"Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 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. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities." (Isaiah 64: 5b - 7)
It is impossible to understand the depths of God’s love without first understanding the depth of man’s sinful rebellion before a holy God. The failure of much of modern faith life hinges upon the misapprobation of this singular truth and until God’s people really understand what they have been saved from, a shallow view of God’s love will be predominate. What is necessary to understand the unconditioned and infinite love of God is a correct understanding of the depravity of man. Isaiah, speaking to the nation of Israel, highlights several points here. First, Isaiah points out that man’s sinfulness and rebellion is no accident. He begins by saying, “Behold, you were angry and yet we still sinned.” What was God angry about? Obviously, the sin and rebellion of His people who know better but His anger did not seem to matter much. Isaiah says that we still sinned anyway. Isaiah also says that our sin was not a new occurrence but rather we have been in our sin a very long time; so long that it is obvious that there is no reason why God would or should save us. The clearest expression of this longstanding sin and rebellion is found in the picture of a polluted garment; that is a garment that is filthy and unfit to be worn. Normally, garments in this condition are not able to be cleaned and made ready for reasonable use. Therefore, they must be thrown away. This picture is bad enough as stated but Isaiah further explains that this condition is even born out in what men believe to be good and holy actions. The word righteousness points toward those religious activities that would normally be thought to be acceptable before God. It is not that our behavior is not up to par, though it is not, but rather, because of the radical nature of man’s inherent corruption, even the things that would be normally thought to be acceptable are corrupted by one’s sinful essence. In short, one’s sinfulness taints what may be otherwise good rendering it filthy and useless; appropriate only to be destroyed. As a direct result of this inherent corruption, Isaiah establishes that there are none who call upon the Lord, none who “awaken” themselves from their self-centered comfort and slumber to seek the things of God. The reality of the human condition is that all men are not able to accomplish anything that would be noteworthy before God and no one is inclined to even try. This apathy toward God is not because of a hopelessness born from repeated unsuccessful attempts but rather because it is not part of who one is. Simply put, there is not concern for the things of God and as a result all of mankind is more interested in doing what pleases them. Even in their attempts to prop up what would be religious, the self-centered motivation to accomplish something of spiritual benefit renders the offering unholy and defiled. It is against the backdrop of this sinfulness that one must see the reality of man’s depravity before any real understanding of God’s love may be truly comprehended. To say God is love is certainly a true statement but the full appreciation of this love must be applied to the utter unfitness of the objects of God’s love. The vileness of men produces only garments that must be destroyed, burned because they are simply unfit. It is from this created order that God bestows His unconditioned love upon those whom He calls; saving them from utter defilement and giving them the newness of life.
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