III. Worthy to be Followed

We cry out to God for justice and righteousness while still wanting to live in the middle ground of commitment to truth and service. If that is the defining reality of our Christianity, we can say, "truth is fallen in the street." Until the truth we know becomes the everyday practice of our lives, we are "lukewarm" Christians. Soundness is not about knowing truth as many suppose. Soundness in the faith is about living the truth and doing what is right. Like many Christians, Israel continually fell into this pit of self-deception.

We need to be reminded that it was the failure of the children of Israel in practical holiness (a living faith) that was the central hindrance to God blessing their lives. God wanted to save them. God wanted to hear their prayers and answer them. God wanted to bless them as a nation, but He could not because they were not living the way they should have been living. The failures listed in Isaiah 59:1-14 are failures of the priesthood.