To Count All But Rubbish

Today at youth group we were reading out of Philippians 3:1-8. In this passage, Paul is talking about the Jesuits who spread the teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation. These people that put the emphasis of salvation on man's works instead of God's were dealt with very harshly by Paul. He even goes so far as to compare them to dogs. Paul then goes on to share all of his earthly accomplishments, but instead of boasting in them, he says that he counts them all as nothing when compared with the grace of Christ:



Phil 3:88 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,(NAS)



The application from this lesson: first, we need to be very wary of any teaching that puts the emphasis on what we can do to bring ourselves salvation. Second, the goal we should press toward is to be so amazed by God's grace that it's what our entire lives are about. The emphasis of our lives needs to move away from the things of this world and toward heavenly things.
How do we do this?
We get to know God better through studying the Bible and praying.