Rethinking the way we apply Isaiah 64:6
One of the core, if not the core truth in the Reformed doctrine of salvation, is the conviction that we cannot merit favour or acceptance with God on the basis of our works. John Owen, for instance, once said that our justification is as exclusive of good works as it is of sin. In simple terms, you have as good a chance of justifying yourself by your sin, as by the works of the law. This is also clearly taught in our Confession of Faith: “We cannot by our best works merit pardon of sin or eternal life at the hand of God…as they are wrought by us they are defiled and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection, that they cannot endure the severity of God’s punishment.”[1]
These Reformed theologians of the past, of course, were just following the teaching of Paul, who insisted that “by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight” (Rom. 3:20) and that “it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law” (Gal. 3:11). Paul even went as far as to compare his own Pharisaical attempts to keep the law to “rubbish”, when viewed in the light of the surpassing righteousness of Christ that was imputed to him by faith (Phil.3:8). These are precious and comforting texts of Scripture that remind us that our acceptance with God rests not on our performance, but on the performance of Christ – his Person, work and offices.
But here is where we may very easily go wrong in our understanding of the gospel. While we rightly pit works and grace against one another when it comes to our justification – we would be wrong to think in the same way about our sanctification. We may think that, because only the perfect (imputed) righteousness of Christ was able to please the Father and serve as the basis for our justification – therefore we should not expect that he would be pleased with anything we do after we’ve been justified. In other words, if our attempts at righteousness before our conversion were abominable in God’s sight, why should our works of righteousness after conversion be any different?
This brings us to the way Isaiah 64:6 is often misunderstood and misapplied among Reformed Christians. In this text, Isaiah famously says that: “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” or to quote the more memorable words of the KJV, “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Even if you’ve only recently come to faith and started attending church – chances are, you’ve heard someone describe their own good works in this way, most likely during a time of prayer.
Some Christians no doubt feel that this comparison is an expression of humility. They may feel that it is an acknowledgment of God’s holiness and a magnification of his grace. After all, God is willing to patiently put up with all of these “filthy rag righteousnesses” that he sees in the lives of believers. However, the idea that these words can be applied to the Spirit-empowered, God-glorifying, good works of believers is simply not Biblical. In fact, to quote the Presbyterian theologian, Mark Jones: “It is actually an affront to God to suggest that the Spirit-wrought works in believers are “filthy rags”, for these are works that God has prepared in advance for us to do in order to magnify his grace and glorify the name of Christ.”[2]
This application of Isaiah 64:6, is not only an abuse of Scripture, but it also undermines key aspects of the gospel. Here’s why:
Firstly, the larger context of these words of Isaiah clearly rule out the above-mentioned application of this text. These people whose best works were like a defiled garment, were not a people who were genuinely and sincerely seeking to honor God with their lives. They were those whose outward show of religiosity was just that – a show. They were in reality, wayward, irreverent and hard hearted against the Lord (Is. 63:17). It was their hypocritical worship that was viewed by God as a defiled garment. A few chapters earlier (Is. 58), for instance, God explains why he does not find their fasting acceptable and it is not because all works of righteousness are unacceptable to him, but because their fasting was insincere and tainted by sinful practices. They fasted, and yet oppressed one another and failed to care for the poor. Isaiah 64:6 therefore, should not be understood as a universal description of good works, but rather, as a scathing indictment against the hypocritical performance of religious duties.
Secondly, it’s important to take note of the immediate context of Isaiah 64:6. In the verse just before it, Isaiah says that the Lord looks favorably on those who do practice righteousness. Isaiah says (to God): “You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways.” Clearly there are those who work righteousness and God is pleased to meet with them. Their righteousnesses are not like filthy rags before him.
Thirdly, the New Testament authors never spoke disparagingly about the good works of believers – far from it. Paul, for instance, commands Titus to be a model of good works (Titus 2:7) and tells him to exhort believers to “be careful to devote themselves to good works” (3:8). But, he goes much further than this, by insisting that the reason why Christ gave himself was to: “redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (2:14). If this is true, are we not guilty of undermining the redemptive work of our Lord, by treating these good works as things repulsive in God’s sight? Surely the Father is pleased with those good works that flow from us, as a result of the work of his Son? After all, “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
I trust that you can see that there is far more at stake here than simply taking a verse out of context (as serious as that is). What is at stake ultimately, is the gospel itself. Because we can’t conceive of the good works of believers as something offensive to God, without downplaying one of the primary purpose of the sufferings of Christ. Or, to put it bluntly, to say that our good works, done in Christ, do not please God, is to assert that Christ has failed to do what the Father sent him to do.
Let us be careful how we speak about our good works, for they are pre-ordained by the Father, made acceptable in the sufferings of the Son and empowered by the Holy Spirit. And let us take encouragement from the truth summarized so well in chapter 16 of our confession: “the persons of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works also are accepted in him; not as though they were in this life wholly unblamable and unreprovable in God’s sight, but that he, looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward that which is sincere, although accompanied with many weaknesses and imperfections.”[3]
[1] 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, chapter 16, paragraph 5
[2] Jones, M. (2013) Antinomianism: Reformed Theology’s unwelcome guest? Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub. Pg. 71
[3] 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, chapter 16, paragraph 6