3:7
But Paul did not continue to rely on the Law. All these things that he was once proud of and trusted in, he now considered them rubbish. He considered them forfeit. Ie he has abandoned any thought of trusting or boasting in them. Why has he given up on them? For the sake of Christ, so that he can follow Christ. If he was holding on to the past, if he was trusting in these other things, then Christ would be of no value to him, he could not follow Christ. This is a stark message to us all. We cannot truly follow Christ, cannot be a disciple of Him if we are trusting in anything else. Even if we are doing this “as well as” trusting in Christ.
3:8
Moreover, it is no loss for Paul at all. What he has gained in Christ far outweighs anything he may have given up. It is worth nothing compared to knowing Christ. In particular , all his “jewishness”, his law keeping were utterly useless in making him righteous. Only Christ can make us acceptable to God. The NIV says he considers all the Jewish Law stuff “garbage”, the ESV says “garbage”. Here most English translations are far too polite and mistranslate the word Paul used (skubala). the KJV come closer with “dung”, and the Message shines for once with “dog dung” (though there is no mention of dogs in the Greek in v8!) . The Greek word can legitimately translated as a four-letter word. Paul is saying in no uncertain terms that there is no value whatsoever in trying to follow the law.
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