Body
"BEWARE OF DOGS." Some people put up the signs as a joke. We don't have one at our house because our dachshund is all bark and no bite. However, there are countless locations where you best take heed to the "Beware of Dog" signs. The context is different, but God, through the Apostle Paul, warned Christians in Philippi, saying, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!" (Phil. 3:2). In NT times, dogs apparently roamed around and performed a similar role to that of scavenger birds. Elijah prophesied concerning Ahab, "The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field" (1 Kings 21:24). While some Jews might have had dogs as pets, for the most part it seems dogs were unclean animals that ate refuse. Perhaps that's why Jews referred to Gentiles as dogs, i.e. as unclean. What's shocking in Paul's letter to the Philippians is that Paul, a Jew, used the contemptuous name "dogs" of other Jews. It's clear from the context that Paul is referring to Judaizers who were Jews that believed Jesus was the Messiah. That sounds good on the surface, however, they also believed, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1). These "dogs" taught that Gentiles must essentially become Jews and keep the law of Moses in order to be genuine Christians. IOW, they rejected Jesus' death on the cross as the sole basis upon which God forgives sin. Christianity today is not plagued by Judaizer "dogs" but we are plagued by droves of "dogs" who teach false doctrines that damn souls to hell. Paul made the doctrine of eternal life clear in his letter to the Ephesians, saying it is by "grace" that we are "saved, through faith" in Jesus Christ (2:8). In fact, Paul says forgiveness "is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Yes, God still warns, "Beware of dogs!"
