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February 21
Seek to have a life that bears scrutiny.
In our society, those whose lives are marked by moral soundness, uprightness, honesty, and sincerity are usually thought of as people of integrity. However, society's standards often fall far short of God's. Spiritual integrity calls for the highest possible standard of behavior and requires supernatural resources available only to those who trust in Him.
Paul's prayer in Philippians 1:9-10 outlines the path to spiritual integrity. It begins with love that abounds with knowledge and discernment (v. 9) and progresses to the pursuit of excellence (v. 10). The result is sincerity and blamelessness—two characteristics of godly integrity.
The Greek word translated "sincere" in verse 10 speaks of genuineness and authenticity. It literally means "without wax" and is an allusion to the practice of inspecting pottery by holding it up to the sunlight. In ancient times pottery often cracked during the firing process. Rather than discarding cracked pieces, dishonest dealers often filled the cracks with wax and sold them to unsuspecting customers. Holding a pot up to the sunlight revealed any flaws and protected the customer from a bad purchase.
Following that analogy, biblical integrity requires that you be without wax, having no hypocrisy or secret sins that show up when you're under pressure or facing temptation.
"Blameless" speaks of consistency in living a life that doesn't lead others into error or sin. Your standard is the same away from church as it is at church.
Being blameless isn't easy in a world that unashamedly flaunts its sinful practices. You must guard against losing your sensitivity to the heinousness of sin and unwittingly beginning to tolerate or even accept the sin that once shocked you. That's when you lose integrity and begin to cause others to stumble.
Diligently pursue integrity with a view toward glorifying Christ in all things until He returns!
Suggestions for Prayer
Read Genesis 39.
From Drawing Near by John MacArthur
Maintaining Spiritual Integrity
"In order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ" (Phil 1:10)
Seek to have a life that bears scrutiny.
In our society, those whose lives are marked by moral soundness, uprightness, honesty, and sincerity are usually thought of as people of integrity. However, society's standards often fall far short of God's. Spiritual integrity calls for the highest possible standard of behavior and requires supernatural resources available only to those who trust in Him.
Paul's prayer in Philippians 1:9-10 outlines the path to spiritual integrity. It begins with love that abounds with knowledge and discernment (v. 9) and progresses to the pursuit of excellence (v. 10). The result is sincerity and blamelessness—two characteristics of godly integrity.
The Greek word translated "sincere" in verse 10 speaks of genuineness and authenticity. It literally means "without wax" and is an allusion to the practice of inspecting pottery by holding it up to the sunlight. In ancient times pottery often cracked during the firing process. Rather than discarding cracked pieces, dishonest dealers often filled the cracks with wax and sold them to unsuspecting customers. Holding a pot up to the sunlight revealed any flaws and protected the customer from a bad purchase.
Following that analogy, biblical integrity requires that you be without wax, having no hypocrisy or secret sins that show up when you're under pressure or facing temptation.
"Blameless" speaks of consistency in living a life that doesn't lead others into error or sin. Your standard is the same away from church as it is at church.
Being blameless isn't easy in a world that unashamedly flaunts its sinful practices. You must guard against losing your sensitivity to the heinousness of sin and unwittingly beginning to tolerate or even accept the sin that once shocked you. That's when you lose integrity and begin to cause others to stumble.
Diligently pursue integrity with a view toward glorifying Christ in all things until He returns!
Suggestions for Prayer
- Thank God that He is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in His presence blameless with great joy (Jude 24).
- Prayerfully guard your heart and mind from the subtle evil influences that can erode your integrity and make you ineffective for the Lord.
Read Genesis 39.
- How was Joseph's integrity challenged?
- How did God honor Joseph's commitment to integrity?
From Drawing Near by John MacArthur