[3:2-6] Paul warns the Church at Philippi to, “...watch out for those dogs.” The dogs that Paul is referencing are religious individuals who think you must do “x” to gain their salvation. Individuals who thought they had to be circumcised to be saved. Paul reiterates that “those who worship God in spirit” are the ones who are truly saved. Those who worship God in spirit are the individuals who rely upon what Jesus Christ did through His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead.
True believers are people who put no confidence in their own efforts to be saved. Paul reminds the believers that if anyone could have confidence in themselves, it would be Paul. Paul was circumcised, pure-blooded, from the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew, a member of the Pharisees, had persecuted the church and obeyed the law he was worthless to Christ. Paul found righteousness through faith and faith alone in Jesus Christ.
