JANUARY 2: PRACTICE INTEGRITY

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

Wiley Richards is a retired professor of theology and philosophy at The Baptist College of Florida in Graceville.

Integrity can be defined as the quality or state of being of sound moral principles. It cannot be limited to the inner life of a person because its proofs arise out of the core values we possess. As Jesus taught, “A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil” (Matt. 12:35, HCSB). We cannot produce goods from an empty or contaminated storeroom of our mind.

• From a biblical point of view, the practice of integrity comes from sound teaching (2:1, 15). In this line of thought, the Bible admonishes us to speak in accordance with sound doctrine. To illustrate, we can see the tragedy which is inflicted on the world through the teachings of terrorists. In many Arab-Muslim worlds, public school systems do not exist. To meet the need, Muslim clerics have set up religious schools called Madrassas, with the Koran as the text. So far, so good, but hatred of Israel and the “Great Satan,” that is, the United States, constantly is drilled into the students. This method helps produce Muslim extremists or Muslim fundamentalists. What they are taught to think is crucial.

In a Christian context, all teachers are to teach with authority the precepts given in the Bible (v. 15). They employ two methods to encourage the learners to absorb what God commands. They encourage the weak but rebuke error when necessary.

• Practical integrity has to be grounded also in godly living (vv. 11-12). Just as the mouth spews out the evidence of one’s deepest thoughts, so do actions evidence the kind of life one lives. These actions derive from God’s decisive act in making salvation available to all people (v. 11). Jesus appeared among humans and thereby revealed the character of God. As John 1:18 asserts, the Word declared God. Jesus affirmed that to see Him is to see the Father (John 14:9). He alone is the way, truth and life. The attributes of God which make salvation available to all men are sometimes called “common grace.” All nations have an awareness of standards of living and their inability to live up to those standards.

Knowledge based on experience of salvation in Christ leads us to understand the importance, negatively, of denying all ungodliness and refusing to succumb to worldly lusts and, positively, of living self-controlled, sensible lives grounded in righteousness. Day by day we walk the godly way (v. 12).

• People who practice integrity are loyal citizens (3:1-3). When the words commanding obedience to civil authorities were recorded, the Roman empire was ruled by the caesars, men not elected by the democratic process. Nevertheless, the Bible insists that all governments are subject to God’s sovereign control (Rom. 13:1). This knowledge comforts believers even when “their” candidates are not elected. To be ready for every good work, they even have to pay their just portion of taxes.

Practical integrity makes a difference in relations with neighbors. Christians should never slander anyone or give in to uncontrolled anger. They remember those dismal days when they were captive to their own lusts and temperaments.

• This transformation was brought about by the new birth (vv. 4-8). God through Christ extended His love to us and saved us through the washing of regeneration and not, we may add, through the washing of the body by baptism in water. God poured out the Holy Spirit in abundance at Pentecost. In bringing us into God’s family through a spiritual birth, we become heirs of salvation with the assured hope of eternal life.