<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Philippians 3;2&amp;3<div><br></div><div><b>2. &nbsp;Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil-workers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.</b></div><div><b>3. &nbsp;For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>The Gospel teaches that our salvation and new eternal&nbsp;life are entirely God’s work and doing in us,</div><div>Human flesh has nothing to do with bringing about saving faith and living. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><i>“For&nbsp;by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—</i></div><div><i>not because of works, lest any man should boast.” &nbsp; &nbsp;</i>(Ephesians 2;8)</div><div><br></div><div>Some Believers argue against ‘faith alone’ and say in response to Ephesians 2;8:&nbsp;‘But, a person&nbsp;must <i>“receive Christ” </i>to be saved. &nbsp;They need to pray and tell God they know they are sinners and they confess their sin and <i>“receive Christ” </i>as their Savior and Lord.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;Then they quote John 1;12, <i>“But to all who ‘received him,’ who believed on his name, he gave them power to become children of God.”</i><i></i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>Those who do this misunderstand the word ‘receive.’ &nbsp;It is not used in the active sense, such as, ‘I received guests into my home on Christmas Eve’ implying that the guests could not enter unless they were invited in. &nbsp;Therefore, Christ can&nbsp;not or will not enter us unless we ‘invite him in or <i>“receive him”.</i></div><div><i><br></i></div><div>This is absolutely impossible for us to do, because we are totally spiritually dead and incapable of asking for Christ to enter us. &nbsp;(see, Ephesians 2;1) A&nbsp;correct understanding of the word,<i>’receive’’ </i>is that we received Christ like a person without a heartbeat or respiration receives an electric shock from the EMS!</div><div><br></div><div>Christ by the Word and Spirit ‘invades’ us like a king invades his enemies country, or a helpless child ‘receives’ a shot in order to receive immunity from disease. &nbsp;When we receive Christ, we are being invaded by the King of kings. &nbsp;When we are Baptized, we die with him to sin and are raised united with him to a new life. &nbsp;We go from enemy who hates Jesus&nbsp;to become his Bride.</div><div><br></div><div>This is all Christ’s doing alone. &nbsp;He receives all the glory, honor, thanks, and praise for both our salvation and new life in him. &nbsp;To say we have any part to play in our salvation is to say we get some of the credit, we don’t. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>This is why Paul says, <i>“Look out for the dogs” </i>meaning those who demand we must be&nbsp;circumcised or doing anything else in our own power&nbsp;to finish what God has started and be saved. &nbsp;This is called ‘synergism’ or co-operation with God to be saved. &nbsp;It is not scriptural. &nbsp;Worse, as a false teaching, it robs Christ of <u>all</u>&nbsp;the glory and takes some of the glory for our salvation and life in Christ back for ourselves.</div><div><br></div><div>True circumcision is of the heart, it is&nbsp;a work of the Holy Spirit by the Word, giving us the gift of repentance, a sincere desire to be changed and different from the selfish old man we once were controlled by. &nbsp;This is all God’s doing in us, <i>“for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” &nbsp;</i>(Philippians 2;13)</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, all glory be to Christ alone and to You and the Holy Spirit, that You have given us new hearts of flesh, which are sensitive to your will, grieve over our past sins, and which now beat seeking&nbsp;to serve you. &nbsp;In Jesus we pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,&nbsp;</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><br></div><div><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Philippians 3;2&3
2.  Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil-workers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.3.  For we are the true circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh.
The Gospel teaches that our salvation and new eternal life are entirely God’s work and doing in us,Human flesh has nothing to do with bringing about saving faith and living.  
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast.”    (Ephesians 2;8)
Some Believers argue against ‘faith alone’ and say in response to Ephesians 2;8: ‘But, a person must “receive Christ” to be saved.  They need to pray and tell God they know they are sinners and they confess their sin and “receive Christ” as their Savior and Lord. 
 Then they quote John 1;12, “But to all who ‘received him,’ who believed on his name, he gave them power to become children of God.”
Those who do this misunderstand the word ‘receive.’  It is not used in the active sense, such as, ‘I received guests into my home on Christmas Eve’ implying that the guests could not enter unless they were invited in.  Therefore, Christ can not or will not enter us unless we ‘invite him in or “receive him”.
This is absolutely impossible for us to do, because we are totally spiritually dead and incapable of asking for Christ to enter us.  (see, Ephesians 2;1) A correct understanding of the word,’receive’’ is that we received Christ like a person without a heartbeat or respiration receives an electric shock from the EMS!
Christ by the Word and Spirit ‘invades’ us like a king invades his enemies country, or a helpless child ‘receives’ a shot in order to receive immunity from disease.  When we receive Christ, we are being invaded by the King of kings.  When we are Baptized, we die with him to sin and are raised united with him to a new life.  We go from enemy who hates Jesus to become his Bride.
This is all Christ’s doing alone.  He receives all the glory, honor, thanks, and praise for both our salvation and new life in him.  To say we have any part to play in our salvation is to say we get some of the credit, we don’t.  
This is why Paul says, “Look out for the dogs” meaning those who demand we must be circumcised or doing anything else in our own power to finish what God has started and be saved.  This is called ‘synergism’ or co-operation with God to be saved.  It is not scriptural.  Worse, as a false teaching, it robs Christ of all the glory and takes some of the glory for our salvation and life in Christ back for ourselves.
True circumcision is of the heart, it is a work of the Holy Spirit by the Word, giving us the gift of repentance, a sincere desire to be changed and different from the selfish old man we once were controlled by.  This is all God’s doing in us, “for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”  (Philippians 2;13)
Prayer:  Merciful Father, all glory be to Christ alone and to You and the Holy Spirit, that You have given us new hearts of flesh, which are sensitive to your will, grieve over our past sins, and which now beat seeking to serve you.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love, Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”


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