Text: "The one who lives with integrity lives securely, but whoever perverts his ways will be found out." - Proverbs 10:9
In the book of Proverbs, we are called to the highest of standards regarding moral integrity. In the strength of our relationship with God, we are to move forward. We are to live in such a manner that would reflect the way and will of God. For those who surrender to Christ, the promise is given that "it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure"(Philippians 2:13).
Biblically, to be in the world, but not of the world is a state of mind that is only attainable through the grace of God. Just as the Father accomplished His works in and through Christ, so it is that we are to be used of God as we seek to fulfill His will.
According to 2 Corinthians 5:19, God "the Father was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." Jesus stated in John 5:30 that He "did not seek His own will, but that of the Father". In John 14:10, Jesus states plainly "the Father who dwells in Me does the works." In this we have an unerring example. In prayerful submission to the revealed will of God, Jesus "humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
To live with integrity, we must choose to accept the revealed will of God as the rule for our lives. This is not to be a casual undertaking, but one that requires diligence and intention. Jesus lived in unbroken communion with the Father and it is our privilege to seek such purity of thought and action, not as the basis of our acceptance of God, but as a reflection of His commitment to our redemption.
"...may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever"(Hebrews 13:20,21).
As a christian, I want to acknowledge that the only righteousness available to me, is that which is gifted to me through the merits of Christ's sinless life. In Romans 3:21-25 we read, "but now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood".
For me, to live securely I must live in communion with God. He who is able "to save to the uttermost"(Hebrews 7:25), promises "the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out"(John 6:37).
In these troubled times, we need the assurance that only God can provide. In Him whose providences know no failure, we can find the security that we need, whether it be in this life, or in the judgment. In Ephesians 1:6,7 we read, "...He made us accepted in the Beloved.... In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace..."
I want to leave you with the testimony of John, the Apostle who wrote these words in 1 John 4:14-19, "we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us."
God's love wants to replace our darkness and fear with certainty. He who created us longs to fill us with peace that passes understanding.
May God bless you as we continue to study. "Of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord"(1 Corinthians 1:30).