CENTRAL THOUGHT
The Christian life is a life of integrity.
HYMN: OVER THE RIVER, FACES I SEE
Text: Psalm 15:1-5
Introduction:
Integrity is uprightness of character, honesty, unimpaired state or soundness. It is an undivided or unbroken state or completeness. This is a virtue, which should characterize every born-again person.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to give abundant life (John 10:10) to everyone who would believe in Him. Life in its fullness means favor with God; it means peace with God, blamelessness, righteousness, truth in the inward parts: it means integrity! Many people claim to know the Lord; one way to separate the professors from the children of God is probity or morality or integrity. Integrity is for the disciplined and renewed; the born again. This virtue makes a man to guard his heart from thinking evil and his lips from speaking deceit. It keeps a man’s steps in the path of righteousness.
The world can speak of good but lacks the strength to do good. Everyone can speak of what is good, but few people follow up their words with good actions. Integrity makes a man to follow up his pronouncements even when it hurts him. He does this because he knows that it tells on his goodness and honor.
The man that lacks integrity does not mind what he says or does because he is not too mindful of fulfilling promises, nor is he bothered about protecting his integrity. He can afford to say anything and not do it; he has nothing at stake. He can indulge in shameful acts and defend or ignore it; you often hear them say things like “everyone does it….”. One characteristic of such people is their zeal to compare themselves with the rest of the world and conclude that they are not too bad after all, the old lie of the devil.
The man of integrity has much at stake! He has a garment of holiness or uprightness to maintain. He has the name of the Lord to defend by his lifestyle. He has a point to make in life; he wants to prove that he is virtuous by practice and not by words only. He lets these and many other considerations guide his every action. He is a man of principle, honesty, and perfection. He would not find himself doing wrong; he has regard for his God-given life and does not want to hurt his life with stains of sin. In public and in his closet, he maintains a trustworthy lifestyle.
As the time for the return of the Lord draws nearer, more and more people would be slipping away from integrity, drifting into corruption and infidelity because of the hard times and the deceit of the devil, the deceitfulness of riches and the zeal to show off, etc. In spite of this, the servant of the Lord must let integrity guide him. He must be clear minded and self-controlled so that he can pray and live for God (see 1 Peter 4:1-11).
LESSON OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study are:
- To know the implications of integrity
- To know what the Lord says about integrity
- To know how integrity affects our daily lives
- To know the ills of living without integrity
Q1. WHAT, IN PRACTICE, ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF MAINTAINING INTEGRITY?
Every believer should walk in integrity, which means soundness in dealings that test steadfastness to truth, purpose, responsibility, justice and mercy.
Does one love integrity; for the people to love and trust one and not be disappointed in one; for God to vouch for one like He did for Job (Job 1:8, 2:3), let us take a look at what one should be. It means that one wants to believe in God and live a life of faith! It implies that one wants to be a friend of God! To believe in God is to give credence to, accept, be of the opinion, understand, have no doubt about, consider as true, or be certain of God. It means to conclude that he is God and then show it!
Living in faith means living in one’s belief as stated above. This is a life that is patterned towards God such that no action is taken without full conviction that God backs it.
And should anything be done outside that the individual simply owns up to God in perfect honesty and humility. Such people are friends of God. They are after God’s heart, to please Him. Often, they stumble but they do not fall (Psalm 37:24; 55:22). The Lord keeps them and takes delight in them because they trust in Him. They do not show how holy they are like hypocrites do, and though people trust and love their personalities, their ideas are not usually generally accepted.
A man of integrity may have a weakness that plagues him, but he would overcome it. He does not deceive himself. Rather, he prayerfully waits upon God for strength and wisdom. Honesty first to himself is his policy. It may cost him some honor temporarily but eventually he would scale through finally.
Q2. HOW DOES INTEGRITY GUIDE THE CHILD OF GOD IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS OF LIFE?
1. Business and financial matters.
The love of money is the root of all evil! (1 Timothy 6:10). Some people, in their zeal to make money and acquire wealth have drifted away from the faith and brought grief to themselves. See also 1 Timothy 6:9, since the Child of God has his faith and the name of the Lord at stake, he should exercise complete control over his appetite for money and profit. There is no area of our life that the Holy Spirit cannot guide us, even in profit margins.
The Lord wants us to show discipline in financial matters. Whether it is the pastors and elders in the church setup of the businessmen out on the streets, the Lord commands us not to be greedy for money! (1 Peter 5:2). Not only that, we should also be prudent in life, not spendthrifts or foolish. A spender is a squanderer, a waster. (see proverbs 1:13, 13:16, 19:14).
2. Positions of authority and trust
Everyone in a position of authority and trust has the responsibility to be honest and transparent to avoid false acquisitions and allegations. Samuel was a good example of a public officer who lived in integrity (see 1 Samuel 12:3-4). The Christian should not be involved in ungodly “deals” and oppressive tendencies; political lies and manipulations. These things offend God, and for their sake, the wrath of God is coming on those that do them.
3. School Examinations
A child of God must not cheat! It is immoral to cheat (Ephesians 5:5) and no immoral person can see God (see also Malachi 1:14; 1 Corinthians 6:8,9). If we write examinations for another person we are cheating. If we ask another person to write examination for us or for another person we are cheating. It is cheating to seek or to find examination questions before the examination. And we are not supposed to help ourselves with notes inside the examination hall without the permission of the examining body. These are offences which people who do not have integrity commit. Trust the Lord to help you in examinations; it is better to fail an examination than to pass by cheating. There is a curse on one for cheating.
Q3. WHAT ARE THE DANGERS IN NOT HOLDING ON TO INTEGRITY?
The believer who throws integrity to the wind would not be able to live for God. He would be playing “hide and seek” game with his life, deceiving himself. Such persons find themselves hiding from brethren either because they are not properly dressed, or because they are in the wrong company, or in the wrong place etc. Anyone that wants to serve the Lord must let integrity guide him/her. Failure to do so is failure in Christianity. One characteristic of Christ’s followers is their integrity.
Lack of integrity would consistently bring one to Church to disgrace and agony. One would lack the peace every child of God enjoys. And one would not experience the joy of salvation that keeps the brethren going. One may be making waves on earth with one’s compromises, but heaven does not have a good account and may never see God.
Daily Living Application
- What practical steps can a brother take to overcome his lust after a sister for the sake of his integrity?
- What are some rewards and testimonies of integrity?
- In what other areas of daily life can integrity be very important?
In the following scriptures, study the likes of men who loved and practiced integrity:
Genesis 39:1-23; 50:4-5, 1 Peter 2:22-25, Daniel 1:1-21, Acts 20:25-38
Memory Verse:
Proverbs 10:9
“He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.”