The Sunday Message
By OneVike
"But we are all like an unclean thing, and all of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags." Isaiah 64:6
The Prophet Isaiah summed up the reprobate state into which God's chosen people had sunk. Though they had the blessing of the Law given to them by Moses, when he conversed with God on Mount Sinai, they had turned from their Lawgiver and become more wretched than the people who did not have the Law. God's chosen people were worshiping false gods. Isaiah 42:17 They were reveling in idolatry so much so that the prophet called Jerusalem a harlot that was as evil as the Sodomites. Isaiah 1:21 & 3:9.
Yet, the people had an illusion of righteousness. Many, especially the religious leaders who helped lead them into sin, professed to be "holier than thou," all the while burning incense on strange altars. Isaiah 65:3-2 However, God did not look upon their self righteousness as anything but pollution. He even told them He hated the Sabbaths and feasts that He had Himself ordained. Isaiah 1:13-14 The house of Jacob had rendered even its best acts of religious activity to nothing but apostasy in God's eyes. They were all unclean and dead like the leaves of fall, and their iniquities were like the wind that would cause them to be carried away. Isaiah 64:6.
How fitting it was for Isaiah to break into hyperbole calling such righteousness nothing but "filthy rags." What better way to call a nation into repentance, than to be brutally honest about the way they were living? In today's world, a declaration such as this would be received with such anger and indignation that many evangelical ministers would demand an apology. Many others would just dismiss such a statement as nothing but the ranting of some fundamental extremist. It must be understood, that this rebuke towards proud Judah, comes with the force of a thunderbolt. At least this is the way it should be taken when considering the context of the accusation.
It is said that "a text without a context is a pretext", and a pretext means we are searching for evidence to support our own understanding instead of searching for God's meaning. It is my opinion that many evangelicals look at this verse completely wrong. In this verse Isaiah is speaking of those who are unrighteous, not the righteous. What many evangelicals erroneously do, is claim Isaiah is saying that even his own works are nothing but filthy rags because he uses the word "our" when making the statement. So they will claim from their pulpits that even the works of righteous men are nothing but filthy rags because Isaiah counts his works with those of apostate Judea. By doing so, they demean the works of righteous men like Moses, Samuel, Daniel, Paul, John and even Isaiah who made the thunderous accusation.
Again, I must reiterate and say that, "a text without a context is a pretext." The reality of the fact is that when we uproot Isaiah 64:6 from its surrounding historical context we in essence make the epistle of James the most unintelligible book of the ancient world. If all the works of a righteous man were nothing but filthy rags, then James would in effect be saying "faith without filthy rags is dead" (2:20) and "a man is justified by filthy rags and not by faith only" (2:24) and "I will show you my faith through my filthy rags" (2:18) and "by filthy rags, faith is made complete." (2:22) Or that Christians would be enjoined to "stir up love and filthy rags." Hebrews 10:24 Also, Paul would be encouraging young men to be an example to others by "showing themselves to be a pattern of filthy rags." Titus 2:7 Then we have the lesson we learned about Cornelius who's prayers and alms came up for a memorial before God. God was pleased with His works, even before he was converted to Christ. Acts 10:4 Taken apart from all the other obvious passages that fit, this one alone should be enough to set the record straight about what God thinks of a righteous man's works.
The reality is that Isaiah is doing exactly what Daniel did years later when he confessed the sins of Israel as if he himself were the transgressor. Daniel 9:3-11 So, the passage should be considered in light of Israel's guilt as a nation and Isaiah is numbering himself among the covenant people. Though not every person is guilty of the gross sins of many, it must be noted that God punished the nation as a whole therefore Isaiah puts himself in the mix.
Imagine what is actually being said of our righteous acts under the cleansing of Christ's blood when we disparage, or at least downgrade, good works. It would be 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? Why would Christ judge the saints "according to their works" if He already considers our works to be repugnant? Matthew 16:27 In actuality we do the evil one's bidding by confusing the truth about Christian faith, and the works of righteous men.
If there is any lesson that could be taken out of context from this passage at all, it would be that those who are outside the Church cannot achieve works that are not filthy rags. We as Christians do what we do because we have a heart of stone that has been replaced by a heart of flesh, thus we love everyone, even those who do not return that love. Ezekiel 36:26 Just as Christ loved a lost and sinful world and died on the cross for all mankind, we as Christians, follow His example and do our works to please the Father not man. Matthew 5:16 That is the difference between works of righteousness and works of filthy rags, we as Christians are created in Christ for good works. So no man should say that the works of a born again Christian are filthy rags, because they are not.
The good works that God calls upon us to do, should be present in the life of whoever claims to be a spiritually reborn Christian. If these good works are not present, then the person in question is not a real Christian. Good works are a necessary symptom or sign of someone who has truly been saved or regenerated by the Holy Spirit. However, good works are not a prerequisite to that regeneration. According to God's perfect standards, it's impossible to be righteous, holy, discerning, or wise to perform what God calls good works until we are first born again and regenerated by faith through the blood of Christ. This is what James meant in his epistle when he wrote,
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:7Finally, I'll leave you with this. I am reminded of the free soup kitchens that Al Capone set up in late 1929 for those who had been thrown out of work by the Depression. His soup kitchen served three free meals a day in an effort to sway public opinion in his favor. There are many men like Al Capone who do good deeds for selfish and ungodly reasons. However, without the blood of Christ to wash and cleanse them of their sinfulness, all their works are but filthy rags. Not so for the Christian who looks to Christ as his Savior. Just like Cornelius, our good works will come up for a memorial one day before God.
If you are unaware of who Christ is, or if you know who He is but would like to have a better relationship with Him, then all you need is a simple prayer and he will answer. There are no magic words or scripts to recite. There is but a simple few words you need say in your heart, "Lord Jesus", and "save me". If you are sincere, He will begin by giving you a new spirit and He will also replace your heart of stone with a heart of flesh.
I pray that those who have ears to hear will hear His voice and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
I wonder.
How many hours will it be this week until you break your Lord's commandments.
I wonder.
What do you tell yourself to justify your hypocrisy?
I wonder.
If you are indeed a pastor, are you aware of the greater sin of leading your flock people astray?
I hope they listen to the Gospel and shun the hypocrites like yourself.
Or, maybe this New Year, you will actually FOLLOW the teachings of God, rather than merely
mouthing them.
I will pray for you.
Words cannot express the sadness I truly feel for you.
...wow...
I wonder if Quentin will start using evidence to justify any of his comments...I also wonder who Quentin prays to.
Quentin we are all sinners. If it was possible for any of us, including yourself, to last a week without breaking a commandment you might be justified in casting the first stone. As it is you only show yourself to be an hypocrite of the first order.
Why not tell us what you think of the passages or at least what makes you think OV is off base?
OneVike, don't feel sad - I used to feel this way, but no longer. I am reminded by:
John 10:27
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
My conclusion is now:
Those that do not follow, are not His sheep.
Jesus' voice is clear:
Matthew 7:21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
He said "he who DOES the will of His Father", not "he who SAYS whatever". Profession is absolutely meaningless to God:
The Parable of the Two Sons
28"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'
29" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.
31"Which of the two did what his father wanted?"
"The first," they answered.
I'm glad that you preach the true gospel; because those that do not, will find themselves in deep trouble:
James 3:1
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Thanks for the message OV. I don’t often get a chance to say “Thank You” for the way you speak the truth because I’ve moved to and started a new job. I am presently teaching a class once a week on the book of Galatians and well your message obviously caught my attention. :)
Thanks again for your many messages, and keep on being un-PC. Without the full force of the Gospel — Jesus just becomes another self-help expert with some snappy stories.
You will always have detractors who will attempt to take you of topic and accuse you of being what they themselves are guilty of. If I were you, I would worry more if you did not get attacked for speaking the truth. Throughout history Christians have been attacked and martyred for speaking the truth.
If a person who attacks you, thinks God is OK with two men or two women to getting married, or with a woman aborting her child,,,,well then you are obviously on the right track with your teaching.
Quentin what did you read that brought you to the conclusion you did?
I read it, did not get the same message as you.
There is your problem Harriet, you read it...Quentin just pulled this latest response out of his "insultomatic" bag that he borrowed from a Jr. higher and posted it as soon as he saw that it was by Onevike
You must be a very angry man who is obviously likes to direct your rage towards the wrong person. If you truly have a problem with OV's messages, then maybe you should take it up with God. I read everything he writes and I have yet to see anything from his religious writings that would lead to the conclusions you get.
I do understand why you dislike his political writings because you are a liberal, and so it would be expected that you would attack him on his political views.
I have also checked out your blog, and I must say you are one confused individual. If you ever have a moment of clarity from the fog of confusion you live in, I would suggest you apologize to OV for your continued insults that only disparage a very wonderful man whom you do know not.
I was not going to comment, but after reading another insult by Quentin directed towards Vike, I have to speak up.
I am getting so tired of people like you who want to make the Bible into something it is not, just to justify your own immoral beliefs. It does not surprise me that you claim to be an original constitutionalist by twisting the very things the founding fathers believed in, when you do the same thing by twisting the Scriptures to justify your immoral stance on the issues you hold near and dear.
Quentin, you literally have to be mentally unstable to claim the Bible, or constitution says what you claim they do. Also, I would be very careful with what you say, because you flirt with blasphemy when you accuse Jesus of teaching the things you have claimed he taught. If you really want to believe what you believe then write your own Bible along with your own constitution, but don't try passing off your wishful thinking as knowledge of historical facts with us.
As far as your attacks on OV, I personally think you attack him in an attempt to draw him into a debate with you. Give it up Quentin, because it is mine and many others opinion that, OV's discernment of the word is a gift from God. If you want to challenge him, you better start reading the Word and pray for wisdom and discernment, because you are way over your head by getting into a debate with him.
First things first. Great article and message.
I have always been struck by the choice of the term “filthy rags”, the translators used in this verse to smooth over and tone down the meaning of the text. The real meaning is something that is supposed to convey to the people of Israel how putrid God considered their righteousness. The actual phrase Isaiah used was “used menstrual rags”, which in the context of Torah is unclean by every measure, physical and spiritual. Remember, a woman was unclean during her time of the month and not allowed to touch even her husband. Lest she defile him and he then would also be unclean for a few days.
I guess my complaint is with the translator’s lack of courage to sometimes state things as powerfully as God originally did. It would seem that politically correctness has been around for sometime, because even the 1611 King James version used the term "filthy rags" instead of the correct phrase used menstrual rags.
Now to the white man who speaks with a forked tongue. Yea You "Q". Here is another lesson from Isaiah you should take to heart, before your heart stops working and you face the ultimate Judge with out the only Lawyer who will be allowed in the room.
Oh yea....
I just alerted many supporters of OV that he is being unjustifiably attacked by a dirt bag who needs some schooling.
LOL
This could be fun, I sure hope PS doesn't mind. After all, we conservatives need to stick up and defend each other more often than we do.
Good message OV. I agree that many in today's pulpits need to take heed of how they read the Scriptures and take things out of context.
The true church of Jesus is the Body progressing forward, which the gates of hell cannot prevail against, and which Jesus says "will do greater things."
God never tells his people their works are worthless when they are alive by His Spirit and walking in love. He tells the false religious followers that their works are worthless, because they themselves are worthless. Their works had become nothing more than works of ritual compulsion, not of love.
The heart is deceitful and wicked, however that's before God changes the heart from one of stone to one of flesh. In the natural state, men's hearts are evil and their works are, as you rightfully pointed out by Al Capone's example, evil and worthless. Once saved and washed by the blood of Christ a Christian's heart is firmly in the Father's hand and is not the same kind of heart anymore. There has been that transformation from stone to flesh that Ezekiel spoke about. We should all allow God into the core of our being, and then we will become less deceitful and wicked. Less so because we would have then taken on the persona of Christ through the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Now to defend OV from the likes of Quentin and any other liberal who wants to accuse him of not being Christian.
First off, in all the articles I have ever read, I have never heard OV once refer to himself as a pastor. He does teach and even give sermons, but he has never claimed to be an ordained minister. I think Jack of PS here and many at Freepublic refer to him as either paster OV or reverend Vike, but he himself has never ever called himself that.
Now, when I read any of the many articles that are circulated around the Internet by OneVike, I am reminded of a certain gentleman named John Muhlenberg. Who is Muhlenberg you may ask, well he was a Colonel from George Washington's Virginia volunteers, who was also a preacher man. Like Muhlenberg, OV has rejected the lie that the church should cow-tow to the state for what ever favors the crown is willing to bestow upon it. In John's day it was freedom from harassment for not joining the state run church of England, today it is a tax exempt status so their tithes can all go for the church. In both instances it is a favor bestowed upon the church by the state in return for their turning a blind eye to the evils of the government, and for clamming up during elections by not getting involved in politics.
Unlike the radicle left that thinks the constitution is a living document that needs to bend with the immoral whims of modern society, OV does not think our national ideals came from the influence of French Enlightenment. No, OV is a man who believes, and rightly so, that our American ideals and nationality is wholly inspired and beholding to the truths and commandments of the Christian Bible.
Like Muhlenberg , OV reminds me of a man who would be willing and ready to leave his pastors cloak (yes I will call him a pastor even if he will not) at the church and pick up his gun to fight and die, if need be, to defend man's right to be free from governmental control of our lives. When George Washington asked Lutheran pastor John Muhlenberg to raise a regiment of volunteers, Muhlenberg gladly agreed. Before marching off to join Washington’s army, he delivered a powerful sermon from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 that concluded with these words:
When he finished his sermon to the volunteers, he stood back and removed his clerical robe to reveal the uniform of a Virginia Colonel. Leaving his robe behind, John then grabbed his musket from behind the pulpit, he donned his Colonel’s hat and marched off to war with the men who volunteered to join George Washington in the fight for freedom from a tyrannical King 3000 miles away. John did not walk away from his calling to preach, he brought his wisdom and knowledge of God's word with him to the field and fought alongside men who had everything to loose and everything to win. He did this because he believed in the biblical concept that all men are created in the image of God, and because of this all men are entitled to equal treatment and unalienable rights.
When men like Quentin attack those like my friend One Vike, he attacks all freedom loving men who believe in the same ideals as Muhlenberg did. Like me, and most God fearing men of America, OV agrees with what the Bible teaches us about our God given rights. I for one would gladly put my hand up and volunteer for his regiment any day, to defend what my forefathers fought for. Like Muhlenberg, OV is a God fearing anti-Federalist who wears his passion for America and his God on his sleeves. Like Sarah Palin and the Tea Party movement, that scares the hell out of liberals across this country. In today's vernacular that means an anti-big government conservatives who will do anything to stop men like Quentin and his Muslim King Obama from destroying this country.
Great message Mr Vike.
I wouldn't worry about the detractors who know not the word. They are blinded by their desire to live by their standards not God's, so they will always attack the brides of Christ.
Wow, I am truly uplifted with the support I have received from many here. It is always heartening to know that my messages are well received. I do realize that therte are those who will take offense to what I write, and it never ceases to amaze me that 95% of those who have a problem with my religious articles also are the ones who disagree with me politically.
I said a long time ago that one cannot remove their religious beliefs from their political beliefs because they will inevitably influence each other.
We live in such a pc world that I am often times castigated for using terminology or point of truth in your face facts that the Prophets of old would used frequently. They used such harsh language to drive the point home of how God saw their iniquities. However, so many today get upset when you use the original word for a donkey let alone the true description of the way God saw their unrighteous, self righteous works.
Get angry at sin, and you are accused of not loving your neighbor. Call sin, sin and you are called judgmental. compare false teachings to the works of Satan, and you are called legalistic. And this all by so called religious Christians who would rather not be judged.
I can write an apologetically laden message about any of a dozen topics and thousands will read my article. I write a devotional message that uplifts the soul and teaches God's precepts and maybe a few hundred will spend the time it takes to read it. We live in times similar to what Isaiah and Jeremiah likened to the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. The question is, can we stand in the face of evil and apathy that as they did and continue to tell the truth? Regardless of the damage our character will take in the eyes of the world, like Jeremiah, Isaiah and other Prophets of old did, we too must stand tall.
The attacks that come my way when I speak the truth's of God's Words, are brought on because at times the truth will offend those in the dark. Christians are called to be the salt of the world, and salt can hurt when sprinkled on an open wound and those lost are living lives of open wounds in Gods eyes. Salt can also cure and make meats last, and so those who are in need of preservation, the salt of Christians will help preserve their souls from eternal damnation when they allow the gospel to sink in that is.
God want His message spread so I must balance the pc worlds expectations with God's. It is a fine line that I will always balance in the favor of God, it is however a line never the less.
Don't fall in the PC trap:
Matthew 10:34
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
So if your message is not offensive, it's probably not
from God...
And you are the salt, but do not lose your saltiness:
remain pure to maintain the saltiness, do not add to nor
subtract from God's word - if you do, the salt loses
its saltiness.
Some of the posting to Quentin remind me of what Will Rogers said
"There are three kinds of men. Those that learn by reading. Those that learn by observation. And the rest of them who have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.”
--Will Rogers
Quentin, I read (okay, skimmed) this article and I did not find much to be offended by. I do not agree that you must commit to Jesus and believe in the Bible to be saved from Hell, but that is what the Bible teaches, so I'm not entirely sure why you are surprised in Christians who believe that, or why you say they are not "true" Christians. I am wondering if you actually had a problem with this article, or if you are just venting at OneVike for past disagreements?
Amigaf--"If a person who attacks you, thinks God is OK with two men or two women to getting married, or with a woman aborting her child,,,,well then you are obviously on the right track with your teaching. "
The Bible actually makes no mention of women choosing abortion. There is a good case to be made by quoting scripture that it is a sin, as OneVike has skillfully argued in debates with me, but it is not as clear-cut an issue as most Christians make it seem.
"There are many men like Al Capone who do good deeds for selfish and ungodly reasons. However, without the blood of Christ to wash and cleanse them of their sinfulness, all their works are but filthy rags."
But however do you know that Al did not embrace Christ as his savior, and was consequently washed and cleansed, and received into Heaven?
You do not. Tis none of your business, is it?
Say it after me: "It is none of my business."
There, doesn't that feel good? Giggle.
I wonder what filthy rags means in isaiah I looked for that wordand I can't find. One day my teacher says that us girls should look up what filthy rags means, and i was in 6th grade to. so, I just listened to him. I looked up filthy rags and I can't look for it anywhere, if you know where it is please contact me. thank you and God bless you all!!