May one, dirty rags, no more.

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted

garment, Isaiah 64-6. It is true that any shortcoming of God's law offends his perfect holiness

and makes us liable to judgment since God cannot look with favor on any thin,

a backook 113, James 2, 10, and 11. But what brought a person to ruin in the Old Testament,

and it is the same for us today, was not the failure to have the righteousness of sinless perfection,

what brought them to ruin was the failure to trust in the merciful promises of God,

especially the hope that he would one day provide a redeemer who would be a perfect righteousness

for his people. The Lord is our righteousness, Jeremiah 23-6, 33-16. The Old Testament saints

knew that this is how they were saved, and that this faith was the key to obedience, and that

obedience was the evidence of this faith. It is terribly confusing. When people say that the

only righteousness that has any value is the imputed righteousness of Christ, to be sure,

justification is not grounded on any of our righteousness, even spirit-given righteousness by faith,

but only on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. But sometimes people are careless and

speak disparagingly of all human righteousness as if there were no such righteousness worked in us

that pleased God. This is not helpful. They often cite Isaiah 64-6, which says,

our righteousness is as filthy rags or a polluted garment. But in the context, Isaiah 64-6 does not

mean that all righteousness performed by God's people is unacceptable to God. Isaiah is referring to

people whose righteousness is in fact hypocritical. It is no longer righteousness, but in the verse

just before this, verse 5, Isaiah says that God approvingly meets him who joyfully works

righteousness. It is true, gloriously true, that none of God's people before or after the

cross would be accepted by an immaculately holy God if the perfect righteousness of Christ

...