Today, we want to look at the fourth component of holiness - INTEGRITY. To make it to Heaven in the life to come, you MUST walk in complete INTEGRITY in this present world. Without complete integrity HOLINESS is not complete.
A man of integrity (a faithful man) who can find? But God found integrity in a man called Job. In Job 2:3 the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth - A MAN OF COMPLETE INTEGRITY. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you persuaded Me to harm him without cause.”
Today, many Christians live falsely, and they cannot be trusted. It is also commonplace among Christians to say what they do not mean.
For instance, in Acts 5 Ananias and Saphira knew they were deceiving the church when they sold some property and agreed to act as if they were giving all when they were actually giving only a part.
What is the problem with this attitude? The problem here is that though they were doing something good, their action lacked integrity.
The church cannot prosper with deception among its members – and God wanted to make this clear for all time. Deception wounds the Body of Christ – makes it dysfunctional – and is a sin against God. The church needs people who not only refrain from blatant lying, but are free from hypocrisy. Honesty is necessary for growth in the church and even for growth as a Christian (Eph. 4:14-16).
What is integrity?
a) Integrity means to be trustworthy. Integrity is the quality of being dependable, honest, transparent, reliable.
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Mic. 6:8).
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man (because the LORD is trustworthy)” (Ps. 118:8).
b) Integrity is to keep to your promises. This is your ability to be honest and stick to whatever you say or said no matter what. The Bible talks of, “He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not” (Ps. 15:4b).
To be honest is be truthful, right, fair, and honorable, free from deception, and marked by integrity. God urges us to conduct our daily living with complete honesty.
As others see your honesty, they will place greater trust in the One you are following. For instance, do not adjust your meter in your filling station to make more gain.
INTEGRITY keeps you from claiming to be honest while living as if you do not know God.
Jesus said, “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?” (Lk. 16:10-11)
c) Integrity is uprightness of heart. “I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee” (1 Chron. 29:17).
What does it mean to be upright? To be upright is to be honest, fair, responsible and straightforward without crookedness of life and intent to be dubious.
Who is an upright person? An upright person is somebody who does everything according to the Word of God. An upright person is a spiritual person. An upright person can be trusted but in a perverse community, he will be hated and abhorred.
e) Integrity is the doing of righteousness. “He that doeth righteousness (does things according to the Word of God) is righteous even as He is righteous” (1 Jn. 3:7).
As a Christian you are expected to be upright in everything – in words, in action, in conduct, and in purpose. As a Christian you ought to keep and stick to your words. That is integrity! Do you keep your promises?
The Bible says, “Let your Yes be simply Yes and your No be simply No; anything more than that comes from the evil one!” (Matt. 5:37)
In Numbers 31:1-2 the Bible says, “…A man who makes a vow to the LORD or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.”
2. What are the characteristics of a man of integrity? Psalm 15 spells out some characteristics of a man of integrity:
a) A person of integrity makes a public declaration of where he stands in any matter. He does this so that there is no ambiguity regarding his position in the matter.
b) A person of integrity does not change his/her mind. As long as what he has decided to do is in line with the Word of God, a person of integrity never changes his mind.
c) A person of integrity is able to discern what is right and what is wrong. If what you want to do is in line with God’s Word, then it is right.
d) A person of integrity acts on what he has discerned to be right even at great personal cost. Even when people discern what is right, they think that the price tag for doing what they know is right is too high.
The man of integrity, however, acts on what is right, in spite of the consequences. Most people will go with what is convenient, as long as it does not cost them too much. But the person of integrity does what is right no matter the cost.
e) A man of integrity does not avoid expressing the truth for the sake of peace. Integrity demands that all speech be intentionally true.
The Lord hates those who don’t keep their word, but He delights in those who do. Proverbs 12:22 says, “The LORD DETESTS LYING LIPS, BUT He delights in men who are truthful.”
f) A man of integrity never cheats or defrauds anybody; never steals. Proverbs 20:10 says, “Differing weights and differing measures… the Lord detests them both.” The Lord despises double standards of every kind.”
Proverbs 11:1 says, “The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are His delight.”
“Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel” (Prov. 20:17).
NLT puts it this way, “Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.”
g) A man of integrity keeps his words at all cost. He never allows his Word to fall to the ground. He never promises to do something he does not intend to do.
Faithfulness, one of the manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) is the trademark of a person of integrity.
Even when he discovers that keeping his words is not to his benefit, he still does so. Psalm 15:4 says, “The man of integrity keeps his oaths (promises) even when it hurts.”
For instance, Jephthah had to sacrifice his only daughter because of the promise (word) or covenant he earlier made (Judges 11:29-37).
h) A man of integrity is a man of principles. Being a man of principles means having the courage to stand up for your convictions even when it costs you.
i) A man of integrity is unique and rare to find. “Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness: but a faithful man (a man of integrity) who can find?” (Prov. 20:6)
j) A man of integrity does not return to his vomit. “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool (a person devoid of integrity) returneth to his folly” (Prov. 26:11). He does not go back to begin to do those things he was doing as an unbeliever. A person of integrity does not go back to pick up the ungodly practices he has dropped before.
A person of integrity does not go back to pick up the ungodly friends he had when he was an unbeliever. Although disgusting to others, the fool is compulsively drawn back to his foolishness.
For instance, as a child of God, you discovered from the Word of God that it is ungodly for you to drink alcohol, you stopped drinking. But after sometime, you started drinking again probably because of the wrong company you are keeping around you. This is foolishness and is an evidence of lack of integrity.
Jesus said, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first….” (Matt. 12:43-44).
Hear this: anyone that does not have integrity should be avoided because you can’t trust him. The Bible says, “Confidence in an unfaithful man (one devoid of integrity) in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint” (Prov. 25:19).
3. The three Hebrew children are a typical example of people of integrity: The three Hebrew children – Shedrach, Meschach, and Abed-Nego resisted idolatry at all cost.
Nebuchadnezzar commanded that everybody should worship his image. These Hebrew children knew that this instruction was contrary to the Word of God.
“Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, 5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: 6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3:3-6).
You see, there is a price tag tied to this product. To take a stand and declare that what the king had instructed to be done is wrong will cost them their lives. They had a decision to make.
Everyone else fell down and worshipped the image. “Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up” (Dan. 3:7).
Enemies accused them before the king. “Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews” (Dan. 3:8).
What was the accusation? “They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. …12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Dan. 3:9-13).
Just realize that not everyone will agree with or support your decision or stand to do what you know is right. In fact, some will come against you because of your controversial stand. But a person of integrity is not moved by the actions (oppositions) of others.
The king raged against the three Hebrew children. “Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 5 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” (Dan. 3:13-15).
Look at how the Hebrew children reacted to the kings threats: For these Hebrew boys, it was not about the king, it was about doing what they knew was right.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But (even if He decides not to deliver us), be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Dan. 3:16-19).
That was bold! They had already determined what was right and now they are acting on it, even at the risk of their lives, by openly declaring their stand on the issue of idolatry. No one was left wondering. This is integrity!
They did not stop there. “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Dan. 3:17-18).
They declared that even if God decides not to deliver them, they were still going to go ahead to do what they know is right. Their integrity was such that they were ready to die for it.
In spite of all odds, God honoured their commitment (Dan. 3:19-29). Look at what finally happened as a result of their willingness to stand for what they knew was right: “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, in the province of Babylon” (Dan. 3:30).
These three Hebrew children demonstrated integrity! They discerned what was right and they acted on it even at great personal risk.
Deliverance does not come until you have taken a stand. Notice that this deliverance did not come until they took a stand for what they knew was right. They were not delivered until they were thrown into the fiery furnace.
Integrity is the quality of being honest, transparent, dependable, trustworthy and having strong moral principles. It is the condition of being whole and not divided. Integrity refers to one who is “solid, authentic and upright.” Christianity begins in the heart and manifests outside in the attitudes, behaviours and conducts. Until this is so, our claims are not true. Let Christ change your inside to enable you change your outside (2 Tim. 2:20-21).
Remember: without complete integrity, you can never become holy, and without holiness you shall not see the LORD (Heb. 12:14).
Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!
- Your friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor, HOG) 9th May, 2021
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