Making ‘good’ things necessary for salvation is cruel and unusual punishment. We weigh others down with requirements making them miserable here and now just so they can spend eternity in Hell. What good things do churches communicate are necessary to be accepted by God? What kinda things are more obvious? What things have you seen as more subtle requirements?

Compared to Christ our righteousness before God is described as dung. Paul uses this phrase to graphically explain what a loss it would be to invest our eternity in our righteousness rather than Christ’s. In contrast with Paul how do we tend to minimize the loss it would be to invest in our goodness? In what ways are we tempted to think our ‘dung’ isn’t’ that bad and somewhat acceptable to God. 

We cannot cling to our own righteousness and Christ’s righteousness at the same time.  The extent to which we cling to our own righteousness we are rejecting Christ’s. Was there a time in your life when you rejected Christ righteousness for your own? How did God rescue from this? What things did you have to consider dung compared to Jesus’ righteousness?

As a Christian: How are you clinging to your own righteousness? What things do you do thinking they make you more acceptable to God? How is this keeping you from enjoying Christ’s work for you? How would your walk with Christ be easier and more refreshing if you repented of this? 

The righteousness you have in Christ is to cause you to serve others with sacrificial joy. Free from guilt and free from comparison. What areas of service are you lacking joy because you are working to please God instead of remembering Jesus already please God for you? What ways were you tempted to compare yourself to others? How does this keep you from serving others?

How does trusting in Christ’s righteousness free us up to sacrificially serve others with joy?