Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. (Philippians 3:2 KJV)
We have all seen “Beware of Dog” signs. We know that if we venture past that sign, we risk being mauled by the dog or worse.
The dog mentioned in Scripture is an unclean animal. It eats garbage, dead animals (Ex. 22:31), human flesh (1 Kings 14:11), and blood (1 Kings 22:38). It has filthy eating habits (Prov. 26:11; 2 Peter 2:22). Jesus compares the Gentiles to them (Mt. 15:26).
Besides the canine, there are other dogs that we must beware of. The word “beware” means “to be on one’s guard: be wary of; be cautious.” As we are wary of and alert to the domesticated dog lest it do us physical harm, we must be doubly alert to these other dogs lest they cause us spiritual harm.
The “dogs” Paul is warning us about are false preachers and teachers. These “dogs” are in the church or in Christendom and doing great damage. They are treacherous and deceitful. They may have many titles as long as one’s arm and dress in the finest robes, and even if they were an angel from heaven, because they lead men astray from the truth, they are dogs. They’re also called “wolves” (Mt. 7:15). There are still religious dogs—false preachers and teachers—around in our day; beware of them.
There is the “dog” that is the male prostitute. “There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog (male prostitute), into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination unto the Lord thy God” (Deut. 23:17-18). “The price of a dog is a figurative expression used to denote the gains of a ‘sodomite’ by the dog-like manner in which he has debased himself.”
There will be no dogs in Heaven. No, not even the best-mannered canine will be there. There will be no false preachers and teachers there. They will be in Hell with the many they turned from the truth. And there will be no homosexuals in Heaven either. These are all shut out of Heaven—“Blessed are they that do his (God’s) commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” (Rev. 22:14-15).
This piece is what happens when someone uses religion as a weapon and calls it faith.
Cherry-picking scripture to label people as “dogs” and declare who gets into Heaven isn’t Christianity, it’s arrogance. Judgment isn’t yours to hand out, no matter how many verses you string together to justify it.
Stripping ancient language of its context to target modern groups isn’t biblical truth; it’s intellectual dishonesty dressed up as conviction. The complete lack of compassion makes it even worse.
If your version of faith requires dehumanizing others and celebrating their exclusion, you’re not defending Christianity, you’re distorting it.
Funny how the author says “beware of dogs,” while doing the exact kind of snarling, exclusionary gatekeeping that warning is supposed to be about. If anyone’s acting like a threat to the spirit of their own faith here, it’s not the people they’re attacking, it’s the person writing this.