Not All Human Righteousness Is Filthy Rags To The Lord

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Pastor Foley

WLO_doinggoodIsaiah 64:6 (“all our righteous acts are like filthy rags”) is often quoted by folks as proof that any effort on our part to do good still comes across as pretty putrid in God’s sight. As Kevin DeYoung explains in The Hole in Our Holiness, however, that’s just bad exegesis–and it paints a terribly unflattering (and woefully inaccurate) picture of our God, to us and to the world:

The “righteous deeds” Isaiah has in mind are most likely the perfunctory rituals offered by Israel without sincere faith and without wholehearted obedience. In Isaiah 65:1–7 the Lord rejects Israel’s sinful sacrifices. They are an insult to the Lord, smoke in his nostrils, just like the ritual “obedience” of Isaiah 58 that did not impress the Lord because his people were oppressing the poor. Their “righteous deeds” were “filthy rags” (64:6, KJV) because they weren’t righteous at all. They looked good but were a sham, a literal smoke screen to cover up their unbelief and disobedience.

But we should not think that every kind of “righteous deed” is like a filthy rag before God. In fact the previous verse, Isaiah 64:5, says “you [God] meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways.” It is not impossible for God’s people to commit righteous acts that please God.

Not only is it not impossible, DeYoung goes on to note, but it is downright possible and in fact specifically commended throughout the pages of the New Testament:

Those who bear fruit in every good work and increase in the knowledge of God are fully pleasing to God (Col. 1:10). Presenting your body as a living sacrifice pleases God (Rom. 12:1). Looking out for your weaker brother pleases God (14:18). Obeying your parents pleases God (Col. 3:20). Teaching the Word in truth pleases God (1 Thess. 2:4). Praying for the governing authorities pleases God (1 Tim. 2:1–3). Supporting your family members in need pleases God (5:4). Sharing with others pleases God (Heb. 13:16). Keeping his commandments pleases God (1 John 3:22). Basically, whenever you trust and obey, God is pleased.

And whenever you trust and obey, DeYoung adds, you reflect to the world an infinitely more accurate picture of God than when you insist to others that every human act ought to be regarded as “morally suspect”:

Why do we imagine God to be so unmoved by our heart-felt attempts at obedience? He is, after all, our heavenly Father. What sort of father looks at his daughter’s homemade birthday card and complains that the color scheme is all wrong? What kind of mother says to her son, after he gladly cleaned the garage but put the paint cans on the wrong shelf, “This is worthless in my sight”? What sort of parent rolls his eyes when his child falls off the bike on the first try? There is no righteousness that makes us right with God except for the righteousness of Christ. But for those who have been made right with God by grace alone through faith alone and therefore have been adopted into God’s family, many of our righteous deeds are not only not filthy in God’s eyes, they are exceedingly sweet, precious, and pleasing to him.

Do the good the Lord has specifically prepared in advance for you to do. It truly will bring him delight–and it will bring you into greater knowledge of his character as well.

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Video – What does First Fruits have to do with Tithing?

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Pastor Foley

Pastor Foley explains that the point of the tithe relates to the principle of first fruits.  When we offer the first 10% of our income to the Lord, it trains us to honor the Lord with the remaining 90%.  The principle of first fruits applies to so much more than money though.  For example, it also applies to how we worship God on Sundays.  It’s not that we are only setting apart only one day for the Lord, but that one day should change how we look at every other day of the week!

For all of the latest podcasts on Preparation and on past Works of Mercy visit our Seoul USA Podcast Page!

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What Happens to Family Worship When You Travel?

Posted on January 30, 2013 by tdillmuth

WLO_Blog_WheelPost by Pastor Tim – In the past, Pastor Foley and I have written on the importance of family worship.  One key Scripture in a previous blog post that Pastor Foley referenced was 1 Timothy 3:1-5.  This Scripture passage provides a great framework for understanding the importance and foundational nature of family worship.

The problem often arises when practical situations make family worship difficult or untenable.  I faced one such situation as I traveled to South Korea for two weeks earlier this month.  While my wife and even my two older children are perfectly capable of leading family worship themselves, it’s ultimately my responsibility to make sure that discipleship doesn’t stop when I’m gone.

When I first traveled to China, fifteen years ago, my communication to the U.S. was extremely limited.  Today, things are much different with texting, cell phones, e-mail, Facetime and Skype.  The greatest difficulty with this was the time difference between Korea and Colorado – when I was awake my family was asleep!  But I was still able to use Skype to pray together with my family, to sing a hymn together and even to practice our Scripture memorization from time to time.

Even more important than using technology during travel was the importance of prayer for my family (whether traveling or not).  While I’m responsible for my family’s discipleship, only God can actually do the sanctification in my children’s lives (1 Thess. 5:23).  Prayer is a recognition of this fact, but also it is a dependency on and faith in what God has promised to do (1 Thess. 5:24).

And in all honesty, ensuring that family worship and discipleship continued while I was gone probably had more to do with what I did before I left than what I did after.  In other words, because our family had established a regular pattern of family worship, it wasn’t quite as difficult for them to continue this in my absence.

Pastor Foley models this in his own family, in that when he is gone the other members of his family have to “step-up” and lead!  He said that his travels are a perfect opportunity for the next person “on the bench” to take a more active leadership role.  I saw this in my family as well in that my travel gave my wife and children valuable leadership experience in being responsible for the spiritual growth of each other.

Another friend mentioned that when he is traveling, his family incorporates their family worship throughout the day rather than having an extended period of time at night like normal.  This allows for a similar amount of discipleship time, but with a little less burden on the spouse who remains behind.  Regardless of the timing, the expectation is the same as when I am home – the whole family is still memorizing a new song and Scripture passage each week!

Ultimately, family worship is not easy (most good things aren’t), and worship while family members are thousands of miles apart is even more difficult.  The bottom-line is that family discipleship shouldn’t stop even if our lives get a little crazy, i.e. travel.   And even though traveling doesn’t always present an optimal situation, it may actually be an important opportunity for other family members to be more deeply challenged in their spiritual growth!

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