HOW TO LIVE A LIFE OF INTEGRITY

TEXT- 2 CORINTHIANS 6:11-13

INTRODUCTION


Several years ago, a big league umpire was hired in the off-season by a Hollywood movie company to operate behind the plate during the filming of a sports picture.  As the scene opened, the pitcher wound up and threw the ball.

The umpire yelled, "Ball."

"Cut," shouted the director angrily, "You're not following the script.  That pitch was supposed to be a strike."

"Don't tell me to follow the script," shouted the umpire, "Tell the pitcher to follow it.  I call ‘em as I see 'em."

As the Apostle Paul has been writing to the church in Corinth, you might say that he has been calling them as he sees them.  Each chapter has been filled with ways that the Church in Corinth needed to live their life differently for God.  Paul has been brutally honest with the Corinthians.  He wrote two very tough books to the people in this church because they had really messed up their lives and had some major problems in their church.  He was brutally frank with them.

This morning our text is found in 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 and the title of my message is, "How To Live A Life Of Integrity."

Most people have a misunderstanding that keeping the peace means avoiding confrontation at all costs and just ignoring relational problems in life.  But the Bible says that only causes more problems.

Proverbs 10:10  Someone who holds back the truth causes trouble, but one who openly criticizes works for peace.  (TEV)

As we study this passage there are three ways that Paul's integrity can be seen in his relationship to the Corinthians.  So today we’re going to look at three ways integrity should be seen in our relationships with each other.