May 3, 2004

Fully-Integrate Life:
“…is just…”  (Titus 1:8)

God is just; He alone is righteous.  All mankind is sinful.  We are told to be “JUST” and yet the Scripture says:

 “There is none who does good,
there is not even one! (Rom 3:12)

We have no righteousness in and of ourselves.  We can not perfectly keep the law of God and find righteousness in our goodness.  The Bible says that our righteousness (just-ness) comes by faith.

“…that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for,
“THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”  (Gal 3:11)

If we are not righteous, then how can we pretend to be something that we are not? 

The Bible says that God changed us at the cross.  When we met God at the cross, we made an exchange.  We gave Him our sinfulness and He gave us the righteousness of Christ:

“…for the demonstration…of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”  (Rom 3:26)

God kept His word (He always does).  He said that the guilty would not go unpunished.  At the cross He remained just (sin’s debt was paid) and He became the justifier (since we couldn’t pay for our own sin).

What do we learn from this?  God always keeps His word and God always does what is right.  If we are to be the Body of Christ and the living representatives of Jesus on earth, we must follow the example of His character and live as people of integrity. 

We can not flippantly lie; do nothing to keep our word; constantly change the standards of what is right and what is wrong.  As the Spirit of God works in us and we give our lives to serve others, we must seek to be “just” people.

We are NOT seeking to earn goodness through our fleshly works. 
We ARE seeking to live like the goodness of God has overcome us and made us into people of integrity…like the One who called us!
 

Father,
My life is so busy that I sometimes run too fast for my own good.  Please, slow me down and help me not get so busy that I fail to live with integrity! 
I know that it is important for me to keep my word.  Make me sensitive to those I have failed.  Give me the grace to humble myself and make it right.  I want my integrity to draw people to Jesus. Let nothing in me turn them away!
In Jesus Name, Amen