especially moral or artistic values, or incorruptibility; incapable of
being bribed or morally corrupted." In the Bible, the Hebrew word
translated "integrity" in the Old Testament means "the condition of
being without blemish, completeness, perfection, sincerity, soundness,
uprightness, wholeness." Integrity in the New Testament means "honesty
and adherence to a pattern of good works."
Jesus is the perfect example of a man of integrity. After He was
baptized, He went into the wilderness to fast for forty days and
nights, during which time Satan came to Him at His weakest to try to
break His integrity and corrupt Him. Jesus was wholly man and wholly
God at the same time, and He tempted in every way we are, yet he never
sinned (Hebrews 4:15); that is the definition of integrity. He is the
only one who was ever without blemish, perfect, completely truthful,
and always showing a pattern of good works. As sinful human beings,
our integrity is flawed, but Jesus' integrity is perfect. When we are
"in Christ," we partake of His divine nature, having been given new
natures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and that new nature is one of
integrity because it is His nature.
The Bible also describes integrity as the truth. What is the truth?
Jesus is the only real truth and the only way to attain eternal life.
Nobody comes to the Father unless he goes through Jesus who is the
way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Many times, Jesus prefaced
His words by saying, "Truly, I say to you," which, in essence, means
"I tell you the truth." Jesus never lied, and His actions defined
integrity. Once we come to Christ in faith and repentance, He gives us
the gift of the Holy Spirit who assists us in developing our
incorruptible integrity. It is impossible to have real integrity
without Jesus as our Lord and Savior. May the Lord give us strong
integrity that becomes incorruptible through the power of the Holy
Spirit.
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