That is like a mantra constantly repeated to Christians by preachers to keep their minds on the reality of their unrighteousness (that in the first place should not be), while conveniently offsetting it with the righteousness of Christ supposed to be transferred to them as a cover or a robe that again supposedly makes them appear as righteous to God while deliberate sinning goes on.
God forgives sinners but also because of Jesus’ sacrifice saves them from being enslaved to sin and unable to do anything that pleases God. The Gospel does not keep someone stuck in a place where he/she is unable to please God because all he/she does is as filthy rags. That is no Good News at all. That idea of filthy rags comes from here:
Isaiah 64:6
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.
Back up one verse and see that God does delight in righteousness that is not as filthy rags, and that all righteousness is not "as filthy rags” before God.
Isaiah 64:5
You meet him that rejoices and works righteousness, those that remember you in your ways: behold, you are angry; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
The writer is speaking about people who have sinned and need to get saved (v. 5), people who are at the time taken away by their iniquities (v. 6). That is not applicable to the new creature in Christ. But the idea from that passage is systematically applied to Christians who are "saved by grace".
How can a Christian who is led by the Holy Spirit and empowered to walk in God’s will by his grace be inserted into that context?
How can a saved believer be taken away captive by sin, when salvation is synonymous with freedom in Christ, being set free indeed from the bondage of sin (John 8:36)?
How can a place that is like when a dog returns to its vomit or a sow that was washed returns to wallowing in the mire make any sense and be worse than before a person got saved (2 Peter 2:20-22), when righteousness that is as filthy rags is understood as what is normal? It's not because hypocrites exist that righteousness has to be a dirty word. The Bible certainly does not make that point especially concerning the followers of Jesus. Repentance that comes from godly sorrow and that leads to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10) results in a deep change at the core with a heart that is “circumcised” (Colossians 2:11), softened and ready to obey God in all, so one can serve Him with clean hands (Isaiah 1:16-20).
Why use a text that does not apply to how born again Christians should walk to put a veil on the light of Christ that should shine forth out of them?
What does Jesus have to do with righteousness that is as filthy rags? He came as a light to set people straight so they understand that what they call their "righteousness" that is as filthy rags is unacceptable to God, and so they can get right with God through repentance and faith in Him.
When a person promotes the idea of the Christian's righteousness being as filthy rags, that person also puts the Gospel out of sight, because there is no Good News in producing that kind of fruit that we can call righteousness that is as filthy rags.
"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit." (Matthew 12:33)
The idea from Isaiah 64:6 is used out of context to address Christians (followers of Jesus) who love Jesus and follow Him, that is, obey his commandments (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3, 1 John 5:3). Isaiah 64:6 does not describe them and should never be applied to them. Their obedience to the Lord Jesus out of a faith that works by love (Galatians 5:6) is what establishes for them a path of righteousness which is not as filthy rags.
Romans 6:16-20 speaks of what a saved person does: Obedience that leads to righteousness rather than sin leading to death.
Righteousness that is as filthy rags is not righteousness at all, so it is sin and darkness. But there is no such darkness in God. There is no such darkness in those who are in Christ, or they could not be called the salt of the earth or the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).
1 John 1:5-7
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.
The grace of God that nobody misses should be so understood (but it is not, in practice):
Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, 12 instructing us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age; 13 looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ; 14 who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.
That grace of God, if not received in vain, in no way enables a person to bring forth corrupt fruit (Matthew 12:33).
So, the apostle asks, for anyone who is not sure how the grace of God correlates to sin:
Romans 6:1-2
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
And the danger remains for anyone who believes that grace and sin go right alongside each other to produce "righteousness" that will be as filthy rags, so no righteousness at all as far as God is concerned. Note that being dead to sin (1 Peter 2:24, Romans 6:5-7) must also be a reality.
And Jesus does expect that his followers will be righteous and have a righteousness that is theirs and not as filthy rags:
Matthew 5:20
For I say unto you, That except your (own) righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Ezekiel 18:20
The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
1 John 3:7-8
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as He [Jesus] is righteous. 8 He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Righteousness that is as filthy rags is unacceptable to God and is sin, and the grace of God is not given for that. Many false teachings have attempted to destroy the fact that Jesus has come to destroy the works of the devil like falsely called righteousness that is as filthy rags, and at the same time obscure the way to walk in the righteousness that He did come to establish in the lives of those who are saved to serve God (no longer to serve sin). These are those in whose lives He has destroyed the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).
This calling here is a far cry from righteousness that is as filthy rags:
Ephesians 5:25-27
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
This speaks of a cleansing by the word, just like here:
John 15:3
You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
Why isn't the cleansing happening? May true repentance, true faith and true grace be preached. That will make a difference.
Until then many will go on believing that Christians remain filthy and get clothed in the righteousness of Christ "transferred" to them. That’s something that does not make sense even in the light of Jesus judging the works of 7 churches in Revelation 2 and 3 and finding 5 out of 7 of them in trouble and in need to repent or suffer the consequences of not standing right before Him. Why doesn’t He just see his righteousness that (supposedly) had been transferred to them?
If we believe that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7) and purges our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14), who then has an interest in Christians identifying as sinners whose righteousness is as filthy rags before and after they get saved? The purpose of the Gospel “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18) is getting hijacked somewhere. And that righteousness that is as filthy rags is just another way to admit what is commonly called "self-righteousness" without having the appearance of hypocrisy. A Christian should have nothing to do with any righteousness which is not the righteousness that God delights in. In repentance, in calling upon the name of the Lord, people are to depart from unrighteousness.
Isaiah 55:6-7
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows those who are his. And, Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from unrighteousness.
Revelation 19:7-8
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness [righteous acts] of the saints.
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