Do Not Trust in Who You Are or What You Can Do
1Further, my brothers and sisters, be joyful because you belong to the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write about some important matters to you again. If you know about them, you will have a safe path to follow. 2Watch out for those dogs. They are people who do evil things. When they circumcise, it is nothing more than a useless cutting of the body. 3But we have been truly circumcised. We serve God by the power of his Spirit. We boast about what Christ Jesus has done. We don’t put our trust in who we are or what we can do. 4I have many reasons to trust in who I am and what I have done. Someone else may think they have reasons to trust in these things. But I have even more.
5I was circumcised on the eighth day. I am part of the people of Israel. I am from the tribe of Benjamin. I am a pure Hebrew. As far as the law is concerned, I am a Pharisee. 6As far as being committed is concerned, I opposed and attacked the church. As far as keeping the law is concerned, I kept it perfectly.
7I thought things like that were really something great. But now I consider them to be nothing because of Christ. 8Even more, I consider everything to be nothing compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. To know him is worth much more than anything else. Because of him I have lost everything. But I consider all of it to be garbage so I can know Christ better. 9I want to be joined to him. Being right with God does not come from my obeying the law. It comes because I believe in Christ. It comes from God because of faith. 10I want to know Christ better. Yes, I want to know the power that raised him from the dead. I want to join him in his sufferings. I want to become like him by sharing in his death. 11Then by God’s grace I will rise from the dead.
12I have not yet received all these things. I have not yet reached my goal. Christ Jesus took hold of me so that I could reach that goal. So I keep pushing myself forward to reach it. 13Brothers and sisters, I don’t consider that I have taken hold of it yet. But here is the one thing I do. I forget what is behind me. I push hard toward what is ahead of me. 14I push myself forward toward the goal to win the prize. God has appointed me to win it. The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself.
Following Paul’s Example
15So all of us who are grown up in the faith should see things this way. Maybe you think differently about something. But God will make it clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already reached.
17Brothers and sisters, join together in following my example. You have us as a model. So pay close attention to those who live as we do. 18I have told you these things many times before. Now I tell you again with tears in my eyes. Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. 19The only thing they have coming to them is death. Their stomach is their god. They brag about what they should be ashamed of. They think only about earthly things. 20But we are citizens of heaven. And we can hardly wait for a Savior from there. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. 21He has the power to bring everything under his control. By his power he will change our earthly bodies. They will become like his glorious body.
Ban da dogara a jiki
1A ƙarshe, ’yan’uwana, ku yi farin ciki a cikin Ubangiji! Ba abin damuwa ba ne a gare ni in sāke rubuta muku irin waɗannan abubuwa, domin lafiyarku ne. 2Ku yi hankali da waɗancan karnuka, waɗancan mutane masu aikata mugunta, waɗancan masu yankan jiki. 3Gama mu ne masu kaciya, mu da muke yi sujada ta wurin Ruhun Allah, mu da muke taƙama a cikin Kiristi Yesu, mu da ba mu dogara da ayyukan da ake gani ba, 4ko da yake ni kaina ina da dalilan dogara da haka.
In kuwa akwai wani wanda yake tsammani yana da dalilan dogara ga jiki, ni fa na fi shi, 5an yi mini kaciya a rana ta takwas, asalina Isra’ila ne, na kabilar Benyamin, mutumin Ibraniyawa ɗan Ibraniyawa; bisa ga doka kuwa ni Bafarisiye ne; 6wajen himma kuwa, ni mai tsananta wa ikkilisiya ne, wajen aikin adalci bisa ga hanyar doka, ni marar laifi ne.
7Amma abin da dā ya zama mini riba yanzu, na ɗauka hasara ce saboda Kiristi. 8Me kuma ya fi, na ɗauki dukan abubuwa hasara ne in aka kwatanta da mafificiyar girman sanin Kiristi Yesu Ubangijina, wanda saboda shi ne na yi hasarar kome. Na mai da su kayan wofi, domin in sami Kiristi 9a kuma same ni a cikinsa, ba da wani adalcin kaina wanda yake zuwa daga bin doka ba, sai dai adalcin da yake samuwa ta wurin bangaskiya a cikin Kiristi, adalcin da yake fitowa daga Allah da kuma yake zuwa ta wurin bangaskiya. 10Ina so in san Kiristi da ikon tashinsa daga matattu da kuma zumuncin tarayya cikin shan wahalarsa, in kuma zama kamar sa a cikin mutuwarsa, 11yadda kuma ko ta yaya, in kai ga tashin nan daga matattu.
12Ba cewa na riga na sami dukan wannan ba ne, ko kuma an riga an mai da ni cikakke ba, sai dai ina nacewa don in kai ga samun abin da Kiristi Yesu ya riƙe ni saboda shi. 13’Yan’uwa, ban ɗauki kaina a kan cewa na riga na sami abin ba. Sai dai abu guda nake yi. Ina mantawa da abin da yake baya, ina kuma nacewa zuwa ga samun abin da yake gaba, 14ina nacewa gaba zuwa ga manufar, don in sami ladar da Allah ya yi mini na kiran nan zuwa sama a cikin Kiristi Yesu.
Nacewa zuwa ga manufar
15Dukanmu da muka balaga ya kamata mu yi wannan irin ganin abubuwa. In kuwa saboda wani dalili tunaninku ya yi dabam, Allah zai bayyana muku wannan ma. 16Sai dai a duk inda muka kai, mu ci gaba da haka.
17Ku haɗa kai da waɗansu cikin bin gurbina, ku kuma lura da waɗanda suke rayuwa bisa ga ƙa’idar da muka ba ku. 18Gama kamar yadda na sha gaya muku yanzu kuma ina sāke gaya muku har ma da hawaye, waɗansu da yawa suna rayuwa kamar abokan gāban gicciyen Kiristi. 19Ƙaddararsu hallaka ce, allahnsu cikinsu ne, rashin kunyarsu shi ne abin fahariyarsu. Hankalinsu yana kan kayan duniya. 20Amma mu ’yan mulkin sama ne. Muna kuma jira zuwan Mai Ceto daga can, Ubangiji Yesu Kiristi, 21shi ne mai ikon kawo dukan abubuwa ƙarƙashin mulkinsa. Ta wurin ikon nan nasa zai sāke jikin nan namu na ƙasƙanci, yă mai da shi kamar jikin nan nasa na ɗaukaka.
