Creator, Father, King #301

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

WHEN ASKED TO GIVE their testimony of faith, many people give at least one of the following responses:

• “I grew up in a Christian family.”
• “I was raised in church.”
• “I’ve always known about God.”
• “I’ve never done anything really bad.”

Before being confronted by the risen Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, here’s what the apostle Paul based his salvation on, as he mentions in Philippians 3:5-6 (ESV):

• Circumcised on the eighth day.
• Of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews.
• As to the law, a Pharisee.
• As to zeal, a persecutor of the church.
• As to righteousness under the law, blameless.

In other words, Paul originally thought God would consider him righteous based on his Jewish heritage and his fastidious observance of the Old Testament law.

But he was terribly wrong.

Look at his renewed mindset after God changed his heart:

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.

What’s It Mean?

Skybalon.

You’ve almost certainly never used this word before, but it was important to Paul. It’s the ancient Greek term he used in Philippians 3:8, rendered in English as “garbage,” to describe the worth of human striving when it comes to salvation. But our English translations don’t always do justice to original context.

Skybalon can mean rubbish, refuse, or leftovers that you’d throw to dogs. But it also can mean dung or even human excrement. Paul wasn’t mincing words! He wanted to be quite clear: salvation comes through God’s grace through faith, not by human works (see also Ephesians 2:8-9). Without Christ, even our most righteous deeds “are nothing but filthy rags” to God (Isaiah 64:6).

Think about your relationship with God. Have you been basing your salvation on human accomplishments—nothing more than a heaping pile of skybalon? Or have you truly placed your faith solely in the merits of Christ’s sacrifice on your behalf?

Good works don’t impress God. Trust in the Savior who covers your sin with his righteousness!

Now What?

Read Philippians 3 to learn more about the true source of our righteousness.

Did You Know?

Paul mentioned that his family lineage came from the tribe of Benjamin because of its prominence. King Saul, Israel’s first king, was a Benjaminite (1 Samuel 9:1-2).