Philippians 3:7-11 "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 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 so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

What is the context of this passage?  Going to verse 1-3 we see that Paul is reminding them of truths he has already taught them.  Telling the Philippians to beware of the false teachings and putting confidence in yourself.  He then in verses 3-6 tells them of the confidence he could (and did) have in himself.  But what is our self-righteousness worth?

What does Paul call his own righteousness? A loss and rubbish (garbage, worthless, nonsense).  What do you do with garbage?  You throw it away!

Why does Paul count them as rubbish?  So that he may gain Christ.  Do we have to see those things we've done as rubbish to gain Christ?  Yes!  In verse 3 he warns us not to put confidence in the flesh, ie. self confidence.  When Christ said that he came not for the righteous but to bring sinners to repentance he was speaking along the same lines.  Those who have confidence in their flesh, in their righteousness, cannot be saved.  Those who count all thing to be loss in light of the righteousness of Christ, then through faith in Christ we are promised a righteousness which comes from God.

Are there other passages that come to mind when we think about the value of our righteousness?  Isaiah 64:6 "all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment"

So we learned about the value of our righteousness which is garbage, worthless, and deserving to be tossed away.

What is the value of knowing Christ?  Paul calls it "surpassing value" in verse 8.  This is a big deal!  Paul had good credentials, but compared to the value of knowing Christ, they are absolutely worthless.

What is the result of knowing Christ?  Finally it is resurrection from the dead and that is acheived by the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, not a righteousness derived from the law.

How do we get the righteousness of Christ?  By repentance and faith.  Notice he counts his righteousness as loss, turning from his own deeds and turning to Christ in faith.  People do not come to Christ hanging on to their self-righteousness and their sin and want to hang on to it.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill the law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

* Excerpt from Rock of Ages, written by Augustus M. Toplady and composed by Thomas Hastings.  Toplady wrote this hymn in response to the Arminian theology of the Wesleys.  He was involved in debates, articles and sermons over the issue of Arminianism and Calvinism between the Wesleys until his death.