Integrity is essential if any believer is to represent God and Christ in this world. Anything less than total devotion to our Lord in both character and conduct amounts to compromise with the world. A mistake often made by well-meaning Christians is to go too far in the other direction—to adhere to the biblical code of conduct without the proper internal motivation. That, too, is hypocrisy.
How to cultivate integrity from righteous motives is the scope of this book.
The first part will examine the essentials to developing that motivation. That involves a desire to know Christ intimately, a commitment to the Word of God as the ultimate authority, and a desire to live a godly life. We will examine each of those in the first three chapters.
In the second section we’ll look at some biblical examples of godly men who saw their integrity constantly tested. The book of Daniel will provide Old Testament examples of how Daniel and his three friends responded without compromise when tempted by worldly men to deny God. Our New Testament example will come from the apostle Paul. Throughout his ministry he endured attacks on his character, and in 2 Corinthians he answers those attacks and presents a model life of integrity.
The final section will show how you can manifest a life of integrity. Since the avoidance of hypocrisy is so critical, in the first chapter of this section we’ll look at how disciplined effort on your part, coupled with complete dependence on God, is the key to conquering the temptation toward hypocritical living. The final three chapters will detail how you can actively cultivate integrity by examining your responsibilities and duties toward God, toward yourself, and toward others—both believers and unbelievers.