I have been teaching a group of spiritual leaders in South Africa on a topic vital to churches and Christianity as a whole: integrity. One of the most powerful stumbling blocks that has kept people from receiving salvation is the lack of integrity in the believers around them. We, as believers, need to be aware of what the Apostle Paul said in II Corinthians 3:2: that we are read by all men. People watch us, and our actions reveal the integrity of our hearts.
The Psalmist David spoke about integrity many times. One of those places is Psalm 25:21, where David says, “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You” (NASB95). The Hebrew word for integrity is tōm. It means completeness and is used to describe a person who can stand. The opposite of integrity would be fake.
How is integrity built into our lives? We need to understand that integrity comes as a work of grace. As human beings, we can possess a degree of integrity that comes from the discipline of our parents. That integrity is based on circumstances, but many people have been raised without that discipline. We need integrity like Peter, Paul, and all of Jesus’ disciples. We need integrity that will stand no matter what the circumstances of life throw at us.
As I said before, integrity is a work of grace. In II Corinthians we see that Paul is dealing with a problem that has been plaguing him. We often call it Paul’s thorn in the flesh. His thorn in the flesh was the persecution that he was experiencing everywhere he went. He had been beaten, stoned, left for dead and spent time in prison for his faith. Let’s notice what God’s reply to Paul was. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) What was God telling Paul. The Greek word translated here as sufficient means to suffice or to satisfy. God told Paul that His grace was all that Paul needed to continue in his life and ministry. Grace is what builds integrity in us.
How does grace do that? Grace is a powerful gift given to us by our Father. Grace is not the license to give up or a license to sin. Grace is the God given ability to stand in every situation. Grace produces in us the ability stand.
Paul had a traveling companion and fellow minister named Titus. Paul brought Titus to the island. After Paul’s first imprisonment, he wrote to Titus and told him how to overcome the pressures of living on a very wicked island. This is what Paul wrote, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.” Titus 2:11–12 (NASB95) What does grace do? It instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires.
The Greek word for instructs means to discipline like a child. Maybe your parents weren’t the best at disciplining you. I got great news! The grace of God will raise you up. The grace of God will train you how to deny all the ungodliness that is around you and even increasing. The ungodliness on Crete was much more intense than what we see today. The grace of God trains us to overcome the worldly desires that come up from inside of us that cause us to sin. The word desires is also the word used to describe lust. Worldly desires come from our flesh whereas the ungodliness that Paul talks about is an outward influence. The grace of God trains us in every aspect of our lives to live lives of integrity, strength and holiness.
Trust in the grace of God to overcome and listen to its instruction.
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