With Christ as the frame of reality, and not human credentials, Paul has a different vision and perspective on things.
People might have been envious of Paul and say to him, "Wow, you had everything going for you because you are a Jew, among the people of God, and were focused on obeying the law."
But he would reply, "The things I used to think made me better than others, which formed the core of my identity, they are liabilities."
Basically, Paul is saying Christ looms large while everything else pales in comparison. And not the Christ of his imagination, not how he imagined the Messiah should be or could be, but the revelation of the Messiah Himself.
So when Paul said "these human credentials of mine were a liability," he meant they have no value when it comes to helping him get closer to God; they put him at a disadvantage because of his boastfulness and trust in them; they add to his blindness.
They made him feel good; they may even be good for his social standing, give him a sense of connection with others, and foster a shared identity with his significant others. But in the ultimate sense, from the point of view of Christ, they are disadvantages, because then you are putting your trust in them rather than in Christ, who is all in all (Colossians 3:11).
Those things that Paul thought would be a ladder that would take him to God, took him farther from Him.
All these boil down to the fact that some things that humans call good, God calls bad, and that God's way of thinking is different from man's.
Nobody was more convinced than Paul that he was on the right path when Christ met him and told him he was persecuting him (Acts 9:4-5). He now put his salvation, as all of us should, to the mercy of God, and nothing else. If salvation were up to a committee, they would not have chosen Paul, but it wasn't, and the rest, as they say, is history.
There is what is called man-made religion, which is what man has decided that God wants to be pleased with, and then doing it. It is sometimes called vain worship (Matthew 15:9), which has to do with the doctrines of men or traditions of men.
And all of them may have an appearance of wisdom (Colossians 2:23), may seem logical and sensible, but because they are not founded in Christ, they are actually counterproductive (Matthew 23:15).
It is the same thing we had in Babel, where man decided to build a tower that would reach heaven (Genesis 11). It was a community experience, it was a show of unity, it took them time and effort, and they were convinced that it was the right move.
Understand that the path of Christ is first about humility, coming to Him with no claims, rather, throw yourself at His mercy.
What are your assets? The things you think stand you out, even positive things.
For who concedes you any superiority? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as though you did not? (1 Corinthians 4:7)
I know someone who boasts because of his surname. Some people are proud of their natural heritage, thinking it gives them an advantage over others.
It may count for something before men, but not with God, who says blessed are the poor in spirit, because they shall see God (Matthew 5:3); not before God, who says except you be converted and become like a child, you will not enter into heaven (Matthew 18:3).
A child does not value himself by what he can get for himself, but by what is given to him. The bible says that if anyone wants to boast, he should boast that he knows God (Jeremiah 9:24). And you know Him because He draws you to Himself (John 6:44). The point is: you boast (if we would call it that) in God (1 Corinthians 1:31), not in yourself.
Christ's conclusion about the Pharisee who boasted of his goodness and the tax collector who acknowledged his sin is counterintuitive (Luke 18:14).
Situate that story in the context of Jesus saying that no one is good except God (Mark 10:18). And when He said good, He means what God is looking for is not that you do good, but that your essence is good.
When God created man and put him in the garden, his essence was good. God saw what he had made and saw that it was good (Genesis 1:31). But we know what happened. Sin came into the mix, and all sinned in Adam (Romans 5:12), meaning we are sinners by default. And the law is supposed to bring sinfulness into focus (Romans 3:20, 7:13).
The law, paired with the native sin in man, is a recipe for repeatedly falling on our faces. The law is the light, a lecturer, to tell you where you fall short, that you fall short (Galatians 3:24, Romans 3:23). Paul would later say that the law again covetousness made him the more covetous (Romans 7:7-8), even though he seems to be a good-standing member of the society to others.
The law is not a ladder to God. Christ is that ladder (John 1:51). Just as without the law, including what is written in our conscience, sin would not be shown to be so sinful, similarly without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22).
But some people want to say, "once we come to Christ, should we now maintain our salvation, are we not supposed to work out our salvation?"
Don't get it confused. You did not contribute to your salvation because even the faith to believe was a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). So there is no point in boasting, but all glory goes to God. In the same way, He is the one ultimately keeping you and not yourself (John 10:28-29). So that all glory goes to him for that also.
From Addiction to Freedom by Favour Oyinloye
