| THE DOG Phil. 3:2 |
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| Our western minds have a completely erroneous view of dogs as far as Scripture is concerned. We see in the dog that which is characteristic of virtue, faithfulness and courage. This is not at all how the eastern mind saw the dog. On the contrary the eastern mind saw the dog as everything that is despicablec distasteful and undesirable. The Word of God consistantly uses the dog as a type of the apostate. An apostate is one who has known the truth of God intellectually but has never embraced that truth in his heart and finally comes to the place that he rejects the truth completely. An apostate is not one that once was saved and because of his unbelief became lost. The apostate is one that was never saved in the first place. I. The Apostate Dog is in Fellowship Rejected We must understand that it is not that the apostate does not want to fellowship with teh true believer; he does! This is the idea of the Eccumenical Movement. The point is that we MUST NOT fellowship with the apostate. This is precisely why Paul warned the Philippians to beware of the "dogs." (Phil. 3:2) We are to have "no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:11) This is why the Jew would have nothing to do with the Gentile "dog" because the Jew considered the Gentile not only reprobate concerning the truth but incapable of ever coming to the truth. This is the warning of our Lord in Matt. 7:6 about giving "that which is holy unto the dogs." Rev. 22:15 clearly states that these "dogs" are outside the Holy City and outside the commonwealth of God. II. The Apostate Dog is in Felicity Reactionary He is a profess of the truth but not a possessor of the truth. Therefore it is not surprising that he would revert back to his former condition of total unbelief. The word "reactionary" means to return to a former condition. This is just waht the apostate does. He does so because he is an unsaved man. See Prov. 26:11 and 2 Peter 2:20-22. Given enough time, every apostate will eventually show his colors by returning to that original position of unbelief and rejection of Christ regardless of his professed loyalty to Christ. See 1 John 2:18, 19. III. The Apostate Dog is in Flagrancy Regugnant Careful comparison of scripture with scripture will clearly indicate that spiritual apostasy is always associated with moral degeneracy. See Deut. 23:18, Rev. 22:15 and Jud 6-8. The most dangerous man in the world morally is that man who is spiritually corrupt. IV. The Apostate Dog is in Ferocity Ravenous This is why the old testament in no less than ten times refers to the dogs eating either the flesh or the blood of men. Isa. 56:9-12 speaking of those who had apostasized from the true faith of Jehovah calls them "greedy dogs which can never have enough." Ps. 22:16 & 20 speaks of the "dogs" which "compassed" the cross of Christ. This is why the apostate can preach the doctrine of love out of one side of his mouth and attempt to devour and destroy the work of God out of the other. May God give us deliverance from the apostate dog and wisdom and discernment to see them coming and to avoid their pernicious poison. "To have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness." |
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