All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
This verse has to be one of the most commonly misquoted, misapplied passages in Christianity. Becoming a proof-text for and/or However to gain any understanding of what Isaiah was talking about one has to read the surrounding verses. The entire chapter reads O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence. 64:2 as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 64:3 When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. 64:4 From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. 64:5 You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. 64:6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 64:7 There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. 64:8 Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 64:9 Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people. 64:10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. 64:11 Our holy and beautiful house, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins. 64:12 After all this, will you restrain yourself, O LORD? Will you keep silent, and punish us so severely?
The Bible Speaks of People Who Called on The Lord So who is the "we" that Isaiah is referring to from beginning to end of the chapter? Verse 64:7 says “There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you”. However this can not be a universal principle, since the Bible itself tells us that there were many that called on the Lord. Here are some examples from the Old Testament. [All Emphasis Added] And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah. (Genesis 4:26 ASV) For what great nation is there, that hath a god so nigh unto them, as Jehovah our God is whensoever we call upon him? (Deuteronomy 4:7 ASV) I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. (2 Samuel 22:4 ASV) Moses and Aaron among his priests, And Samuel among them that call upon his name; They called upon Jehovah, and he answered them. (Psalms 99:6 ASV) Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me: (Proverbs 1:28 ASV) And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. (Jeremiah 29:12 ASV) For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent. (Zephaniah 3:9 ASV)
The Bible Speaks of Righteous People In fact the Bible speaks of numerous righteous people, both as individuals and as a class. Some examples of righteous individuals are Abraham, Noah, Job, Daniel, David etc. Remember Jesus’ words in John 15:14 "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you". Abraham certainly did all God commanded him to do. His righteousness was not as ‘filthy rags’ but led to God paying him the highest compliment that can ever be paid to man. He called Abraham ‘His friend’. But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend [Isaiah 41:8]
God also spoke very highly of the character of others.. though Noah, Daniel and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter; they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. [Ezekiel 14:20]
More examples [All Emphasis Added] But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God. [Gen 6:8-9] For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. [Gen 18:19] But now thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah hath sought him a man after his own heart, and Jehovah hath appointed him to be prince over his people, because thou hast not kept that which Jehovah commanded thee. [1Samuel 13:14] And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances; [1Kings 9:4] and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee; and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes, [1Kings 14:8] There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil. [Job 1:1]
Peter and Cornelius In a nutshell Acts 10 tells us of the Gentile Cornelius, who’s good works obviously pleased God, who sent an angel to tell the man that his ‘prayers and alms had gone up for a memorial before God’, and instructed him to send for the apostle Peter. Peter too was given a vision.. the bottom line of which was not to call unclean what God had cleansed. The Spirit told Peter to go with the three men who sought him. This led him to the house of Cornelius where he preached the Gospel to Cornelius, his household and friends. The Holy Spirit fell on the group and they were baptized. The point, as applies to the topic at hand, is the absence of the ‘righteous acts are like filthy rags’. On the contrary God looked favorably on Cornelius’ good deeds and Peter commented favorably on his righteous behavior. Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." (Acts 10:34,35)
[However it has to be remembered that this does not make the case for those that depend on their morality for salvation. Some suppose that as Cornelius was accepted before he embraced the gospel, so they may be accepted without embracing it. The difference is that Cornelius was ready to receive the gospel when it was offered to him, and to become a Christian. The moral man often hears of a Saviour with unconcern; he listens to the message of God’s mercy from year to year without embracing it. In all this there is an important difference between him and the Roman centurion who was willing to embrace a Saviour when He was made known to him]. [See Salvation] So Who Was Isaiah Talking About? Since Isaiah had to be aware of the OT Scriptural references to the people that called on the Lord and were even answered by Him, verse 7 could not have been referring to all men of all time, therefore had to be referring to very specific people in very specific circumstances. Then how in the world can we take the verse immediately preceding this one (V.6) and make the filthy rags expression a general principal for all men of all time? Both verses are talking about exactly the same “we” in exactly the same situation. In fact Vs. 5 teaches the exact opposite of the common interpretation of filthy rags. You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways.
The prophet acknowledges that God champions the cause of the righteous, which is something He would not have done if all their righteousness were like filthy rags. So What “Righteous Acts” Was Isaiah Talking About? There is no way of knowing with absolute certainty what Isaiah meant. However Isaiah 65:3-4 tells us that the people were immersed in idolatrous practices a people that provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and burning incense upon bricks; that sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; that eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; [Isaiah 65:3-4]
Additionally the Scriptures speak over and over again of the hypocrisy of the people’s attempts to keep the letter of the law, while ignoring the spirit. In Amos 5 the Lord told the people … I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Yea, though ye offer me your burnt-offerings and meal-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Amos 5:21-24]
They were obviously going through the motions and observing all the physical requirement, their hearts were far from God. Although they were still offering the burnt-offerings and meal-offerings, the Lord did not see any real righteousness. Amos 8 tells us that they swallowed up the needy, and caused the poor of the land to fail. They asked when the Sabbath would be finished so they could buy and sell again. They were keeping the Lords festivals with their bodies, not with their minds, and were anxious for the close of the Sabbath so they could cheat on their weights.. making the ephah small, and the shekel great, [increasing the price both ways by paring down the quantity which they sold, and obtaining more silver by fictitious weights]. The also bought the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sold the refuse of the wheat. Amos and Isaiah prophesized to Israel and Judah respectively… Isaiah following Amos by some 20-30 years. The Bible tells us over and over again that Judah followed in the footsteps of her sister Israel, as is very clear from the words of Isaiah 58: 4-14. 58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high. 58:5 Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah? 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall by thy rearward. 58:9 Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly; 58:10 and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday; 58:11 and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. 58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 58:14 then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah; and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
So the supposed ‘righteousness’ of going through the motions [traipsing down to the temple to pray and offer sacrifice while oppressing the widow and orphan] spoken of by Amos was just as prevalent in Judah and brought nothing but God’s contempt and anger. It is very possible that this sham righteousness is what Isaiah called filthy rags. Certainly nothing much had changed right up to the time of Christ. Jesus had the same message for the Pharisees who, considering themselves to be guardians of divine truth, were far from lukewarm people indifferent to God's word. On the contrary they were zealously religious people, who prayed, fasted and disciplined themselves. However their multitudinous rules did not make them kind and unselfish. Jesus called them hypocrites! … “whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness”. [Matthew 23:27]
A Short Commentary On Isaiah 64 Isaiah’s prayer [which actually starts from 63:7] is a national lament… a prayer that cries out to God from the midst of desperate grief and circumstance that seem out of control. He is a prophet of the southern kingdom of Judah and is writing at a time of great distress. Not only has the northern kingdom of Israel been destroyed by the Assyrians, but they are threatening to wipe Judah off the face of the map as well. Isaiah, speaking on behalf of a backslidden nation, is pleading for God to come down, all the while recognizing that they only have themselves to blame.. Judah’s own iniquities have brought this judgment down on them. In the words of Allen Ross of bible.org... “They are praying for divine intervention to deliver them from bondage in exile; but the language goes far beyond that. The people want a dramatic show of power as the LORD intervenes on their behalf…. The purpose of such a great display of God’s power is that the name of the LORD might be known. This is a theme that began with the plagues of Egypt and continued throughout the Bible—that He might make Himself known…. Beginning in verse 5 the prophet acknowledges that God champions the cause of the righteous, but that the nation (for which he speaks) sinned against Him… verse 6 is the central part of the confession. Drawing upon Levitical terminology they confess that they are unclean… This recognition of sinfulness is the expression of a contrite heart. According to verse 6 they know that their own sins sweep them away like the wind sweeps the leaf away, for God does not come to their rescue. And because God has hidden Himself from them, no one calls on His name (verse 7). And so their confession of sin is a plea for divine grace so that they can be forgiven and delivered from bondage …Their only appeal is the relationship they have with God (verse 8)… So while acknowledging their sin, they appeal to the close relationship they have with the LORD, how much He has invested in them, and what plans He has for the nation. …This passage closes with an impassioned appeal for God to look favorably on them, forgetting their sins against Him, and remembering that they are His people…The prayer is that God will not remember their sins”. [Israel’s Plea for Deliverance. Isaiah 64:1-12]
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Filthy Rags?
by Steve Jones "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). Isaiah the prophet summed up the wretched state into which the covenant people of God had sunk. Though they had the boon of receiving the Law from Mount Sinai, though they had come out of Egypt through the Red Sea, they had turned from their Lawgiver. The children of Zion were worshipping false gods (42:17). They were reveling in the dregs of idolatry. So much so, the prophet calls Jerusalem a harlot (1:21) and likens it to Sodom (3:9). And yet, the people had an illusion of righteousness. Some of them professed to be "holier than thou," even while burning incense on strange altars (65:3-5). But God did not esteem their righteousness to be anything but pollution. He even hated the Sabbaths and feasts that He had Himself ordained (1:13,14). The house of Jacob's apostasy had rendered its best acts of religion unclean. Like the wind, sins were sweeping people away (64:6b). How appropriate that the prophet would break into such hyperbole as to call this supposed goodness "filthy rags." What better way to call the nation to repentance? In the context of proud Judah's barrenness, the rebuke comes with the force of a thunderbolt. This is most certainly the way the text should be read. We have all heard that "a text without a context is a pretext." This applies here. The "filthy rags" must be understood historically and with application to the audience: apostate Jerusalem. This, however, is not the way many Evangelical Protestants applies the famous passage. In fact, in all of the times I have ever heard it quoted - in sermons, study guides, books, Sunday School lessons - I have never once heard anyone interpret the verse in context. References to Isaiah 64:6 are invariably made to mankind in general. The verse becomes a proof-text for the total depravity of man - even of the saints. Many will say that the deeds of even the most profound disciples are nothing but "filthy rags" in the sight of God. And so, the text is made universal and theological, rather than specific and historical. The Isaiah text has long functioned as support for the "orthodox" creeds and confessions. Calvinism uses it to establish the idea that everything the natural man does is wicked - even good deeds. This helps to set up the dogma of "total inability," the engine which drives the entire Calvinist soteriology [the doctrine of salvation] The Evangelical uses it to show that good works, obedience, virtue are all useless. This sets the stage for the doctrine of "accepting Christ" through a once-for-all act of faith. But the question needs to be asked: By what hermeneutical [methods of interpreting] principle do we so use a text? What gives us the right to uproot the verse from its surrounding historical context and use it as a proof for theology? Furthermore, we should ask if a theology constructed with such methods is a sound one. Evangelicals may argue that their application of the verse is correct because Isaiah includes himself among those whose righteous acts are unclean ("...all of our righteous acts"). But this should be understood in the light of Israel's corporate guilt. Isaiah is numbering himself among the covenant people. Those people had fallen into gross sin (though certainly not every person without exception). Therefore, he says, "our righteous acts," the acts of the nation as a whole. This is consistent with the rest of the Old Testament. For example, we find that Daniel, though godly, confessed the sins of Israel as if he were himself the transgressor (Dan. 9:3-11). Some reading this may wonder what the fuss is all about. Isn't it nit-picky to cavil at the way one verse of Scripture is being applied? Not in this case. I say so because the misapplication of Isaiah 64:6 has a tendency to disparage, or at least downgrade, good works. I submit that it is impossible to think of righteous acts as something filthy and, on the other hand, as something essential. How could filth be important or even desirable? How will Christ judge the saints "according to their works" (Matt. 16:27) if He already esteems all works repugnant? This introduces confusion into the Christian faith. The idea makes James the most unintelligible book of the ancient world. The author would, in effect, be writing that "faith without filthy rags is dead" and "a man is justified by filthy rags and not by faith only" and "I will show you my faith through my filthy rags" and "by filthy rags, faith is made complete." Christians would be enjoined to "stir up love and filthy rags." And young men, according to Paul, would all be obliged to show forth "a pattern of filthy rags." The absurdity goes on and on throughout the pages of Scripture if Isaiah 64:6 is applied to all people everywhere. The obvious teaching of the Bible is that acts of virtue and goodness are pleasing to God. He does not view them as filthy, unless they are done with false intentions (cp. Matt. 6:2). In fact, God was pleased with Cornelius' alms, even before that man was converted to Christ (Acts 10:4). This alone should negate the popular application of Isaiah 64:6. Amazingly, the preceding verse in the book of Isaiah teaches the exact opposite of the common interpretation of "filthy rags." Listen to the prophet: "You [the Lord] meet him who rejoices and does righteousness" (Isa. 64:5). Genuine works of righteousness, says Isaiah, are valuable; God meets us when we walk in them. Are we told the opposite thing one verse later? That hardly seems reasonable. Jesus taught that God will reward even small works, such as giving a child a cup of water (Matt. 10:42). Our Lord commands us to let our good deeds "shine before men," that they might glorify the Father (Matt. 5:16). Paul writes that we are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Eph. 2:10). The apostle erases all doubt as to how God views works of righteousness. Paul urges the saints to "walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work" (Col. 1:10). Notice that pleasing God is connected to righteous works. They are clearly not filthy rags in the sight of God; they are a delight to Him. Yes, our works are imperfect. But the Scripture affirms repeatedly that our Father smiles upon our acts of goodness. No one will be saved without them. Jesus states in John 5:29 that the resurrection unto life is for those who have "done good." Paul writes that God redeemed us to make us "His own special people, zealous for good works" (Tit. 2:14). And so, the entire scheme of redemption has as a focus good works - and a glorious resurrection to those who have walked in them for Christ's sake. No, we do not put God in our debt by doing good deeds. We cannot merit salvation by balancing our works with our sins. Salvation and forgiveness lie in our covenant status with God through Christ. But the imitation of our Lord - which includes works (Acts 10:38) - is an obligation of the covenant. It is also a high privilege and a joy. Clearly, God does not view our righteous acts as filthy rags, but as costly apparel purchased with the blood of Christ. Note 1Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version. | 
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