The Apostle Paul contrasted the mortal things he could boast about with his new career in Jesus Christ when he was writing to the church in Philippi. He concluded his text with the following:
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Because I know Christ Jesus, my Lord, to be the greatest gift, I consider everything to be lost. For his sake, I have lost everything and consider them to be rubbish in order to gain Christ and be found in him. I do n’t have any righteousness of my own, but it does depend on faith, so that I may know him and experience the power of his resurrection, and I can share his sufferings so that I can gain the resurrection from the dead by all means possible.
Philippians 3: 8-10 ( ESV )
Do you know that there are some Bible passages that say something about our good deeds? It’s easy to understand that everything in our mortal existence pales in comparison to the fortunes that Jesus has for us.
We have all evolved into one who is filthy, and all of our pious deeds are like a ruined cloth, according to the apostle Isaiah. We all dissipate like a plant, and our sins, like the weather, take us away”, ( Isaiah 64: 6, ESV). Some people refer to virtuous deeds as “filthy clothes.”
Nehemiah prayed to the Lord and pleaded with him not to overlook what Israel and Israel did:
I commanded the Levites to cleanse themselves and travel and protect the walls in order to keep the Sabbath day holy, so please remember me, O my God, in this regard. Do not destroy my great activities that I have done for the home of my God and for his company. Keep in mind that this is also in my best interest, O my God, and protect me in your unwavering love. So I cleansed them from anything unusual, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his job, and I provided for the wooden giving at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Consider me, O my God, for fine.
Nehemiah 13: 14, 22, 30-31 ( ESV )
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What do we make of these lines? A speaker questioned John Piper about these lines and wrote in to him asking,” Do we send our pious deeds to God and ask him not to forget them? I’ve always prayed that approach. Not even thought about it.
In this manner, Piper responded to the question:
This begin with Isaiah 64: 6. You may not be the only one who believes that this poetry teaches that all Christian great deeds are disgusting clothes in the eyes of God. That is a wildly incorrect translation of that poetry. The verse only when, Isaiah 64: 5, says,” You meet him who happily works justice, those who remember you in your way”. This is a praise of God’s people for their justice. God does not hate the good deeds of his kids who have followed his instructions. The dishonest works that emerge from little are what verse 6 refers to when calling virtuous deeds “filthy rags.” They have an outward show of righteousness, but inside, dead men’s bones rooted in pride, just as Jesus referred to it ( Matthew 23: 27 ).
Many Christians now think it’s impossible for a Christian to please God because of that misinterpretation of Isaiah 64 :6. If their best works are nasty clothes, there’s nothing they can do to satisfy him. This is a blatantly illogical notion at all times.
Then he addressed Nehemiah’s blessings by addressing the context of his concern that God may disregard his actions:
When we are embattled and accused of doing things that we did not would, this kind of meditating, in my opinion, comes into focus. So, we pray,” O Lord, you know my heart. You know I am being accused unfairly. I pray that you will remember my dignity and my integrity, and defend me before my rivals. O God, when you come to mind how I acted in my integrity in this life, please justify me and grant me recompense in your sight in the end.
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Even our most virtuous deeds fall far short of God’s grace, which does protect us, but we are aware that the bible call us to do great things. The writer of Hebrews exhorted his audience to endure, and Paul advised the Galatians to refrain from becoming ill from doing good deeds.
Do n’t give up on doing good things for God’s glory. They’re not only disgusting rags.
