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… —Philippians 3:1-3

…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. —Philippians 3:4-6

I’m sure we’ve all heard the old question: If you were standing before Saint Peter at the pearly gates of heaven and he asked you “why should I let you in”….”what would you say? Paul just listed off a list of his “better than the rest reasons”. If you had to rely on your own accomplishments and behaviors, what would you say?

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 —Philippians 3:7-8

What does Paul mean when he says all those things are worthless because of what Christ has done? What did Christ do that made those things worthless?

Paul describes what Christ did:

By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
What really is the infinite value of Knowing Christ? What does it really mean to know Christ? —Colossians 2:14

What things have you begun to see are worthless because of what Christ did?

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. —Philippians 3:9

How does one become one with Christ if not by our own effort?