Principles of Christian Living
Lesson 2
Lesson Text—II Corinthians 13:7
II Corinthians 13:7
Now I pray to God that ye do no evil;
not that we should appear approved,
but that ye should do that which is
honest, though we be as reprobates.
Lesson Text—Philippians 4:8
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things are
honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report;
if there be any virtue, and if there be
any praise, think on these things.
Lesson Text—I Thessalonians
4:12
I Thessalonians 4:12
That ye may walk honestly toward
them that are without, and that ye
may have lack of nothing.
Focus Verse—I Thessalonians 4:12
I Thessalonians 4:12
That ye may walk honestly toward
them that are without, and that ye
may have lack of nothing.
Focus Thought
We need to have honesty and
integrity in mind, actions, and
walk.
CULTURE
CONNECTION
I. Honesty
and Integrity
in our
A Hunger
for
Honesty
and
Minds
Integrity
How often do we speak of our desire
to see more honesty and integrity in our
world? We want political leaders who
will tell the truth and lead with integrity.
We desire to buy cars from salesmen
who are honest and who will not
knowingly sell us a vehicle with
mechanical problems. We want spiritual
leaders who are sincere and
true, absent of all hypocrisy.
I.
We
do
not
mind
hearing
the
bad
Honesty
and
Integrity
in
our
news politically or the real condition of
a vehicleMinds
or what is necessary to be
saved. Just tell us the truth. Let us
know when you are speaking that you
are trustworthy and not a hypocrite.
We hunger for honesty and integrity in
our world today.
As one author wrote in an
introduction to his article, “It takes a
big scandal to make a CEO take a
public defensive stance for their
company.
I.
While scandals can be disastrous for a
Honesty
and Integrity
in ouris
firm’s image,
a public statement
often theMinds
last way to save face and
quite possibly the best political move.
Although CEOs are not legally
obligated to do so, frank honesty
shows integrity and helps to salvage
corporate reputation. Here we look at
five CEOs who have spoken openly
about their scandals and what effect
these speeches had on the
companies” (“Scandals That Bring the
CEOs Out,” Remi Alli, San Francisco
Chronicle, April 7, 2010).
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
It should not take a scandalous
problem Minds
to bring out honesty and
integrity in a person, whether he is a
company CEO or a representative in
Congress. Just tell us the truth all the
time; then you will not have to come
out and put on a show of supposed
honesty and integrity in the difficult
times.
Contemplating
the
Topic
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
In thisMinds
lesson we will look at the
always relevant subjects of honesty
and integrity. In the Bible, honesty is
the state of being honorable or truthful,
or upright and fair in dealing with
others. When Joseph’s brothers
arrived in Egypt, they explained that
they were honest. They said, “We are
true men, thy servants are no spies”
(Genesis 42:11).
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
The word integrity means “an
Minds
uncompromising adherence to a code
of moral, artistic, or other values : utter
sincerity, honesty, and candor :
avoidance of deception, expediency,
artificiality, or shallowness of any
kind” (Merriam-Webster Unabridged
Dictionary). It also means that
something is unimpaired, sound,
whole, and complete.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
God rewards
honesty and integrity,
Minds
and He will draw people to Him
through the honest and moral lifestyles
of His people. Believers have a
responsibility to exhibit God’s holiness
to this world through honest and
sincere living.
Searching
the
Scriptures
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Minds
Honesty
and Integrity
in Our Minds
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things are
honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report;
if there be any virtue, and if there be
any praise, think on these things”
(Philippians 4:8).
A.
A.
Honesty
and
Integrity
Begin
Honesty and Integrity Begin
in the Mind
in the Mind
Modern psychology dresses an
ancient truth in modern garments
when it suggests that thoughts
running over the same mental track
repeatedly will create a permanent
groove. This psychological theory only
reiterates a fact voiced centuries ago
when Israel’s king, under divine
inspiration, said of a human, “For as
he thinketh in his heart, so is he”
(Proverbs 23:7).
Although the Bible is not primarily a
book of science, it is scientifically
correct. History itself is proof of the
compatibility of true science and the
Scriptures. Scientific research often has
sought out its own way, but invariably
its paths finally converge with the ways
of God, whose ways are of old,
changeless, and everlasting. Every
thought that travels through our minds
leaves its impression on the cortex (the
thinking matter) of the brain. If we think
the same thought twice, the impression
becomes more pronounced.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Minds
If we think
same thought
I. Honesty
andtheIntegrity
in our
consistently, the impression becomes
Minds
a veritable
rut, and it then becomes
increasingly difficult to reroute our
thinking.
An old issue of Reader’s Digest told
of a detour sign that read, “Choose
well your rut; you’re going to be in it a
long time.” We might well compare this
statement to our thinking process.
Vehicles traveling over a dirt road for
the first time leave scarcely a trace of
having passed that way.
I.
However, the road soon becomes
Honesty
and Integrity
in our
rutted because
of continued
travel over
the sameMinds
route. The wheels of the
vehicles become confined to grooves
of their own making. Our stream of
thought, like the churning waters of the
Colorado River through the Grand
Canyon, digs away at the strata of
nerve tissue until it fashions a mighty
chasm with insurmountable walls to
hold the thought captive. An individual
may at first be master of a thought, but
that thought eventually becomes his
master.
Our thoughts
mold us.in
Bigour
ideas
I. Honesty
and Integrity
produce big people, while shallow
thinking Minds
results in shallow people with
shallow character. It is said that during
his early years, David Livingstone had
a large map of Africa on his bedroom
wall. Long before he became a
missionary, Africa had become his very
life. Livingstone’s heart mingled with
the elements of that continent where at
first only his thinking provided a
bridge over which he traveled to
make it his world.
Matthew 6:21
“For where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also” (Matthew
6:21).
Never
has Integrity
anyone reached
the
I. Honesty
and
in our
heights of genuine success without
Minds
having been
driven there by a
dominating thought. Luther’s
realization of scriptural truth, “The just
shall live by faith,” drove him to
champion the Reformation. Wesley
drew two continents closer to heaven
with the forceful conviction that
Christianity cannot exist apart from
personal salvation in Jesus Christ.
I.
Sam Jones, the South’s great
Honesty
andattributed
Integrity
our to
evangelist,
his in
success
his beingMinds
overpowered by the belief
that the preacher is not a hired man of
the people but an ambassador for the
Almighty.
We can observe on the seamy side
of life God’s warning that a person’s
thoughts and character are
inseparable. One could talk with the
derelicts and outcasts and see this
truth at work. One man asked a
railroad tramp to tell him the biggest
idea he ever had.
He scratched
his dirty beard
and
I. Honesty
and Integrity
in our
replied, “Bud, I don’t think I ever had
Minds
one!” One
might talk to convicts and
felons and those who pursue illicit
practices and find that a thought of
lewdness or lawlessness—at first their
own brainchild—grew to monumental
proportions within them and drove
them to commit their godless crimes.
The Bible is correct; our thoughts
make us what we are! Right thinking is
of inestimable value.
Banished
disgraced
Lot,
I. Honesty
and Cain,
Integrity
in our
sightless Samson, pitiable Saul,
Minds
scheming
Haman, remorseful Judas,
frustrated Pilate—all bear testimony to
the fact that a person’s thoughts can
affect his life negatively. Honored Abel,
favored and exalted Joseph, victorious
Joshua, renowned Daniel, the famed
eleven disciples, and immortal Paul
lend as strong a tribute to the fact that
a person’s thoughts may prove to be
the highest virtue.
We should look at the early church to
discover the secret of its virility and
strength in evangelism of provinces that
had become strongholds of evil. Out of
those glorious years came Paul’s
admonition: “If ye then be risen with
Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on
things above, not on things on the
earth” (Colossians 3:1-2). His appeal to
the believers of Colosse—and to us all—
is an imperative for those who would
truly change their world positively
for Jesus Christ.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Minds
One canand
never
divorce true
I. Honesty
Integrity
inChristianity
our
from his spiritual affections.
Minds
If a person
is righteous, clearly his
thoughts are just; unjust thoughts
never yield righteous conduct.
Thoughts might seem as if they are
nothing; they may seem to be fleeting
like passing flecks of cloud or flocks of
birds, which soon are gone. However,
thoughts possibly are the most real
things about our lives. Our thoughts fly
out like birds leaving their nests, and
they take their places in the world.
However,
ourIntegrity
heart is stillin
home
I. Honesty
and
ourto our
thoughts, and eventually they will
return to Minds
dwell—along with the full
impact of their influence, for good or
for evil.
Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad
thoughts bear bad fruit, and every
person is his own gardener. Character
is the result of one’s thoughts. If we
think morally high, we will live morally
high. Whether our lives are full and
helpful, or cruel and hurtful, depends
entirely upon our thoughts.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Our thought
life determines both our
Minds
character and our conduct. The mystic
chamber of our thought life is the
workshop where the divine sculptor
chisels into a living form our whole
being. This is where personality
evolves, develops, and is disciplined.
I.
Nineteenth-century British novelist
Honesty
Integrity
in our
Charlesand
Reade
penned these
immortal
words: Minds
Sow a thought, reap a word.
Sow a word, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.
It all begins with our thinking, so we
must control our thoughts and thereby
keep our hearts.
B. We
B.
We
Must
Be
Honest
Must Be Honest in Our
in Our Thought Life
Thought Life
There are at least two important
principles about keeping our thought life
honest.
1. We must submit our thought life to
the discipline of the Lord. Paul declared
that we should bring “into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ” (II
Corinthians 10:5). The context of Paul’s
statement is that we live in this human
body, but we do not fight in the flesh.
Rather, we engage in spiritual warfare.
Even our weapons are spiritual, not
fleshly, and they are mighty through
God.
Until we submit our thought life to
God, imaginations control our lives. The
devil is so cunning that he attacks our
thoughts through every type of media
with which we come into contact,
attempting to crowd our minds with
things that are contrary to the mind of
God. Paul warned, “Let this mind
[thought pattern, mental outlook] be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 2:5).
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Minds
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
We should pray at the beginning of
Minds
every day:
“Lord, think Your thoughts
through me. My mind is under Your
control and Your discipline.” The
believer’s life is a new life in which his
mind, character, and conduct are
transformed by Jesus Christ. We need
Jesus Christ to be the Lord of all our
thoughts.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
2. We must submit our thought life
Mindsof the Word of God.
to the direction
Only when Jesus is Lord of our minds
are we willing to apply our minds to the
direction of the Word of God. Paul
offered spiritual guidance for
controlling one’s thoughts to the
Philippian church. (See Philippians
4:8.)
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever
things are true, whatsoever things
are honest, whatsoever things are
just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise, think on these
things” (Philippians 4:8).
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
We are Minds
to think on things that
are true, not on things we think are
true. What thoughts we are afraid
to express to others, we should be
afraid even to think before God.
Honesty
and
Integrity
II. Honesty and Integrity in Our
in
Our
Actions
Actions
“Now I pray to God that ye do no
evil; not that we should appear
approved, but that ye should do that
which is honest, though we be as
reprobates” (II Corinthians 13:7).
A. Thoughts Become Actions
A. Thoughts Become Actions
Jesus asked, “And why call ye me,
Lord, Lord, and do not the things
which I say?” (Luke 6:46). It does little
good for us to watch our thoughts
and words unless we also watch our
actions. We all live in transparent
houses. We cannot hide our lives from
others. What we are within eventually
shows on the outside. Therefore, we
must actually be good if we want to
do good.
B.
We
Must
Have
Honesty
and
B. We Must Have Honesty and
Integrity in Our Actions
Integrity in Our Actions
Francis Bacon said, “He that gives
good advice builds with one hand; he
that gives good counsel and example
builds with both; but he that gives
good admonition and bad example
builds with one hand and pulls down
with the other.”
I.
People
judge
us
by
our
actions—not
Honesty
and
Integrity
in
our
our intentions. A thousand words will
not leaveMinds
so lasting an impression as
one deed. Action is the natural fruit of
inner direction. Appropriate actions
should always follow our good
intentions. We may say whatever we
wish, but if we do not act accordingly,
we really do not believe it. “If ye know
these things, happy are ye if ye do
them” (John 13:17).
I.
“Go
to
the
ant,
thou
sluggard;
Honesty
and
Integrity
in
our
consider her ways, and be wise: which
Minds
having no
guide, overseer, or ruler,
provideth her meat in the summer, and
gathereth her food in the harvest”
(Proverbs 6:6-8). Ben Franklin stated,
“Nothing preaches better than this ant,
yet she says nothing.” We earn respect
only by righteous action, while on the
other hand unrighteous action or
inaction earn disrespect. The devil is
willing for us to confess faith as long
as we never act upon it or practice it.
When praying, we should
simultaneously be willing to take the
action God directs in the answer to our
prayer. God’s answers to our prayers will
always include some type of action. The
Bible relates to us that action gives life
to faith (James 2:26). Even a child is
known by his doings (Proverbs 20:11).
Many churchgoers sing “Standing on the
Promises” when all they are doing is
sitting on the premises. Too many people
avoid discovering the secret of success
because deep down they suspect the
secret may involve hard work.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Minds
One of
theIntegrity
tragedies today
among
I. Honesty
and
in our
Christians is that the accompaniment
Minds
of their lives
is drowning out their
song. What they do speaks so loudly
we cannot hear what they say. The
truth is that much disparity often lies
between what we say and what we
do.
Ultimately, we are individually
responsible for our actions.
Honesty and Integrity
A. Actions Become a Lifestyle
in Our Lifestyles
A. Actions Become a Lifestyle
We are building our lives. Job
observed, “The waters wear the stones”
(Job 14:19). We should never
underestimate the power of routine.
Water, which is not as strong as a rock,
can by a constant routine of dripping
wear a stone smooth and could dissolve
it completely if it is given enough
time.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
This alsoMinds
clearly describes the power
of so little a thing as a thought or an
action. By themselves they are almost
powerless, but over a given course of
time, they form a routine and habit.
These habits then make up our
character. We build our lives each day
with the bricks of habits we have
formed.
According
to Gary S. Topchik,
I. Honesty
and Integrity
in our
author of Managing Workplace
Minds
Negativity,
the work of behavior
modification practitioners Skinner,
Thorndike, and Watson claims if a
person does the same thing every day
for twenty-one consecutive days, it will
become a habit. (The same length of
time is necessary to break a habit as
well.) Day by day we are creating a life,
for better or for worse; its quality is up
to us.
I.
The Old Testament provides an
Honesty
andthat
Integrity
in our
illustration
well describes
the
formationMinds
of character—the work of a
potter as he molds clay upon his
wheel. (See Jeremiah 18:1-4.) Pottery
making was a common activity in the
Near East, and Jeremiah used it to
make a point. God works patiently with
His people to make of them vessels as
He intends them to be. As the potter
shaped the clay, so God shapes—and
even reshapes if necessary—human
clay to suit His divine purposes.
Like and
clay, humanity
is pliable
I. Honesty
Integrity
in ourand
capable of being molded, formed, or
Minds
shaped. All
of us have been conscious
of such forces upon our lives, shaping
our lives and molding our character.
The question is: What are the various
forces and influences building in our
lives?
Habits are like either cork or lead—
they tend to keep us up or hold us
down.
I.
Unlike instinct, a person acquires
Honesty
Integrity
habit byand
practice.
Humansin
doour
have
certain instincts,
Minds but they are not born
with habits. They build habits over
time. We have the opportunity of
choosing what habits we form, whether
good or bad. Good habits are
important for the success of our
spiritual life. For example, to appoint
and cultivate regular hours for prayer,
Bible reading, and church attendance
edifies the Christian life. Such habits
facilitate and promote devotion to
Jesus Christ.
B.
B.
Our
Total
Life
Must
Be
Our Total Life Must Be
Honest
Honest
We should live with a conscious
effort to make every action consistent
with our profession. Too many
individuals are careless about their
consistent actions, seemingly
unaware that the actions are forging
habits. One wise saying has
cautioned, “Habits are first cobwebs,
and then they become cables.”
Habits frequently are not realized for
years. It is similar to building a bridge
across a river. While the bridge is being
built, the workers have to wade through
the water and work from barges or
platforms. Although the workmen have
been busy for months, the bridge is not
available for use. One day, however, they
lay the last section of the bridge, and
one can walk across the span
immediately. It seems like the work of
only an hour, but the crossing would
have been impossible without the toil of
the many days that preceded that
last hour.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Minds
So it is and
also in
the moral sphere.
I. Honesty
Integrity
in ourFor
years we have been contributing
Minds
actions, and
one day the final work is
done. For good or for evil, the habit is
formed and its results become
apparent.
Some people become content with
their good external habits, but they
neglect to form good inward habits of
mind and consciousness. Some people
are particular and tidy in their outward
appearance, but negligent toward their
inward state.
They are punctual at the office, yet they
may not be so particular about
possessing a well-ordered mind. They
may allow any and every thought to flit
across their mind and recall them often
and repeatedly.
Like habits of the flesh, habits of the
mind come little by little—one thought at
a time that eventually builds into a
mindset. We can have a negative
mindset by constantly thinking
negatively. Further, we can have an evil
or profane mindset, or we can have a
pure, holy mindset—one that is
godly and righteous.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Minds
I.
On what we concentrate determines
Honesty
Integrity
in ourWe
the kindand
of mindset
we possess.
become what
we consistently think
Minds
about. The wise man wrote, “For as he
thinketh in his heart, so is he”
(Proverbs 23:7).
Living honestly requires at least
three vital things.
1. We must first believe that God is
good and His intentions for us are
good. Because of the evils that exist in
the world, it is difficult for many
people to embrace the idea of the
fundamental goodness of God.
I.
The lack of one’s wholehearted belief
Honesty
and Integrity
inthat
our
in His goodness
paralyzes
person’s Minds
growth and progress toward
living with complete honesty.
Consider the story of temptation in
the Garden of Eden. Satan focused on
a restriction and used it to blind Eve to
all of God’s blessings. There was only
one tree in the Garden that Eve could
not enjoy, but there were numerous
good trees from which she could enjoy
the fruit without restriction. Did Satan
point out the many trees from which
God had permitted them to eat?
Hardly! He focused only on one
perceived negative restriction, and Eve
subsequently forgot about God’s
generosity and grace. So it is today.
Satan urges people to focus on one
issue, one aggravation, or one
restriction. He then tries to convince
them that God’s way is not best.
Do we doubt God’s goodness? Are
we fully prepared to accept that the will
of God is perfect? Embracing these
fundamental aspects of God’s character
is primary and essential to living with
complete honesty toward God and
others.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Minds
I.
It is virtually impossible to break sinful
Honesty
Integrity
habits ifand
we do
not believein
inour
God’s
goodness.
If we doubt God’s goodness
Minds
we will not want to change. Doubting
the goodness of God will convince a
person that He wants to rob us rather
than enrich us.
2. We should accept responsibility
for our behavior. All people are born
with a propensity to avoid blame for
their wrongdoing. Parents observe this
tendency in their children. Children
can invent creative excuses for their
deeds of misbehavior.
I.
This human tendency began in the
Honesty
Integrity
inasked
our Adam
Garden and
of Eden
when God
if he had Minds
eaten from the forbidden tree.
The question was straightforward, and
Adam could have answered it with just
one word. Instead, Adam responded by
blaming both God and the woman, who
also shifted the blame to the serpent
when God confronted her. (See
Genesis 3:11-13.) Adam blamed both
God and his wife before he admitted
that he also was party to the deed.
I. Honesty
Integrity
in True,
our God
Was and
it really
God’s fault?
created the
tree, the woman, the man,
Minds
and even Lucifer, who became the
devil. God could have created a garden
without this forbidden tree and could
have barred Satan from entry. A
sovereign God could have done it all
differently. However, He left mankind
with a choice, and both Eve and Adam
chose their individual destinies. Thus,
God caused them to bear the full
responsibility for their choices.
I.
In the Garden, the matter of human
Honesty
and Integrity
our
responsibility
was settledin
forever—
each individual
Mindsmust take
responsibility for his own choices.
3. To please God, we should live by
godly principles within the confines of
ethics. The character of a godly person
is marked by honesty and integrity. We
should speak the truth, mean what we
say, and be as good as our word.
At the age of twenty-four, Abraham
Lincoln served as the postmaster of
New Salem, Illinois, for which he was
paid an annual salary of $55.70.
Even then, twenty-four years before he
entered the White House, the rail splitter
was showing the character that earned
him the title of “Honest Abe.” The New
Salem post office was closed in 1836,
but it was several years before an agent
arrived from Washington to settle
accounts with ex-postmaster Lincoln,
who was a struggling lawyer not doing
very well. The agent informed him that
$17 was due the government. Lincoln
crossed the room, opened an old trunk
and took out a yellow cotton rag, bound
with a string.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
Minds
Untying and
it, he spread
out the
I. Honesty
Integrity
in cloth
our and
there was the $17. He had been holding
Minds
it untouched
for all those years. “I never
use any man’s money but my own,” he
said.
We should be trustworthy and as
good as our word—people of integrity
and honesty. As believers, our
testimony is supremely important. It is
what our lives say to those who are
watching. Everyone in our spheres of
influence should speak of us in the
highest moral sense possible.
Internalizing
the Message
I. Honesty
and Integrity
in our
Minds
Honesty and integrity begin in the
mind with our thought life. Thoughts
soon become actions and actions
become habits. Habits then become
our character, or lifestyle. The
believer should possess
unquestionable honesty and
integrity.
I. Honesty and Integrity in our
If we are to win our world to
Minds
Jesus Christ, it is imperative we
live above reproach. Those who
know us should be able to admire
us and want to live like us. They
should see our transparency and
honesty, and be drawn to Jesus
Christ through our lives.