WALKING IN INTEGRITY

PSALM 15:1-5

Introduction: If you look in the dictionary for the word integrity, what you will find is almost always a definition that includes the word “wholeness,” because the very word integrity itself has the idea of that which is whole-hearted, that which is completely honest, whole, complete and true. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated “integrity” means “the condition of being without blemish, completeness, perfection, sincerity, soundness, uprightness, wholeness.” Integrity in the New Testament means “honesty and adherence to a pattern of good works.” There are 23 verses using Integrity in 6 books. Integrity is discussed most often in the books of Proverbs (8), Psalms (6) and Job (5). The term “integrity” occurs only once in the New Testament (Titus 2:7) although the idea is quite frequent.

What is INTEGRITY?

Integrity is an interesting word. Everybody wants it. A lot of people claim to have it. And a lot of people that claim to have it, turns out, don’t really have so much of it as they led us to believe. Preachers, politicians, business leaders, teachers, sellers in the shops, builders, construction workers, taxi drivers, babysitters; all the people you’d expect to be full of integrity, we find out maybe didn’t have so much after all.

So, what is integrity? Integrity comes from the Latin word integritas, meaning “one” or “whole.” People who are one way on the inside and another way on the outside—i.e., not “whole”—lack integrity; they have “duality” instead.

MY LIFE – PowerPoint

Integrity is when your behavior matches your beliefs

Integrity is a combination of three things: honesty, dependability, and purity of motive.

3 Marks of Integrity

1. Integrity means telling the truth even when it hurts.

Proverbs 12:17: “A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies.”

Proverbs 22:1: “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”

2. Integrity means keeping a promise when you would rather not.

In Psalms 15, David asks a question:

Psalm 15:1 “Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?

He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous.” Then he gives a list of what it means to be righteous. Psalm 15:4 says, “He who keeps his oath even when it hurts.” The man of integrity keeps his promise even when he would rather not. He keeps his oath even when it hurts. How do you do that? When you sign a contract, you are making a promise. When you sign up to do something, you are making a promise. When you say you are going to join something, you are making a promise. When you set an appointment, you are making a promise. When you say you are going to teach a class, you are making a promise. When you say you will be there, you are making a promise. And the man of integrity keeps his promises even when he would rather not.

How can we be the kind of people who keep our promises?

1. Watch your words. Proverbs 21:23The Passion Translation (TPT) “Watch your words and be careful what you say, and you’ll be surprised by how few troubles you’ll have.
2. Make fewer promises. Ecclesiastes 5:2-6
3. Avoid rash vows. Leviticus 5:4

3. Integrity means doing the right thing when no one is looking.

James 4:17 “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Jesus is the perfect example of a man of integrity. After He was baptized, He went into the wilderness to fast for forty days and nights, during which time Satan came to Him at His weakest to try to break His integrity and corrupt Him. Jesus was wholly man and wholly God at the same time, and He was tempted in every way we are, yet He never sinned (Hebrews 4:15); that is the definition of integrity. Jesus is the only one who was ever without blemish, perfect, completely truthful, and always showing a pattern of good works.

Conclusion:

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

MY LIFE – JESUS – PowerPoint

Integrity is the state of being undivided, whole, and truthful. It involves living in such a way that there is no discrepancy between your inner beliefs and outward actions. Integrity is living like JESUS