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HEAVEN, HELL, AND HOUND DOGS

Today, as the United States of America is still getting used to having a new President living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we have a few well-chosen words for you - first from a president, and then from a king. We're just launching into chapter three in this remarkable Bible book called Philippians. And really, all through his writing, and here in this epistle as well, Paul has strong words about anyone who would come along and sweep new believers off their feet. "Watch out for false preachers," he warns. "Keep your eyes open for wolves in sheep's clothing." Etc. He knew full well that heresies were going to come marching down Main Street, that there would emerge new and appealing ideas, dangerous doctrines with just a trace of spiritual cyanide hidden inside.
Well, here's a holiday soundbite from a leader named George Washington, who once warned a virgin nation:

"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."

And you know, that has certainly been true in the field of religion. Just two weeks ago, in Philippians chapter one, we studied how Paul, who is writing from prison, laments just a bit about the fact that there are preachers out there who are climbing up into their pulpits purely out of selfish ambition. And the people in the pews are very susceptible to a new gospel that is smoother, silkier, and easier.
Or sometimes HARDER! Because now back to this week's chapter, number three, and all at once we encounter just about the harshest words ever to come out of Paul's sometimes poisonous pen. And he's been no diplomat up till now. If I can go from quoting a president to quoting a king, Paul in essence talks about certain of these false preachers and publically declares: "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog."
And you say, "What are you talking about?" Here's verse two, word for word:

"Watch out for those DOGS," Paul writes, "those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh."

Now, what in the world is this all about? And should we have a bar of Dial soap handy to wash out someone's mouth? (We may actually need one a bit later this week, so stay tuned.) But what is Paul referring to here?
Well, let's be very open. The subtext here is that of circumcision - that Old Testament Jewish rite commanded by God for the Children of Israel. This was a biblical practice, a sign or covenant between God and His chosen people.

But now, here in the New Testament, following Calvary, when the gospel of Jesus Christ went to the whole world, the Christian Church was released from many of these covenant obligations. There's a big discussion about this in Acts chapter 15, and then a VERY big go-round on it in Paul's letter to the Galatians. But the whole Church, the Body of Christ, had agreed that some of these Jewish rituals and restrictions - and SPECIFICALLY the rite of circumcision - was not a requirement now for the Christians believers. Today what we would call the "Old Guard," those who wanted to hold to the old rules and regulations, were known as Judaizers . . . for obvious reasons. They wanted to turn all Christians back into Jews again.
So just as fresh, enthusiastic new Christians in places like Galatia and now Philippi were embracing the pure gospel of Christ, accepting Calvary and determining to follow the example of Jesus, these men, these teachers coming in from the sidelines, were insisting on circumcision. And Paul winds up and throws his best fastball right at them - calls them "dogs."
The Message paraphase is very interesting here. Notice:

"Steer clear," Paul writes, "of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they're interested in is appearances - knife-happy circumcisers, I call them."

Now here is the interesting thing. Paul himself is not opposed to the ceremony of circumcision. Not at all. From a health point of view, it's absolutely all right. And from a spiritual perspective as well, if a convert wanted to express obedience to God by following this practice, there was nothing wrong with that. New Testament Bible commentator Ralph P. Martin observes that Paul writes over in Romans chapter two about how circumcision has value for an observant believer. And there's a famous line beginning chapter three where he poses the rhetorical question: Are there advantages in being a Jew, or in being circumcised? And his answer: "Much in every way!" He himself was circumcised; he was a "Hebrew of Hebrews," which we'll study later. BUT . . . if a Christian depended on circumcision FOR SALVATION - that was when Paul saw red and began singing that Elvis Presley line about dogs.
Dr. Martin adds a bit more in commenting about verse two:

"But what did infuriate him was the insistence that the rite must be ENFORCED on Gentile Christians in order to make them 'full Christians,' as the Judaizers imagined was required."

And IF something like circumcision was done from this perspective, as a way of earning heaven, then to Paul this was nothing more than self-mutilation, much like that practiced by the Old Testament prophets of Baal, who danced around their untouched offering on Mount Carmel, slicing themselves up with kitchen knives, hoping to attract their god's attention and pity. Notice that Paul calls these men exactly that: "mutilators of the flesh."
And you know, friend, the lesson for us today is so important. Obedience is a wonderful thing, but it's not the basis of our salvation. Every Christian ought to embrace God's moral law, His commandments, but that's not the basis of our eternal life either. It's good to treat your body as the temple of the Lord, and give regard to the principles of health and abundant living that are opened up to us, but again, this is not the basis of a person's salvation security.
In one sense, verse two here reveals Paul's irritation with this drumbeat about "rules, rules, rules" and "scalpel, scalpel, scalpel." In the Clear Word paraphrase, which often gives a very colorful slant to what Paul writes, we find this depiction of these false teachers:

"They're as irritating as dogs," Paul complains, "who never stop barking."

But it's really much more serious than that late-night yap, yap, yap that keeps you awake. Because these false teachers, with their insistence on following the Old Testament rituals as a BASIS of salvation, are undermining the cross. They're actually doing away with Calvary! No wonder the New International Version study notes for verse two says this about Paul's choice of the word dogs:

"A harsh word for Paul's opponents, showing their aggressive opposition to the gospel and the seriousness of their error and its destructive, 'devouring' results."

And you know, friend, the danger of wild dogs isn't limited to A.D. 55, and it also isn't limited to barking sounds coming from the right-wing side of the freeway. Here in 2001, there are false teachers out there still, and they sometimes attack the cross of Calvary from either side of the conservative-liberal spectrum.
A couple of years ago, a book came into our Voice of Prophecy office with a startling title. Here it is: Why Christianity Must Change Or Die. And the proposals made by the author are so sweeping that a statement released by the publishers made this claim:

"Luther could not have threatened the religious establishment more than this book is going to."

Well, what are the threatening statements? Here are a few just from the inside flyleaf:

"If theism [believing in a specific, personal, real God] is no longer a viable way to think about God, then the way we approach the Christ figure has got to be radically revised. Jesus can no longer be the incarnation of a theistic deity."

The writer of this popular book rejects, then, the idea that God is a personal being who reacts with this world. And then he goes from there to reject the belief that Jesus is the Son of God. The cross of Jesus has no meaning for him; in fact, he determines in his theology that God - if there is such a being - apparently DEMANDED and REQUIRED the sacrifice of his son.

"I would choose to LOATHE rather than to WORSHIP a deity [like that]," he writes.

Well, what about prayer? If there's no God except some kind of life force inside each of us, who or what does a person pray to? Well, for him prayer is:

"Being present, sharing love, opening life to transcendence . . . not necessarily words addressed heavenward."

And his final chapter has this title: "Eternal Life Apart From Heaven and Hell." For this writer, who is still a clergyman in a major Christian denomination, eternal life is to simply live on, in terms of influence, in the lives of children and grandchildren and of friends whose experiences he has touched. And that, I confess, is a beautiful thought - that our kind deeds, our generous words, our loving touches will live on after we die, that there is a hint of immortality in our lasting influence. I wouldn't call the tone of this writer "the barking of a dog." There's a lot of kindness on these pages. Nevertheless, I must say that as I read the Word of God, this frail radio preacher you're listening to today finds these other writings to be heresy. They destroy the cross of Jesus; they strip Him of His God-given title of Savior. The blood He shed is nothing more than a political mistake, not the life-saving fluid of eternal life.
Well, friend, some of these books are written by people who are smarter than we are. What can we do, then, except to cling to Jesus? For sure, Paul finds that as HIS only safeguard.

"I consider EVERYTHING a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."