Apologetics for the Masses, #387 - Your Works Are Like Filthy Rags (Isaiah 64:6)

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Your Works Are Like Filthy Rags (Isaiah 64:6) - A Catholic Response

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General Comments

Hey folks,

A couple of things:

1) During Lent, I am going to be doing a combination Bible/Catechism study, with a healthy dose of apologetics thrown in, every Thursday night at St. Theresa's parish in Leeds, Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham). Actually, I'm going to do it for 5 weeks (Feb 18, 25, March 4, 11, 18) then take 2 weeks off, and then another 5 weeks (April 8, 15, 22, 29, May 6).

Since a vast majority of the 40,000 or so subscribers to this newsletter do not live in Birmingham, you might be one of those asking, "So, why are you telling me?" Well, I'm telling you because I want to livestream these studies so anyone in the world can watch them as they happen, and I want to record them so that anyone who can't watch them live will be able to watch them anytime, anywhere. So, if you're interested, maybe block off the Thursday nights during Lent on your calendar. Have not determined the exact time just yet, but probably in the area of 7:00 - 8:30 PM (Central).

I'll be covering 1st Peter the first 5 weeks, and 2nd Peter the second five weeks. We'll be talking Bible, Catechism, redemption, salvation, Christian prayer, Christian living, grace, faith, the Mass, Sola Fide, Once Saved Always Saved, love, Purgatory, time, the Sacraments, sin, the Pope, and much more! All of that from just those two short books of the Bible. You'll see how the Catechism is inextricably linked to the Bible, how the Old Testament is linked to the New Testament, how the Bible is linked to the Magisterium, and how you can use both Bible and Catechism to deepen your faith and to learn how to share your faith with others.

I am also telling you this because I would like to know if there is anyone out there who can give me advice as to how set up a livestream and the best way/platform to use to record and archive the weekly sessions? If you can give me some some tips/ideas for how to accomplish these things, please send them along.

2) I hope all of you had very happy and holy Advent and Christmas seasons. And I hope 2021 brings you and your loved ones many blessings. With all that is currently going on here in the U.S. - the Wuhan flu, the political unrest, the censoring/banning of political speech on social media and elsewhere - don't forget that no matter what has, is, or will happen, that God is still on His throne. So keep your eye on the prize and continue to run the race well.

Introduction

Last week, when I sent out that announcement about the online Bible conference, I also gave you some homework to do. It centered on Isaiah 64:6 - "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..." (KJV). As I said previously, Protestants will quite often use this verse to argue against the Catholic teaching that good works are important for our salvation. They'll say, "See, even our good works are like filthy rags to God, so they are of no meaning whatsoever when it comes to salvation."

So, your homework was: I want you to think about how you would respond to someone citing Isaiah 64:6 and the "filthy rags" phrase, to argue against Catholic teaching on faith and works both being necessary for salvation.

Below is how I respond to Protestants who use Isaiah 64:6 in their arguments for Sola Fide. And I simply offer this as one possible way you can respond. I make no claim that it is absolutely THE way to respond.

Challenge/Response/Strategy

Isaiah 64:6

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..." (KJV).

Protestant Argument

"See, even our good works are like filthy rags to God, so they are of no meaning whatsoever when it comes to salvation."

My Response

In my talk, Apologetics for the Scripturally Challenged (available for free at www.biblechristiansociety.com), I state that whenever someone presents a Scripture verse that "proves" the Catholic Church is wrong on one of its teachings, then one of two things (or both) is always true: 1) Either the verse does not actually say what they are trying to make it say; or 2) They are taking the verse out of context.

An example of #1 is when Protestants throw out Romans 3:28 to "prove" the dogma of Sola Fide - "For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law." "See," they'll say, "it says we are saved by faith alone. It says good works have nothing to do with our justification." The problem is that this verse does not say we are justified, or saved, by "faith alone," rather it says we are justified by "faith". That word "alone" can, and does, make a big difference.

Nor does the verse say "good works," it says, "works of the law," which are definitely not the same thing. The phrase, "works of the law" is referring to the works of the Old Testament Law of Moses - keeping kosher, animal sacrifices, etc. "Good works" generally refers to such things as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned (see Matt 25:31-46) amongst other things. So the verse does not actually say what they are trying to make it say.

An example of #2 above, is when someone will quote Matthew 1:25 about how Joseph did not "know" Mary until Jesus was born and they will argue that it proves Joseph did indeed "know" Mary after Jesus was born, which means Mary was not a perpetual virgin and, therefore, Catholic teaching on that subject is wrong. Well, they get the verse right, but they take it out of context. The immediate context of that passage from chapter 1 of Matthew is that Jesus was born of a virgin in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy from Isaiah (Matt 1:22-23). There is no intent to let the reader know anything about what did or did not happen between Mary and Joseph after Jesus was born. The whole focus is on Jesus being born of a virgin. And there is a broader context from Scripture - Old and New - that points very strongly to Mary being a perpetual virgin.

Now, back to Isaiah 64:6. The first thing we need to consider is: Does the verse actually say what they are trying to make it say? The answer is: Yes. It actually does say "filthy rags," in the King James Version - "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Or, as the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (RSV-CE) says, "...all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment."

It seems they got the verse right, so #1 above does not apply. But, what about #2 - did they get the context right? And the answer is, "No, they did not." How so? To get the immediate context of a verse, you usually need to read just 2 or 3 verses before and/or after the verse in question. Let's do that:

Isaiah 64:4-7, "From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him. Thou meetest him that joyfully works righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment [filthy rags]. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one that calls upon thy name, that bestirs himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid they face from us, and hast delivered us into the hand of our iniquities," (RSV-CE)

What do we see going on here? The key is the second half of verse 4 and the first half of verse 5: "...a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him. Thou meetest him that joyfully works righteousness, those that remember thee in they ways." There are people who wait for God and who remember God in His ways. And these people "work righteousness" and God works for them and He "meets" them. He engages with them. He talks with them and He hears them when they talk to Him. It doesn't say that the "righteousness" these people work is like filthy rags. No, God is just fine with their righteousness and their righteous deeds. But, these folks are immediately contrasted, in the 2nd half of verse 5, with those who have sinned...those that God is angry with because of their sins. And then, in verse 6, it says, "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like [filthy rags]."

What happened? The Israelites were once righteous. They once waited on God and once remembered God in His ways and God worked for them and He met them. But now, they are steeped in their sins (iniquities) and God no longer remembers their righteous deeds. Just as the righteous people have become like those who are unclean, so their righteous deeds have become like filthy rags. If they had remained righteous, then their righteous deeds would NOT be like filthy rags.

The context shows that not all good works are like filthy rags to God, as Protestants interpret this verse; rather, the good [righteous] works of those that were once righteous but then turned away from God by sinning have become like filthy rags [a polluted garment]. He remembers their righteous works - which truly were righteous - no more.

So the way to answer the Protestant who uses this verse to argue in favor of Sola Fide - salvation by faith alone - is to clue them in as to the context of the verse, particularly by pointing out verses 4 and 5. It is not saying all good works are like filthy rags, it is saying the good works of those who were righteous, but have since turned away from their righteousness, are like filthy rags.

And, should someone say that they disagree with your "opinion" about the context, then there are two ways to respond: 1) Use the "But That's My Interpretation!" strategy that I also talk about in Apologetics for the Scripturally Challenged, and 2) Show them the broader context of Scripture, particularly the Old Testament scripture, that supports your interpretation of the context. For example: Ezekiel 18:24, "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity and does the same abominable things that the wicked man does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds which he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, he shall die."

None of the righteous deeds which the righteous man has done will be remembered, if he turns away from God by sinning. Or, one could say, all of his righteous deeds will be like filthy rags. Ezekiel 18:24, 100% confirms that the Protestant interpretation of Isaiah 64:6 is simply wrong. And, when you throw in Ezek 18:21-22, the Protestant version of Isaiah 64:6 is blown apart.

Ezek 18:21-22 - "but if a wicked man turns away from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness which he has done he shall live." And let's also look at Ezek 33:12, "The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness; and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins."

To summarize. Wicked man does wicked deeds. Wicked man turns to God and does what is lawful and right. Wicked man's sins [transgressions] are no longer remembered by God. He shall live (spiritually). Exact same thing on the other side of the coin. Righteous man does righteous deeds. Righteous man turns away from God and does what is wicked. Righteous man's righteous deeds are no longer remembered by God. He shall die (spiritually). Or, to put it in terms of Isaiah 64:5-6, the righteous deeds of the now wicked man are like "filthy rags". But the righteous deeds of the righteous man who maintains his righteousness, who does not turn away from God, or of the wicked man who turns to God, are remembered by God...they are still righteous deeds.

Not only does Isaiah 64:5-6 (along with Ezek 18:21-24 and Ezek 33:12) not support the dogma of Sola Fide, but it is actually an argument against Sola Fide. And, not only is it an argument against Sola Fide, but it absolutely destroys Once Saved Always Saved.

Remember: You're presented a verse that "proves" the Catholic Church is wrong on one or more of its teachings. First, you look to see if what they said the verse says is what the verse actually says - do the words on the page line up with the words coming out of their mouth - and then you look at the context of the verse to see if they are yanking it out of not only its immediate context, but also its broader scriptural context.

Yes, you can also throw in verses that talk about the importance of works to our salvation - e.g., Matt 25:31-41, Matt 7:21, Rom 2:6-7, and many, many more - but try to start off by planting a seed that they have seriously misunderstood whatever verse it is they are quoting to you. If you can plant a seed of doubt about the verse they are quoting which "proves" the Catholic Church wrong - which also plants a seed of doubt about their ability to properly interpret the Bible in general - then when you do present the verses that support Church teaching on whatever topic you may be discussing, those verses will carry a little extra weight.

If you remember those 2 things about any verse Protestants quote to argue against Catholic teaching, you will give yourself a bit of a leg up when arguing the Catholic position. And, again, I'm not saying this is THE only/best way to do this - just saying it is a way that I have found to work very well for me.

Closing Comments

I hope this was of some value to you, and I also hope that you and yours have a great week.

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