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 As
a small boy I often heard sectarian preachers proclaim:
"All our righteous nesses are as filthy rags..." (Isa.
64:6) and I wondered why God was so critical of man's efforts to
serve Him. Later, hearing this passage used by Baptist debaters,
I realized that they were saying that man, no matter how much
"good" he does, must be saved by Jesus Christ. We were
in agreement on that point.
But
they used this filthy rag bit to argue that baptism was not
essential to man's salvation — baptism was a "filthy
rag." I could point out the difference in man's "own
righteousness" (trying to lift himself) and a self-denying
submission to God's righteousness" (Rom. 10:3); but the
Baptist debater knew that God commanded baptism, and he still
called it "filthy rags." This didn't make sense, then
or now. Isa. 64:6 has been grossly misused.
Its
context, verse 5, says, "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth
and worketh righteousness..." and the A.S. footnote on
"meetest" is "sparest." The same word (paga)
is found in Isa. 47:3 where the A.S. has "spare," and
Keil and Delitzxch translate "receive or pardon."
Apparently the word means a meeting that has purpose or
consequence in view, either friendly or hostile. On Isa. 64:5 K.
&D. say, "come to meet" in the sense of
"coming to the help of"; and they cite and approve
another rendering, "if we had continued in Thy ways, then
we should have been preserved." A. Clarke cites the Syriac
version, "Thou meetest with joy those who work
righteousness." God is happy to see men obey.
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Isa.
64:6 says, "we are all become as one that is
unclean, and all our righteousness are as a polluted
garment..." (A.S., emph. mine.) God would like
righteousness on our part, meaning obedience to Him; but we are
no longer serving Him — our garments are polluted. (And if
preachers would discover what the "filthy rags" were,
they might not speak so freely of this before a mixed audience.)
This passage is encouraging righteousness on man's part,
not making light of it. (See Ezek. 3:20-21) The system of works
versus the system of faith, as argued in the N.T., is not under
consideration in these passages.
And
even when we get to the New Testament, there are no disparaging
statements about man's obedience to God. On the contrary, the
Apostle of Love writes, "If ye know that He is righteous,
ye know that every one also that doeth righteousness is begotten
of Him." And, "...he that doeth righteousness is
righteous, even as He is righteous." (1 Jn. 2:29; 3:7) That
certainly doesn't sound like "filthy rags" does it?
Paul,
in the Roman letter, quickly corrects the man who thinks he can
be saved by "works" ("doing" so perfectly
that he is blameless or "justified") by pointing out
that "all have sinned." All must
have forgiveness, and this is possible only in Christ.
(Rom. 3:23-f) Salvation is, therefore, by faith (the system of trust
in Jesus Christ) not by a system of law in which there was no
ultimate forgiveness. But Paul commends obedience and good deeds
(Rom. 2:6-11). Stubborn unrighteousness is the "filthy
rag."
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