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NASB | Philippians 3:2 ¶ Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Philippians 3:2 ¶ Look out for the dogs [the Judaizers, the legalists], look out for the troublemakers, look out for the false circumcision [those who claim circumcision is necessary for salvation]; |
Subject: Phil 3:2/ Legalism |
Bible Note: Nuge, even though you are a newcomer to the forum, and welcome to it, you have surely posted a timely topic. Isn't it, first of all, worthy of note that God would inspire a Jew (Paul, a "Hebrew of the Hebrews" as he calls himself in Philippians 3:5, and a Pharisee at that) to speak out against the Judaizers, calling them "dogs" -- a term the Jews themselves loved to use to refer to Gentiles? But that is the clear message of Philippians 3:2...... It would appear that the only lesson mankind learns from history is how to repeat the same errors: Judaizers made grave errors in Paul's time and they make grave errors still, in our time. The irony of it is that it was the Jews who were the Judaizers in Paul's day. In our day the Gentiles have got into the act too. We view with dismay the fads that are going around these days among people who profess to be Christians yet who are deluded into believing that the roots of Judaism hold the key to opening the door to Christianity -- that, in essence, the more "Jewish" they become the better off they are as Christians. They are thus is repeating the errors that Paul solidly condemned in Philippians and elsewhere in the New Testament. You asked, "How far do we go with this?" For starters, you can find a clue to your question by an examination of a number of posts on this very forum. --Hank |