You will hear some quote, " Life for me ain't been no crystal stair".
I visited a church this past Sunday that was filled with broken people literally who were poor and … If I say more I become too judgemental. So the point that I need to make is that we have to remember that there are so many people that have very little even here in America.
Our righteous acts don't even begin to level the playing field or bring contentment to people who are so downtrodden. Our best efforts seem to not be enough. I pray that God will show Believers how to best serve those who have been disenfranchised and neglected.
We have to share the Gospel with the world daily and remember that only the Righteousness of Christ can replace our Filthy Rags. Thanks for your article. I do have a question. And then you wrote: Don't you find those statements contradictory? How does a "dead person" accept, believe and conform his life which by the definition of dead he doesn't have?
It seems to me we try to minimize our contribution by saying, "all you have to do" but then we add our requirements. If we are adding something to our salvation, are we really practicing — Soli Deo gloria? I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I am trying to work out my salvation with fear and trembling.
I am saying that as I think Paul meant it, we as Christians are to do that together and so I ask for your help. Ray Noah Menu Skip to content. Home About Recommended Books. R ead Romans Then, and only then, are we saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Read these verses, as well as the immediate context Romans Why are these verses such a centerpiece to the Christian message? How does your own view of salvation line up with what Paul has written?
Do you think your Christian friends have a good grasp on what it takes to be saved, and if not, how can you engage them in a spiritual conversation about this matter?
Romans Of Filthy Rags and Transformed Hearts | Ray Noah
Posted on Wednesday, November 18, I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind. English Standard Version We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Berean Study Bible All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. New American Standard Bible For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
King James Bible 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. Christian Standard Bible All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. Contemporary English Version We are unfit to worship you; each of our good deeds is merely a filthy rag.
We dry up like leaves; our sins are storm winds sweeping us away. Good News Translation All of us have been sinful; even our best actions are filthy through and through. Because of our sins we are like leaves that wither and are blown away by the wind.
Holman Christian Standard Bible All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. International Standard Version All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a filthy rag; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our iniquities sweep us away.
This sets the stage for the doctrine of "accepting Christ" through a once-for-all act of faith. But the question needs to be asked: By what hermeneutical principle do we so use a text? What gives us the right to uproot the verse from its surrounding historical context and use it as a proof for theology?
BibleGateway
Furthermore, we should ask if a theology constructed with such methods is a sound one. Evangelicals may argue that their application of the verse is correct because Isaiah includes himself among those whose righteous acts are unclean " But this should be understood in the light of Israel's corporate guilt. Isaiah is numbering himself among the covenant people. Those people had fallen into gross sin though certainly not every person without exception.
Therefore, he says, "our righteous acts," the acts of the nation as a whole.
This is consistent with the rest of the Old Testament. For example, we find that Daniel, though godly, confessed the sins of Israel as if he were himself the transgressor Dan. Some reading this may wonder what the fuss is all about. Isn't it nit-picky to cavil at the way one verse of Scripture is being applied? Not in this case.
I say so because the misapplication of Isaiah I submit that it is impossible to think of righteous acts as something filthy and, on the other hand, as something essential. How could filth be important or even desirable? How will Christ judge the saints "according to their works" Matt.
Faith In Motion
This introduces confusion into the Christian faith. The idea makes James the most unintelligible book of the ancient world. The author would, in effect, be writing that "faith without filthy rags is dead" and "a man is justified by filthy rags and not by faith only" and "I will show you my faith through my filthy rags" and "by filthy rags, faith is made complete. Christians would be enjoined to "stir up love and filthy rags.
The obvious teaching of the Bible is that acts of virtue and goodness are pleasing to God. He does not view them as filthy, unless they are done with false intentions cp.