The Wrong Way to Be Right

The question of how to be a good person is one of the (few) essentials of Christianity. It begins with rejoicing. Where you find your joy (and what you regard as a badge of honor) is fundamental to being righteous. Paul did not want a righteousness of his own, like the dogs in verse 2 who were legalists. Most people, religious and secular, take a legalistic approach to being a good person (follow a list of standards – the only thing that differs is the items on the list). But that doesn’t work. Paul tried it, and found that not only was all his list keeping ineffective in making him a good person, but it made him a worse person in God’s eyes. The right way to be right is by knowing Christ through faith.