Integrity

A lesson about the importance of maintaining integrity in our relationship with God and others.

As you read this lesson, be sure to hover over the the Bible verses to read them or look them up in your own copy of the Bible. When the Bible passage is longer, you need to click on “more” in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window.

Introduction

Welcome! The Bible has much to say about this interesting topic. You may find it helpful to invite a mature Christian from your church to study this topic with you. You may have a lot of questions that are not answered here. Maybe there are ideas here that seem hard to understand. Do not get overwhelmed! You can contact us with any questions that you may have. The elders of your local church can help you as well.

Remember that learning the content about this topic is helpful, but knowing the information will not truly change you. For you to benefit fully from this topic, you must…

• Become born-again by securing a personal relationship with God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith by grace. This information cannot change you until the Holy Spirit of God gives you a new heart that is able to apply it to your life. To begin a personal relationship with God, it is imperative to understand and believe the following:

  • God is separated from you, because He is good, pure, and holy. 1 John 1:5-6

  • You are sinful, impure, and unholy because you do not measure up to God’s holiness. Romans 3:10-12 You are a descendent of Adam and Eve who rebelled against God. Romans 5:19

  • Your sinfulness provokes God’s anger and separates you from Him because He is holy. Romans 5:12 As a result, you deserve to be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever. Revelation 20:14-15

  • God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus is God in the flesh. He lived a sinless life. He was nailed to the cross, shed His blood, and died in your place for your sins. He was buried, rose again, and went to Heaven to prepare a place for all who believe. He will return one day for those who believe. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

  • Only the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is enough for you to be accepted forever by God the Father the moment you believe. John 3:16 God does not accept you on the basis that you try to be a good person and do good works. Romans 4:5 He accepts you fully and forever the moment you abandon your sins and call on Jesus to save you. John 3:36

• As you understand, meditate on, and believe the information presented here about this topic, you must also do what the Bible says. James 1:21-22 Only by trusting and obeying God’s Word regarding this topic will you experience the full benefits of this information. James 1:23-24 Trusting and obeying God’s Word will change you as you learn this. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 You will be happy as a result of your obedience. James 1:25

• Seek and heed the advice of your church leaders regarding this topic. Hebrews 13:17

• Depend upon the Holy Spirit to change you. Galatians 3:1-3 You cannot change without Him enabling you. John 15:5 He will change you in His time and way; but not apart from your faith and obedience to God’s Word. Trust Him to do His work in your heart. Philippians 2:12-13

• Allow the joy that you experience from obeying God’s Word to transform how you interact with others. James 2:12-20

The Gospel enables us to have integrity

• Integrity is doing what is right because it is right. God is watching us even when no one else is. 1 Peter 3:16-17; Proverbs 15:3

• Jesus is God in the flesh. He lived a sinless life of integrity for us. Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22 He was nailed to the cross to pay for our dishonest lives. 1 Peter 2:24 He shed His blood so that we can be washed clean of our inconsistency. Hebrews 10:22 He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. Hebrews 4:14 He now sits at the right hand of the Father, representing us. Hebrews 7:24-25

• Since Christ lived a life of integrity on our behalf, we (believers) have been accepted and are seen by God the Father as if we lived the life of integrity that Christ lived. 1 Peter 3:18

• Having integrity in Christ, we are called to live with the same integrity that Christ lived. 1 Peter 2:21; 1 Peter 2:23

• Since Christ paid the price of our untruthfulness, we can now possess integrity. 1 Peter 2:24

• Since Christ rose from the grave, we can go boldly to Him for help when we lack integrity. Hebrews 4:15-16

• We need not fear our past moments of dishonesty. Instead, we can focus on living lives of integrity with courage, knowing that God will conform us into the image of Christ and that He will never abandon us. Philippians 3:7-14; 1 Peter 2:25

• Will you commit this to daily prayer?

A person who has integrity will:

• Have a close intimate relationship with God and reflect His character. Psalm 15:1

• Live with integrity as a way of life, not just under special circumstances. He speaks to himself accurately (as God sees) and kindly (not with evil intentions) about others, himself, God, and circumstances. Psalm 15:2

• Refuse to speak evil to others, speaking only good, trying to be a blessing rather than a harm to his neighbor, and refusing to listen to gossip or other evil talk about them. Psalm 15:3

• Despise the one whom God says is despicable. He must honor those who fear the LORD and keep his word even if it hurts him. He should never give up his integrity. Psalm 15:4

• Not charge for loaning others money. He should lend money out, expecting no profit in return. He should not accept a bribe to lie against an innocent person, speaking only the truth about someone. He will remain strong, because he does these things. Psalm 15:5

Integrity is both the root and the fruit of our relationship with God.

• If our relationship with God is what it should be, then we will have integrity.

• If we have integrity, then our relationship with God will be what it should be.

We must confess our sins Promptly if we are to have integrity with God.

• We must not let anything get in the way of our relationship with God. We must immediately confess our sin (with a heart to forsake it) when God exposes it to us. The longer we wait, the longer we are living without being in fellowship with God. God will not answer our prayers until we confess our sins. Psalm 66:18-20; Proverbs 28:13-14

• God is light. That means He is pure, having nothing to hide in the darkness. His purity exposes impurity. 1 John 1:5

• Darkness is where we go to hide what we have done wrong. It is where we go to run away from God so that He does not expose the wrong that we do. John 3:19-20

• Light is the presence of God as we have fellowship with Him. We have this fellowship as there is nothing to hide and as we do what He wants us to do. John 3:21

• Our relationship with God is not good if we hide or ignore our sin. When we hide our shortcomings from God, then we are not living in fellowship with Him, no matter what we say. 1 John 1:6

• If we obey God and confess our sins to Him, then we are walking in close relationship with Him and other believers who are walking in the light. As we walk in obedience to God and confess our sin, the blood of Jesus washes it all away so that we regain a close fellowship with God. 1 John 1:7

• If we pretend that we do not sin or deny it when God or someone else shows it to us, then we are lying to ourselves. 1 John 1:8

• If we agree that we have sinned, God will forgive us and wash us clean from other sins of which we are unaware. God will forgive us, because He is faithful to forgive. The Lord will wash us clean, because being righteous, He will do the right thing. He will only forgive and wash us if we say the same thing that He says about our sin. We must have the same attitude and thoughts about our sin that God does. 1 John 1:9

• When our sin is exposed and we deny it, then we are saying that God is lying about our sin, and we are not letting His Word rule our hearts. 1 John 1:10

• God does not want us to sin; but He is not surprised when we do so. He sent Jesus to represent us to the Father. Since Jesus already died for our sins, He already satisfied the Father’s anger towards them. Therefore, we do not have to be afraid when we do sin. Instead, we can confess it immediately to God, and He will forgive us because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. 1 John 2:1-2

• If we are to have integrity with God, we must confess our sins to Him and ask others to forgive us when we sin against them. Matthew 5:23-26

• Here is an example: You became angry with a friend and yelled at him. Later, you felt bad for how you treated him, because you were supposed to love him and be kind, not angry. Immediately, you go to him and say something like: “Brother, I was wrong for treating you that way. It was sinful and unloving. I was not representing Christ well, and I know that I hurt you. Will you please forgive me for sinning against you by yelling at you?

• You could even further help heal the relationship by saying something like: “I am going to memorize a verse about anger to help me to learn self-control. Can you help me to learn it?” Then talk to God afterwards, saying something like, “God, I have sinned against You and my brother with my heart and mouth. Please forgive me for bringing shame upon Your Name. Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. In Jesus Name, Amen.”

Integrity is essential in order to represent Christ well.

• We do not exist simply to live for ourselves. We were created to represent God.

• If we do not cultivate godliness by doing things with integrity, then we will hinder our ability to represent Christ well.

• When we share the Gospel with people, it shines a light on our lives. If we lack integrity, then we will be tempted to shrink back from sharing the Gospel with them.

• The more integrity we possess, the more boldness we will exhibit. This courage will enable us to be transparent with anyone, which will allow us to let other believers into our lives and disciple them.

• The love of Christ will motivate us to cultivate integrity in our lives.

Read the following verses and write down in your own words the blessings, character traits, and habits of someone who has integrity:

Psalm 15:1-5; Psalm 25:21; Psalm 26:1-12; Psalm 41:12; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 10:9; Proverbs 11:3; Proverbs 11:18-21; Proverbs 14:2; Proverbs 19:1; Proverbs 20:7; Proverbs 28:6; Ezekiel 14:14; 1 Timothy 1:5-7; 1 Timothy 1:19; 1 Timothy 5:22; 1 Timothy 5:24-25

Consider studying the life of Job:

Job 1:1-22; Job 2:1-13; Job 4:6; Job 8:20; Job 27:1-23; Job 31:1-40

Consider studying the life of Joseph:

Genesis chapters 37-50

Consider studying the life of Daniel:

Daniel chapters 1-12

Conclusion

Now that you have studied this topic, we encourage you to...

• Ask us or any of your church leaders about any questions or concerns you still have about this topic.

• Pray for yourself to grow in maturity regarding this topic.

• Do your best to practice what you have learned.

• Tell someone else about what you have studied.

• Ask one of your church leaders to help you overcome your weaknesses regarding this topic.

• Teach this subject to others.

• Consider reviewing this topic once each year.

• Commit to growing in this area together with other members of a local church.

• Trust the Holy Spirit to change you as He uses His Word, others, and circumstances to make you more like Christ.