spirit are the true circumcision. Paul mentions three things that characterize such people. One, they serve God by his Spirit. The word serve is often translated worship, in that through the Spirit, we \u2018offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God\u2019 (cf. Romans 12:1). Two, that we boast in Christ Jesus, meaning that we rely totally on the work of Jesus for our salvation. Here is the root of our Christian joy. Our place with God and among his people is settled by our faith in Christ. We don\u2019t have to do a thing but believe.

This leads to Paul\u2019s third point, we put no confidence in the flesh. The reference here is primarily to getting circumcised to be counted among the faithful. But there is probably more. Any stock we place in our pedigree, intellect, spiritual practices, or heritages is ruled out of order.

There remains a tendency to put stock in things in addition to Christ. In the past, Christian Reformed folks often questioned the salvation of other Christians because they didn\u2019t believe what we believed, nor did they practice the faith the way we did.

In challenging these false teachings, Paul desires to bolster both the confidence and the joy of the young believers in Philippi. I encourage you to take some time to consider where you find your joy and comfort. Further, identify some things that you might inadvertently be adding to your faith in Christ.