The Priceless Value of Knowing Christ

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do
it to safeguard your faith.

Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. For we who
worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no
confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason
for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin a
real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.
I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

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 and become one with him. I no longer
count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of
making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from
the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection
from the dead!