Would you like to know what the Bible says about the integrity of our faith? The Hebrew term translated as “integrity” in the Old Testament is defined as “a state of completeness, perfection, sincerity, and rigor.”
In the New Testament, integrity means “honesty and adherence to a pattern of good works.” Here we will explain how to have true integrity.
The integrity of our faith – How to have it?
Jesus, who was fully God and fully human, was tempted as we are in all things, never sinning ( Hebrews 4:15 ).
This is the definition of integrity. Jesus is the only perfect man, without blemish, Jesus is the perfect example of integrity.
After his baptism, he went into the desert and fasted for forty days and forty nights. During this time, while he was weak, Satan approached him in an attempt to corrupt his integrity.
Christians are called to be like Jesus. We are a new creation in Christ and can be considered blameless before God ( 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21, Ephesians 1:4-8 ).
We have also received the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, works in us, sanctifies us, and makes us more like him ( Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18 ).
We must strive to “implement [our] salvation with fear and deep respect.
In fact, it is God who produces in [us] willing it and making it for his benevolent project” ( Philippians 2:12-13 ).
With its power, we become more and more whole people. We are called to obey God to become people of unwavering morality and integrity.
The integrity of our faith. how to get rid of it
As Christians, integrity cannot do without moral incorruptibility in today’s world. Christians must reject all forms of corruption and compromise because we serve God, not men ( Colossians 3:17, 23, Acts 5:29 ).
We must be faithful to our word ( Matthew 5.27, 5.12 James ), the love of those around us in words and deeds ( 1 John 3,17-18, James 2,17-18; Ephesians 4,29 ), believe in God, and trust him in all things ( John 6.19, 15.1-17 ). Our life should be based on our faith in God and confidence that his ways are the best ( Proverbs 3:5-6 ).
The integrity of our faith and that of the world
It’s hard to live with integrity in a world that seems to favor corrupt people, not to mention our internal struggles with our sinful nature.
- 1 Peter 3:13-18 encourages us: “Who will harm you if you have good as your model?
Also, even if you had to suffer for justice, you would be happy. We must respect the holiness of the Lord God in our hearts. Let us always be ready to defend the hope that is in us, in the face of all those who ask you for a reason, [but] do it with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that even where they slander you [as if they were doing wrong], those who criticize your good conduct in Christ will be ashamed.
In fact, it is better to suffer if it is the will of God, doing good than doing evil.
Christ, an example in suffering Christ also suffered once and for all for sins. He, the just, suffered for the unjust to lead you to God.
He suffered human death, but the Spirit gave him life. Living in integrity is following the example of Christ.
This is only possible by his power, which he freely gives, in his grace, to all who belong to him ( John 16.33, Philippians 1.6, Ephesians 1.13-14 ). He suffered human death, but the Spirit gave him life. Living in integrity is following the example of Christ.
This is only possible by his power, which he freely gives, in his grace, to all who belong to him ( John 16.33, Philippians 1.6, Ephesians 1.13-14 ). He suffered human death, but the Spirit gave him life. Living in integrity is following the example of Christ.
This is only possible by his power, which he freely gives, in his grace, to all who belong to him ( John 16.33, Philippians 1.6, Ephesians 1.13-14 ).
The Integrity Foundation of Our Faith
The integrity of our faith is the courage to do what is right, regardless of consequences and inconvenience.
Robert Bolt’s classic A Man for All Seasons tells the story of Thomas More. He distinguished himself as an intellectual, a jurist, an ambassador, and finally as High Chancellor of England. He was a man of absolute integrity. The play opens with these words from Richard Rich: “Every man has his price… In money too… Or in pleasure. Titles, women, material goods, there is always something.”
This is the theme of the work. It is also the theme of life. Is there a man or woman in this world who cannot be bought, whose integrity is priceless?
Thomas More, loved and admired by the common people, resists: his conscience will not allow him to take the oath. He is unwilling to submit, even at the king’s personal request. Then come the tests.
His friends show his personal charm and exert pressure, but he refuses to budge. He was stripped of his wealth, his office, and his family, but he refused to sign. Finally, he is wrongly accused and sentenced to death, but he still does not budge.
They’ve taken his money, political power, friends, and family, and they’re going to take his life again, but they can’t take away his integrity. It cannot be bought at any price.
At the climax of the play, Thomas More is falsely accused of treason. Sir Richard Rich gives the false testimony necessary to convict him. As Richard Rich leaves the courtroom, Thomas More asks him, “You use a chain of charges… What is it? ”
Solicitor Thomas Cromwell responds: “Richard Rich is appointed Attorney General for Wales. ”
More then looks at Rich’s face with great disdain and replies, “Wales? But, Richard, what good is it for a man to sell his soul for the whole world? … So in exchange for Wales? ”
In the life to come, many will certainly, with uncontrollable sobs, look back and repeat over and over: “Why did I sell my soul for Wales or physical pleasures, or fame, for a note or approval from my friends? Why did I sell my integrity?”
Principles of the integrity of our faith
We’d like to talk about seven principles of the integrity of our faith in Christ that we hope will inspire you to make this Christian attribute one of your foundational character traits.
1 The integrity of our faith in Christ is the foundation of our character and all other virtues
Integrity is the foundation on which a Christian personality and life are built. If there are cracks in this foundation, it will not support the weight of the other Christian attributes.
- How can we be humble if we don’t have the integrity to acknowledge our personal weaknesses?
- How can we acquire charity towards others if we are not completely honest in our dealings with them?
- How can we repent and be clean if we only partially tell our bishop the truth?
Integrity is the source of all virtue.
The Christian author, CS Lewis, observed that in mathematics, once we’ve made a mistake in an equation, we can’t just continue: “When I make a mistake starting a sum, the quicker I admit my mistake, go back and start again, the faster I go .”
Similarly, we cannot fully acquire other Christian virtues if we do not first have a solid foundation of integrity in our lives.
In some cases, this may require us to go through the painful process of unearthing an existing foundation built on a lie and replacing it stone for stone with a foundation of integrity.
2 The integrity of our faith in Christ is not only doing what is legal but also what is moral or Christian.
It may be legal to commit adultery, it may be legal to have premarital sex, and it may be legal to gossip, but none of these actions is moral or Christian.
Integrity is not simply observing the legal code; it is also about observing a higher moral code. It was suggested to US President Abraham Lincoln that he live according to “the better angels of our nature. “
Every young man has a moral duty to protect and preserve the virtue of the young woman he is seeing, and every young woman has a reciprocal moral duty to the young man she is seeing. It’s a test of her integrity.
The man or woman who fights for integrity gains a determination and discipline that surpasses even the powerful passions of the physical emotions.
This integrity of our faith toward God, toward themselves, and toward others sustains and empowers them even as Satan unleashes his arsenal of moral temptations on them. The Lord told this generation, “I myself will raise up a clean people” ( D&C 100:16 ). God is counting on us to be that generation.
3 The integrity of our faith in Christ drives decisions based on eternal implications.
We can also see that the integrity of our faith in Christ drives decisions based on eternal implications. Let’s look at these examples:
Example 1 of the integrity of our faith in Christ
A young woman was doing a checkup at the high school. Looking up, she saw one of her friends cheating. Her eyes met. Embarrassed, her friend shrugged and mumbled, “I need a good grade .”
This young woman had lost her eternal vision: it is not the notes but the divinity that is our destiny. What good is being accepted to the most prestigious university if you have to deprive yourself of your exaltation? Every time someone cheats, he trades his spiritual birthright for lentil soup ( Genesis 25:29-34 ). Myopic in anguish, he chooses a dollar today over infinite wealth in the life to come.
Example 2 of the integrity of our faith in Christ
A disappointed father once told me that his teenage daughter wanted to “do the four hundred hits” and then, three months before her planned marriage, cleanse her life to receive a temple recommendation.
I know of no stake president who recommends in such circumstances. But even if the recommendation were given, it would be a curse, not a blessing. Integrity goes a long way; It’s not just a temporary change in behavior; it is a permanent transformation of our nature.
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Example 3 of the integrity of our faith in Christ
King Benjamin told us how we can change our nature from the natural man to the spiritual man: “For the natural man is God’s enemy, and has been since the fall of Adam, and shall be forever and ever.
Unless he yields to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and puts off the natural man, and becomes a spiritual man through believing in Christ as Lord, and becomes like a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to whatever the Lord sees fit to do with him, just as a child submits to his father.”
The transformation of our nature, and not just our behavior, is facilitated by the eternal perspective that we are children of God, that we have a spark of divinity within us, and that we can become like Him through the Atonement, the perfect model of God.
4 The integrity of our faith in Christ tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
We believe that the Lord can tolerate our weaknesses and mistakes as long as we show a desire to repent and make an effort to repent. But we don’t think he can easily tolerate a dishonest heart or a deceitful tongue.
5 The integrity of our faith in Christ does not look for clues or excuses.
There is something ennobling about men or women who recognize their weaknesses and take direct responsibility for them without looking for excuses or evasion. Many times.
6 The integrity of our faith in Christ is keeping our covenants and commitments, even when it means inconvenience
The integrity of our faith in Christ is the courage to do good despite consequences and inconveniences. N. Eldon Tanner (1898-1982), the former First Counselor in the First Presidency, related the following story:
- “Not long ago, a young man came up to me and said, ‘I made a commitment to a man to make certain payments every year. I have debts, and I can’t make these payments because I will lose my house if I have them. What should I do?’
- “I looked at him and said, ‘Keep your promise.’
- “‘Even if it costs me my house?’
- “‘I’m not talking about your house,’ I said. “‘I’m talking about your engagement; and I think that her wife would prefer to have a husband who keeps her word, who fulfills her obligations… and who has to rent a house, than to have a house and a husband who does not keep his agreements and the commitments of she “.
He was faced with a difficult choice: his home or his integrity. A man or woman of integrity does not give up just because it is difficult, expensive, or unpleasant. In this sense, the Lord has a perfect sense of integrity. He said, “Who would I be…if he had promised and not kept it?”
One of the tests to judge our integrity is if we keep the commitments made and the promises made or if our word is defective.
7 The integrity of our faith in Christ does not depend on the presence of others. His motivation is internal, not external.
Marion D. Hanks (1921-2011), of the Seventy, told the story of a man and his young son who “stopped in a cornfield on a lonely country road” and saw the delicious ears of corn on the other side of the Fence. After looking ahead, behind him, left and right, the father “began to climb over the fence” to get ears of corn. His son looked at him and said disapprovingly, “Daddy, you forgot to look for him.”
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius tells his son, Laërte:
- Be loyal to yourself;
- And as unerringly as night follows day,
- you can’t be disloyal to anyone.
What wonderful advice! We have the choice. We can seize the opportunity and take control of our lives, or we can become puppets in the hands of those around us and our fellow human beings.
Would you watch porn in front of your mother, the person you are dating, or your spouse? If you are wrong in the presence of others, then you are wrong in her absence. The man of integrity who is loyal to himself and to God chooses the good, whether we look at it or not, because he has a personal motivation, not because he is externally controlled.
May the integrity of our soul bear the inscription in capital letters “NOT FOR SALE AT ANY PRICE. “ May we all be men and women of integrity, not because we have to, but because we want to. The Lord has said what the reward for those who do this is:
- “Truly I say to you, all who know that their hearts are honest…and are willing to keep their covenants through sacrifice…are accepted by me.”
May we all be accepted by God because we strive to become men and women of integrity.
conclusion
As you can see, the integrity of our faith in Christ must stand out in today’s society.
We cannot continue to acquire other Christian virtues fully until we make integrity the solid foundation of our lives.
In some cases, this may require us to go through the painful process of unearthing an existing foundation built on a lie and replacing it stone for stone with a foundation of integrity.
The transformation of our nature, and not just our behavior, is facilitated by the eternal perspective that we are children of God, that we have a spark of divinity within us, and that through faith in Christ, we can become like Him, the perfect model of God. We hope we have helped you with this information. God bless you
