Isaiah Chapter 64 Verses 6 - 7

 A lot of Bible teachers like to shock the crowd with what this phrase

actually means in the Hebrew, “filthy rags.” I’ll let you go look it up.

It’s far worse than just filthy rags, but the point is that my good works

that I do for my own gain or for worldly purposes or even so that I

might be applauded by God are rejectamenta to Him!

 Martin Luther called those that walked in a belief of being saved by

works the “devil’s martyrs.” “They suffer much, they take great pains

to go to hell!” He continued, “We must all do righteousness, rest in

none but Christ’s, disclaiming our own best as spotted and imperfect.”

(Spurgeon said, “If that’s our righteousness, if our righteousness is so

bad, what must our unrighteousness’s be!?”)

 We don’t do good things to show ourselves or make ourselves think or

others think we are good… Or for the applause of God. We do good

works simply because we are saved and a reasonable response to being

saved by the grace of God through the blood of Jesus is to do what He

wants us to do…

 My response to what God has done for me is essentially religion. Not

because I have to but because there is love in my heart and that love

was deposited and secured in me by the grace of God.And that reveals

this presence of love in my heart of hearts that is not my own!

 There are a lot of people that do a lot of good things but not out of that

motivation. There’s a word that has been coined for that in modern

psychology and it’s a religious term. It’s called Moralistic

Therapeutic Deism. It’s the religion, the activity of doing good in the

world to make yourself believe you are a good person or a good

enough person. It’s simply pride with a pretty bow on it…

 The end of verse 7 is pre-Jesus and that matters. It matters because it

gives us an idea of our eternal condition prior to Jesus standing in the

place of all men to make things right between us and the Father. Isaiah

says rightly that our sinful condition has demanded the righteous

judgment of God which includes, has to include, His complete

rejection of all of mankind completely!! But we see a change with the

appearing of the promised Messiah.

 John Chapter 14:6-7, “Jesus said to him (to Thomas), “I am the way,

the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and

from now on you know Him and have seen Him!”” That stands in

outright contradiction to Isaiah 64 where we are told God has hidden

His face and yet it is not a contradiction but rather a restitution. An

indemnification! It’s a revelation that through Jesus, sin would be and

is forgiven and now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have

been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

Isaiah Chapter 64 Verse 8

 Isaiah is filled with hope. This is faith in force! He doesn’t run away

from the reality of the current condition. He doesn’t deny or discredit

his own unsolvable problems. He lays them out there and yet he does

so not in condemnation or despair. He does so knowing that God is

who He has said He is and will do what He has said He will do!

 It was just last chapter we read in Isaiah 63:1, “Who is this coming

and on His way? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save!” We

have a tendency to give up in a way and things are so broken or I am

so messed up that I’ve tried to think about it, I’ve even tried to do

something about it…, but here I am…, so I’ll just ignore it. Act like

its not there or it never happened… And the Bible says that creates a

coldness about me… Paul said that will increase even in the last

days… Isaiah won’t do that. By continually taking it before the Lord

and acknowledging his own inability to help or cure himself, it

enriches him!

 You are the Potter and we are the clay is a famous quote and thought

but a severely disregarded truth. And because of it, the love of many

has grown cold. Jesus said in Matthew 24:12, “Because lawlessness

will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Lawlessness is taking

the Word of God as truth and then going and creating your own… And

check this out, it makes sense that folks would become cold and hard

hearted…,

 You know something is true and you know you are contradicting it…,

and so how is it that you at all can respect yourself lest you create a

compartment in your mind and heart so that you are shielded from

reality…?

 I’m not at all saying to be perfect and always do what the Bible

says…, what I’m saying is be like the mature Isaiah that hides nothing

FROM HIMSELF but rather places his trust in God and allows the

Holy Spirit the work God desires to do in his heart of hearts!

Isaiah Chapter 64 Verses 9 - 12

 Isaiah knows the answer. He already wrote of it in the previous

chapter. This is simply his conversation with the coming King…

Wanting to be reminded of God’s plan… And that’s a good thing. Next

chapter, God responds!!