Integrity- People of God

God’s truths are revealed to us by His word and through the life of Jesus. By faith we believe Jesus is the Son of the Most-High God and accept and trust His truths until they are established in our hearts and minds. Then comes the testing of our faith to show if we really and truly believe God’s word, whether to obey it or not.  Truth that is not tested is only a theory, but a truth that is tried and has been tested and proven trust worthy will be established in our hearts and becomes fact. Standing in faith under pressure is like metal being refined with fire, it removes the impurities but leaves a genuineness of faith to the praise and glory of God. 

1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, NKJ

This principle of testing and the trying of one’s faith was shownat the beginning in the garden. God’s abundant love for mankind had already been displayed when He gave them ofevery tree in the garden to eat, created them in His image and gave them authority over all the earth. The only exception wasthe tree of knowledge of good and evil and that was the test of their faith and obedience to God. 

Genesis 3:4-5 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Their actions attested to all of their lack of faith and tested to their disobedience and rebellion to God’s word. Their decision, actions and choice testified to all the heavenly realm and spiritual principalities that they chose not to believe or trustGod. They became slaves to sin throwing this world into chaos and giving it over to Satan’s death and destruction. The crowning glory of God’s creation had turned against their Creator. But God had a plan, Jesus would come to redeem mankind and destroy Satan’s rein and reestablish God’sauthority on earth making spoil of and losing the grip of all other principalities and powers. 

Ephesians 3:9-10 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,  

Colossians 2: 14-15 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Satan is constantly trying to kill, destroy and deceive mankind by accusing God of being unkind, unloving and unmerciful to humanity and that God is holding them back from being great or doing what they want. He also accuses mankind before God implying they are selfish and self-centered and only serve God for what they can get from Him and not because they love Him.

Job 1: 8-11 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing?   Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.   But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” NKJ

God is constantly showing His love for humanity through the eternal gift of Christ. It was God receiving glory as He spoke to all the heavens and principalities about the life of Job that he was an honest man of integrity, and he rejects and ignores evil.  God is magnified and glorified when His children endure their trials and temptations with trust, perseverance and triumph. They become a great cloud of witnesses of God’s grace. Job did not understand the reason for his calamities, Satan’s attack, but he knew he could trust the God he served. 

Job 13:15-16 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him. He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When God proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God, this truthwas tested in the wilderness. Satan came to see if Jesus would trust God to perform His word to make Him King of kings, or if He would take the quick and easy way out by receiving the riches of this world from Satan by obeying him.  Jesus knew He would have to go through the death of the cross but He counted it joy and more rewarding to deliver us from sin and into the family of God. 

It is through difficulties that our true belief, faith and character is revealed. Hard times do not cause us to do wrong things, they only reveal our true character, our integrity and beliefs. It is during struggles we show what we truly believe in our hearts and not just what we say or what comes out of our mouths,without any real commitment. 

After a truth has been revealed to us and we commit to trust God in this truth a time of testing or validating our faith and trust in God will come. Some people will get upset or angry when trials, hardship or testing comes their way, because they want to live this life free from troubles. All who live will experience trouble because we live in a fallen world full of sin. But the trouble we experience can either bring glory to God or bring hate and bitterness to our souls. 

Job 14:1-2 “Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

James 1:2-3  My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

Faith or a belief in something that has not been tested is only an opinion, a thought or an observation. Once God’s truth has been tested and gone through trials, these truths and principles are proven and we then have ownership by faith and those truths are established in our hearts, souls and minds.