Value #7 - Integrity
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· 23 viewsIntegrity should characterize the life of the Christian
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Katie life illustration - “lines”
Why make a kid do lines? To teach them verbal integrity (Sean U).
Who here would say integrity is important? I agree. It is important. In fact, it’s our seventh value. Why? Because it should characterize the Christian.
Our final value is:
Value #7 - Integrity
Integrity carries with it a spectrum of thought:
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.” - https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-integrity.html
Big Idea: Integrity should characterize the Christian.
Big Idea: Integrity should characterize the Christian.
Why? Because integrity is part of our witness, and part of living ready for Jesus’ return. It should mark a life that is transformed by Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Today as we focus on this idea of integrity, let’s look at two closely linked passages:
Both of these passages focus on our “word.” Not the Word as in the Bible, but the trustworthiness of what we say and do as believers. Matthew of course related the direct words of Jesus. James chimes in, and together Scripture’s admonishment for us is important: Let what you say be trustworthy.
A NT Definition of Integrity:
A NT Definition of Integrity:
Let’s start by looking at Matthew 5. Matthew 5 33-37:
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’
But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
The context to what Jesus says falls into a bigger section of the gospel of Matthew starting at Matthew 3 and going all the way to the end of Matthew 7. The section from Matthew 5-7 is typically known as the Sermon on the Mount, which is the first block of teaching from Jesus in Matthew’s gospel. It is full particularly of ethical teaching. Jesus took to task the false “righteousness” of the Pharisees, and throughout this section demonstrates a better way.
Jesus starts by quoting OT law:
You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
Here Jesus deals with oaths. For those not familiar, an oath was a way of verifying the truth. Now within the NT there is evidence of oaths for the purpose of assuring the recipient that you speak the truth. We ourselves might use an oath today in perhaps a court of law. They function to assure that what is being committed to will be followed through on. What is being said is the truth. Here Jesus is not addressing oath swearing in the sense of stepping into court, but addresses the problem of artificial vows that weren’t necessarily true.
Picture yourself in ancient times. Maybe you’ve just gone to the carpenter, and asked him to make you a really nice chair for your wife’s birthday. Everything went smoothly, and you are excited to receive the chair on the date you agreed upon. Now, let’s say two weeks later you come back, and the carpenter goes “Oh sorry, I haven’t really started it yet.” You might be frustrated. Maybe your empathy for those working in customer services goes out the window and you get a bit pointed about how he was supposed to have this done and he hasn’t done it. He responds with “I swear on my head I will get it done in one week!” Good luck, swearing on your head don’t mean much. Now, if he said I swear on the Holy City… well that’s worth a little more but still. But if he said “I swear, as God is my witness, I will have the chair done next week” you know he’ll be putting in some overtime.
See how these different “levels” of commitment functioned? you could take an oath, without really having to hold to it. Basically, it’s a “sure, I’ll commit to that” with little to no intention of sticking to your oath. In the first century, people could swear their oath by God, or perhaps something lesser than God. In first-century thinking, swearing by something lesser than God was considered less binding than to actually swear by God (NAC).
The Old Testament permitted the swearing of an oath. The NT as well give evidence of this:
(In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)
Jesus recognized that, but then He said, just don’t take oaths at all! Is Jesus contradicting the OT law? Does Paul disobey Jesus? Does God’s Word then contradict itself? Saying one thing here, another there? Or perhaps the OT is simply out of date? No longer useful, tear out that section of your Bible. It’s obsolete.
None of these are true. The OT law points to Christ, and shows us how to live in a right way before Him. Ok, so what gives Jesus the right to be the interpreter of the law, as He is clearly doing here? How can He look up and say, “the law says you can swear and oath, but you better keep it. I’m telling you just don’t swear it at all!”
We need to understand Jesus not as contradicting the law, but rather fulfilling it.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
As the law’s fulfillment, He is its ultimate interpreter. (Cornerstone). Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law, not to mention its author. So He has the right to interpret it and show us how we ought to live.
Throughout the larger section of Matthew, Jesus speaks much on ethics, and true righteousness. In contrast to the the pharisees, whose righteousness came from a false sense of ‘right” and legalism, Jesus calls us to a higher standard. He focuses on the spirit of the Law. Keep in mind, by Jesus’ time the OT law had been greatly expanded upon. The Pharisees and Sadducees had inflated the law and its demands, to the point that Jesus told in Matt 23 4
They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
The Pharisees’ legalism only served to damage and dissuade people from the truth. YEs, they kept the law, but out of a pride-filled heart. they kept the letter of the law, and missed the intend of it. No wonder they missed Jesus!
While the law allowed for oaths, Jesus says that it is simply better to not swear an oath at all. Why? Because by this point, oath swearing had taken a sad turn: People could swear by God, or perhaps a lesser something to demonstrate that the oath was potentially more breakable. Jesus shows that this sub-par standard was not in keeping with the intent of the law, which was integrity.
Jesus address four common things other than God to swear by: Heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or one’s own head. He makes it clear that these, though lesser than God, are not ours to control, but God’s. Therefore it is not appropriate that they should be sworn by, as if we had God’s authority and control. Let’s look at the OT references to Jesus’ corrections:
Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?
Heaven is God’s throne, the earth His footstool. These are God’s and shouldn’t be treated as if we have control over them. Moreover, we read in Ps 48:1-2 about Jerusalem:
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain,
beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.
Jerusalem too is God’s. Finally, Jesus says that even one’s head is not really under their control. We don’t even have control over what color our hair comes out as. Though to be fair, modern hair dying is a wondrous thing… So all of these belong to God in important ways. Thus, the Jew’s strange hierarchy for the strength of their oaths was both a misuse of the law and an affront towards God.
Making a promise to something lesser than God so that He won’t mind if you break it doesn’t work. There are no loopholes!
We come now to Jesus’ command: What should we do instead? It’s simple:
Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
Literally this could be translated “yes yes, no no.” Jesus is saying that we shouldn’t need to swear by anything. Our word should be enough. His statement at the end is particularly striking: “Anything more than this comes from evil.” Or “the evil one.” What could He mean by this?
Let’s look for a moment at John 8 44:
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The devil is the father of lies. That means falsehood, lying, etc comes from him. If you say you’re going to do something with little to no intention of accomplishing it, that is from the enemy. No loopholes, no flippant words. We speak and live the truth. Simply be honest, say “yes,” or “no.” This is what Jesus is saying.
Now, let’s flip over to one other passage and round out this understanding of trustworthy - integrity driven - speech.
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
Hear the similarities between Jesus and James? Jesus is telling us to avoid flippant oath taking. Have integrity so that you can say a simple yes or no. James echoes the same idea.
The context surrounding this verse is strange - James is talking to the oppressed, encouraging them to patiently endure! Why does James smash this verse in here? Could it be connected with what comes after, about the right ways to speak and pray? It’s possible this could have to do with the poor making rash oaths to get necessities. You’ve got oppressed people just trying to survive. Potentially, they were making rash oaths to cover for a lack of cash. The fraud was that they really didn’t have the money to pay what they promised. So it could be tied to this. But overall, James talks a lot about right speech in his epistle. This verse connects to what follows, and ties the book together.
The idea of having a trustworthy word is extremely important in James’ understanding. Live, speak, act with integrity (ZECNT). Again the admonishment is clear:
James, 1 - 2 Peter, Jude & Revelation Commentary
God’s people should stand by their word and not require an artificial oath to anchor the dependability of their promises.
As Christian believers, our word should be trustworthy. We should have and become known for an integrity that runs deep enough that when we say “yes” people can trust it. When we say “no” it is true.
James Oaths Proscribed to Avoid Unrealistic Promises (5:12)
Societies ultimately collapse when too many people lose their verbal integrity, so Christians must remain at the forefront of those whose word can be trusted unquestioningly. -
This is the NT’s standard for the church: Integrity. Let your yes be yes and your no be know. Now we must ask, why is it important?
Why Does It Matter?
Why Does It Matter?
For both Jesus and James, the idea of integrity is closely linked to the idea of “Jesus-follower.”
Why does integrity matter? As people of God, integrity is important. It should characterize who we are and what we do. We need to remember three reasons for this:
Integrity comes from a heart saved by grace.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
We have nothing to prove, because our identity is sealed in Christ. Now whatever we do comes out of a heart of love for God, because of His love and grace shown to us.
James, 1 - 2 Peter, Jude & Revelation Commentary
If you are trusting in God’s grace, you have no need to impress God or people, and you can be at peace with saying honest words. Integrity should characterize Christians, and integrity will flow from wholehearted reliance on grace.”
Integrity is part of living for Jesus - we should be characterized by a transformed way of life that honors God.
it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
We are the saints! As we make ready for Christ’s return, let us live in a way that glorifies God and so clothes Christ’s bride with the pure, white linen of righteous acts.
Integrity is part of witness.
Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,
Paul admonishes Pastor Titus to live with integrity. He becomes an example. So do all of us. The world doesn’t know integrity the same, because the devil blinds them. When we lie, or do not hold to our word, it damages the reputation of the gospel and Christ. May we seek to do the opposite, building up the reputation of Christ and the gospel.
“Integrity” should be synonomous with “Christian.” If we cannot be trusted as people of our word, who can? We are supposed to be different, to be transformed. Living, speaking, acting with integrity (ZECNT) should be characteristic of our lives.
How do we live it out?
How do we live it out?
Value #7: Integrity
Scripture places high emphasis on integrity. Our words and actions should be characterized with honesty and Biblical morals. But when the rubber meets the road, how are we going to live this out?
Strategy - Being people of our word.
Our strategy can be traced directly back to Matthew and James:
Let your yes be yes, and your no, no. Let your word be trustworthy. If you say yes to something, mean it. If you are called upon to tell the truth, tell it. If you cannot do something, say that. Integrity in our lives looks like being people of our word. It’s as simple as that.
Living it out in our lives:
Living it out in our lives:
Spend time in listen prayer, and ask God to show you how you can grow in your personal integrity.
Do a priority audit. Ask God to help you align your priorities. Are you overcommitted? Sometimes in saying yes to too many things, we cannot keep the word we spoke. Ask God to help align your priorities so that you can keep commitments, or simply say no to things, if it’s needed.
Pay attention to how you speak to your family. If you say you’ll do something with them later, do it.
Remember there is grace. It’s not about being legalistic, but doing our best to take our own word seriously.
Living it out in the life of the church:
Living it out in the life of the church:
As believers, if we commit to something we’re going to show up for that. It is part of the DNA here: we can be counted upon. Yes, we’re all growing in that.
As a church, we will demonstrate integrity to our community by following through on the things we do, and doing them well.
We will stand for Biblical truth. When the enemy tries to toss things at us that are contrary to God’s Word, we will gently and firmly not accept those things.
If we commit to giving to something, we will follow through on it.
Living with integrity is something God’s Word calls us to. We are redeemed to a life of integrity. Integrity is part of living in expectancy for Christ’s soon return. And Integrity is integral (see what I did there??) to our witness.
Salvation call
So church, will we value integrity, and we will live it out by being people of our word, taking it seriously, and doing our very best to walk in the grace of God? I pray we will
Pray
