Rubbish or Righteousness?

This powerful teaching challenges us to examine what we're truly placing our confidence in when it comes to our relationship with God. Drawing from Philippians 3:1-11, we're confronted with an uncomfortable truth: many of us spend our lives creating spiritual masterpieces of our own making, mixing our own paints of good deeds, religious activities, and moral achievements, hoping these will make us acceptable to God. Yet like the Dutch forger who created convincing Vermeer paintings that were ultimately worthless counterfeits, our self-made righteousness is revealed as spiritually bankrupt when compared to the authentic masterpiece of Christ's righteousness. The message uses the striking Greek word 'skubalon'—refuse, dung, rubbish—to describe how even our best efforts at self-salvation compare to knowing Jesus. This isn't about discouraging good works; it's about relocating our anchor from performance to person, from what we do to who Christ is. We discover that true joy isn't found in climbing the ladder of spiritual achievement but in resting in the finished work of Jesus. When we stop trying to add our brushstrokes to God's masterpiece and instead allow ourselves to be found in Him, we finally experience the freedom and joy that comes from being loved not for our performance but for whose name is signed at the bottom of our lives.

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Danger of Spiritual Counterfeits

0:00 - 11:25

We are warned about the danger of trusting in our own righteousness and performance rather than in Christ alone, illustrated through the story of a master art forger.

Chapter 2: Paul's Pedigree and the Loss Column

11:25 - 23:58

We examine Paul's impressive religious credentials and discover how he counted all his achievements as loss compared to knowing Christ.

Chapter 3: The Great Exchange: Our Refuse for His Righteousness

23:58 - 39:26

We discover that true joy comes from being found in Christ and receiving His righteousness rather than trying to establish our own.

Chapter 4: Rejoicing Through Suffering and Finding Rest

39:26 - 50:31

We learn that true joy is found in knowing Christ's presence with us through all circumstances, even suffering, and entering into God's rest by ceasing from our own works.