In Isaiah 64, the prophet wrote these familiar words:

“All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” Isa 64:6.

It is common to hear these words in discussions regarding eternal salvation. For example, in a blog titled “Not by Works,” John MacArthur makes this comment:

“Scripture is perfectly clear on this. No good work of any kind contributes anything meritorious to the sinner’s justification before God. All human righteousness (other than the perfect righteousness of Christ incarnate) is a product of fallen flesh and is therefore fatally flawed. Yet again, ‘We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags’” John MacArthur (Blog post, “Not by Works”).

Not only is this verse used to argue that our works are useless with regard to gaining eternal life, but many take this verse to mean that the unbeliever is incapable of doing anything that is good. It is also used by some to argue for the tenet of Calvinism known as “Total Depravity.”

While it is true that our deeds cannot save us from the lake of fire (Eph 2:8-9), many fail to consider the context of Isaiah 64. In this chapter, the prophet is crying out for help from the Lord on behalf of Judea. He begins by looking at Israel’s history. In times past, the Lord had stepped in and delivered the nation from her enemies. In doing so, the Lord made His name known to the nations (vv 1-3). However, the Southern Kingdom faced the Lord’s discipline due to its rebellion. The Lord would ultimately allow the Babylonians to invade the kingdom and destroy the land and the temple (vv 10-12). Those who survived would be taken captive and forced to live in subjection to the Babylonians for seventy years.

Two things should be noted. First, the salvation of this passage is not individual salvation from the lake of fire. Rather, it is national salvation from physical death. Second, this is a passage about discipline due to sin. The nation was being subjected to the Lord’s temporal, righteous anger. In other words, it’s a fellowship issue. This is made clear in v 5:

You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,
Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—
In these ways we continue;
And we need to be saved.

The Lord meets those who live righteously. When the nation was obedient, remembering the Lord and His commandments, it could expect peace. Sadly, the people were not living righteously. They had forgotten what the Lord had done for them in their history (vv 1-3, 1:2-3). The people had sinned by falling into idolatry and rebelling against the Lord, therefore arousing His anger towards them. He would discipline them.

It is in this national context that the prophet makes his statement regarding their supposed righteous deeds, which are, in reality, filthy rags. Even in v 6, the emphasis is on the nation and the Babylonian captivity, not salvation from the lake of fire. Isaiah cries out, saying that their sins have “taken us away.”

Isaiah is returning to a central theme of his book. The people of Judah thought they could please the Lord through empty religious rituals (1:12-15; 29:13; 58:1-5). Their sacrifices and prayers were not only useless, but were displeasing to the Lord. Again, this was not an issue regarding their eternal salvation but of whether they were living righteously. The nation was claiming fellowship with its God but was far from walking with the Lord. The Jews of Isaiah’s day, both believing and unbelieving, thought that they were pleasing the Lord through superficial rituals. They made sacrifices, celebrated the feasts, fasted, and prayed to the Lord. While they looked good on the outside, their deeds stank of rebellion. They mistreated the poor, worshipped idols, and had evil, corrupt leaders. In short, their claims of righteousness were invalid.

While it is true that the unbeliever cannot gain eternal life by his works, that is not the emphasis of this passage or the book of Isaiah. Rather, the prophet is acknowledging that while the nation might be maintaining its external religious rites, the people were far from pleasing the Lord and were facing His discipline.

Believers today can fall into a similar trap. For example, John states that the believer who claims to be walking in the light but mistreats his brother or sister in Christ is, in reality, walking in darkness (1 John 2:9). Many claim to be abiding with the Lord, but even a born-again person can become so desensitized to sin that he can claim to be in fellowship with the Lord while actively living unrighteously (Titus 1:16; Rev 3:1, 17).