No Confidence in the Flesh

Phil 3:1-6

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.


If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.


Beware of dogs - Unclean, unholy, rapacious men. The title which the Jews usually gave the gentiles, he returns upon them. The concision - Circumcision being now ceased, the apostle will not call them the circumcision, but coins a term on purpose, taken from a Greek word used by the LXX, Leviticus 21:5, for such a cutting as God had forbidden.



Here, I met a leader of A church, he spoke with a strange tongue, a CHARISMATIC tongue speaker, even driving, he spoke in tongue, I can see he is faithful, practicing his Charismatic Movement’s teaching, when we had meeting, he will pray in a short prayer with tongue, and every day and night he is praying with tongue. he enjoyed the tongue speaking very much. Before and after sermon also he will pray a short prayer in the tongue. But he also practices circumcision at the same time, he said, “the circumcision is for the righteousness of the believer.” He also kept the Passover. He told the congregation not to eat pork because the pig is an unclean animal. And he said I am anti-Israel because I did not observe the Jewish custom and laws in the Old Testament. He said we Christians do not understand the Bible like the Jewish does. So we are anti-Christianity. At the same time, he is promoting ecumenical with the Roman Catholic. And he said that the Lord was crucified on Wednesday and not on Friday, and then he said the Lord resurrected on Saturday, not on Sunday. He usually encourages people to keep the Saturday as Sabbath day and worship on Saturday.




You can see there are a lot of different practices and doctrines in Christianity. His church leaders said,” I believe in truth, but I do not believe in absolute truth.” And he told me, “I believe in Trinity but I do not believe in one God.” So strange isn’t it. And they do not agree to worship as a church, but they wanted to worship in the home, they called this as a house church, everyone will be the priest. It is like the earlier church, Paul and Peter, they did worship at home.



I disagree with some of those strange new practices and doctrines, for me, circumcision is not needed for Christian, the Lord is our righteousness, by faith we receive the righteousness. The Holy Communion is better than the Passover. We need not keep the Passover. Pork is not so good, but it is not affecting our faith in the Lord. I am not anti-Semitic; anti-Israel, I believe they are chosen, I kept the Sunday as the Sabbath and worship on Sunday, not because of a Pagan Practice. I believe there is the absolute truth from the Bible because the Lord is the truth, we must believe in the truth. I cannot fully understand their church's doctrine, but they may have misinterpreted some truth. At some points in time, when there is loneliness, and troubles, I forget those differences, I also like to follow them to join with the Romans Catholic. Who cares? But I restraint my seat to follow them, there is a bigger doctrinal issue with the RC.


Because of these doctrinal stands, I become a dog again, barking. I had been looked down because the doctrines I observed. I am a separatist, they called me a heretic. They see me as a stranger, they dislike me because I smell like a dog, I also think like a dog, I am stink because of my doctrines and practices, we are different in many ways in Christianity. They went out to say bad report of our belief, and they see me like a stranger on the street, and they disturb our fellowship, they attack those come to our fellowship, and they kept spying and hurting our fellowship, keep on doing this from the beginning, they continue to stop people to come to our fellowship. But what I can say to them, I said to them, "brothers, please pray for us.”



The enemies had done a lot of things so that I can be chased away like a dog, their numbers are outnumbered us, they are richer 1000 times than me, they see me, “You are so poor, where is God’s blessing, how can you say God bless you.” I am poorer than them. And they are strong than me, they wanted me to disappear from the earth, daily I called on to the Lord, I have problems here, there, from outside and within, the biggest problem is me. And now, the hammer of the VPP is pounding on my head, VPP is like a knife keep on cutting my heart, something must be done, I can not bark louder, the theologians may no hear me, at least I still can write. There are difficulties in serving the Lord, but VPP brings us a big impact and hurt. We are different now compared with 10 years ago. Why? At least, I hope the theologian can see this, I hope the doctors will stop the hands in oppressing the member of the Body of Christ. We have differences in doctrine and practices, but I say again now, “Please pray for us.”



I had written many things about the VPP, I hope I can still live to see the goodness of the Lord on earth. The is very good I want. I am living like a stray dog, a dog has owner and home, so a dog is better than me, I am an outcast, an outlaw too, more than 10 years ago, I had been chased away because of defending the truth, no one will accept a creature like me. What I see the biggest problem is not you, the theologian, the doctors, the tongue speaker, but for me. The drive of the blog reach this point, I had to surrender, to the Lord, only the Lord can help me, and saved me. Amen. Please help me, I am a sinner, Lord, save me, I am weak, please strengthen me, Lord had mercy on me. I cannot help that theologian and doctors, the blog is only for a daily or memo. I hope I will recover soon. Helpless. In God, give thanks.
the fight did not end yet. I will bark, and bark, because of VPP, bark!



Paul cautions the believers to take heed of those false teachers: To write the same thing to you to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe; that is, the same things which I have already preached to you; as if he had said, "What has been presented to your ears shall be presented to your eyes: what I have spoken formerly shall now be written; to show that I am still of the same mind.’’ To me indeed is not grievous. Observe, Ministers must not think anything grievous to themselves which they have reason to believe is safe and edifying to the people. It is good for us often to hear the same truths, to revive the remembrance and strengthen the impression of things of importance. It is a wanton curiosity to desire always to hear some new thing. It is a needful caution he here gives: Beware of dogs. The prophet calls the false prophets dumb dogs (Isa. 56:10), to which the apostle here seems to refer. Dogs, for their malice against the faithful professors of the gospel of Christ, barking at them and biting them. They cried up good works in opposition to the faith of Christ; but Paul calls them evil workers: they boasted themselves to be of the circumcision; but he calls them the concision: they rent and tore the church of Christ, and cut it to pieces; or contended for an abolished rite, a mere insignificant cutting of the flesh. He describes true Christians, who are indeed the circumcision, the spiritual circumcision, the peculiar of people of God, who are in covenant with him, as the Old-Testament Israelites were: We are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.



A song for a barking dog…
I am treated like a dog,
I am a dog? a chained and bitten dog,
Why, because I am barking like a dog,
So they called me, a fierce dog,
And an evil worker, go away, go away,
When I said the bad things
about the theologians and doctors,
I am chased away like a dog, like a dog,
and begging like a stray dog,
no mercy for a stray dog,
They wanted to see another dog
come and lick my blood, lick my blood,
ha..ha..ha..ha.......
A dead lion is better than me, a stray dog..
There is a lot of UNChristian happening on this side of the earth,
Judgment must come to this coast.
When I said I am wrong,
forgive me, and I said, “I am punished,”
They said to warn me,
“If you touched me, I will touch you.”
And they send good tiding to me,
“I kill you”, “I kill you.”
When I said VPP is wrong,
They said to me, “You are finished.”
the theologians said, “You cannot serve the Lord !”
Even, I said anything now,
I am punished,
Now, I am like a dog barking for justice,
But I am punished for this also.
“No, you cannot be the son of God.” the theologian proclaimed,
They said this because they are holier than thou,
“you are wicked,”
said the elders,
the theologians,
the doctors.