Philippians 3:1-4
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh - though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more
Upon first reading of this text, I thought it would be a good passage to write about, but now I'm not so sure it is as relavent for us (though still important) as to whom it was written. The dogs, evildoers, and mutilators of the flesh are the jews and particularly those that were overly concerned about the importance of circumcision. Paul contrasts this with, "we are the real circumcision" who are the Christians or the circumcise of heart (see Rom. 2:25-29). The important thing is not the outward act of circumcision but the inward act of transforming the heart of stone to a heart of flesh - circumcision of the heart - for those of you who don't read the bible, we're talking about Christian love here. It is the most important thing (see 1 Cor. 13). And then Paul goes on to say that he has more reason to be confident in the flesh. I don't think that he is boasting or even saying that he really does have a good reason to boast in his flesh, but rather that if it really were outward acts of the flesh that mattered, Paul would have more reason to boast about them than any. I think the reasoning behind the point is that if Paul had less reason to boast in his flesh, this passage would just sound like he's trying to even the playing field (just like when someone is losing in a game of 1 on 1 basketball, so he says "next point wins"), Paul is showing the he really means it. The reason I say that this passage is not as relavent is because (and I may be wrong in saying this) I don't think anybody really struggles with this these days. Whether or not circumcision is of any value is no question in my mind: I know it isn't. Also, as far as I know, this really isn't a church-dividing issue.
posted by khduesy at 12:50 PM
1 Comments:
Good points Kyle. In a way, I think this passage do have a sort of secondary relevance to the modern church. As you said, hardly anyone argues about circumcision anymore. I'm sure there are a few fundamentalist churches out there who do, but it certainly isn't the most controversial issue in modern times.
That said, are there not other ways in which we try to justify ourselves by outward circumcision? There are many ways in which we often try to justify ourselves. We think that we will be saved if we go to church frequently enough, or if we pray enough, or if we spend precisely enough time in the word. These are all good things, and we ought to do them. But it is not by these good works that we are saved. And though they are important activities for all Christians, we can easily use them to "mutilate the flesh."
It seems to me that when we are convicted of our sin, we can mistakenly assume that God has revoked our salvation, and that we must earn it back. But if we can grasp that we have already been saved, then we are freed from the bondage of sin and the Law, and we are now free to embrace the righteousness that comes by faith and to press on towards the goal, so as to obtain the resurrection from the dead by any means possible.
As more than one pastor at Bethlehem has said: the Kingdom of God is coming, and it is already here. This passage seems to be setting us up to understand (in the next paragraphs) that the Kingdom is already here, so that we can pursue the coming Kingdom.
Post a Comment
<< Home