Lesson 15: Joy’s watchfulness
Philippians 3:1-21 www.bible.com/bible/59/php.3
1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.
Sometimes we tend to become impatient with repetition. But we must guard against such impatience because, as we read in the above verses, reminders are safeguards for us from God. We are reminded of Peter’s warning to us in 1 Peter 5:8 about Satan prowling around like a lion, looking for someone to devour. Those who live in areas where wild animals sometimes hunt too close to our homes know the value of warnings. Those who live in areas where storms can rise unexpectedly also appreciate warnings against danger. We should value warnings for spiritual danger just as much.
In our verses today we have one reminder – to rejoice – and three warnings. The reminder to rejoice, as stated in an earlier lesson, is a shield for our spiritual welfare. We walk with Jesus much more securely and closely when we rejoice. When we walk with Him in sadness or anger or frustration, we tend to look at our own selves more than we look at Him and hear Him speaking to us. As we are able to rejoice, we are also able to hear Him far more clearly because we are actively seeking greater joy from Him.
We are warned against three kinds of people who will try to pull us away from our joy. The first are people who, like dogs, seem to always be looking for something new and exciting. They are not satisfied with what they have. They also do not like to “hunt” alone so they want to pull others into their searches for something new and exciting. In a few lessons we will be reading Paul’s words that he has learned how to be content with what God has given him (Philippians 4:11). He also wrote to Timothy that Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6).
The second warning is against evildoers. These are people who are actively engaged in doing wrong things – and we are warned in other Scriptures, like Psalm 1, saying we should avoid spending our social time with people who actively engage in sinful deeds. It is far too easy for us to try something for no other reason than we don’t want to be left out of the crowd. In these cases, it is best not to be in this crowd at all.
The last warning is against those who mutilate the flesh. In the context of this chapter, we see this is a warning against spending time with people who practice religious rites, especially those whose practices involve rites which are harmful to our bodies. It would be impossible to list all such rites here – the point is, God says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and He never (NEVER) requires anything of us which involves some kind of harm (drunkenness, beating, cutting, binding, and so on).
*In what areas of your life do you need to be more grateful and less greedy? How could asking the Lord for contentment increase your joy and cause others around you to rejoice?