It is a misconception that truth and love conflict and thus one always overshadows the other. Truly, God calls us to live by and demonstrate both.
In every way, God is greater than man. A man would have to be a thief to claim equality with God. Yet, Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
Scriptural traditions are worthy of the believer’s allegiance and should move him to break fellowship with those who refuse to adhere to those biblical traditions. The apostle Paul spoke of traditions that the believers in Thessalonica had received from him. These traditions were good and were to be maintained by the believers (2 Thessalonians 2:15). In fact, these traditions were so important that the people of God were to “withdraw” themselves from those (including “every brother”) who walked disorderly (in disobedience to the traditions). No doubt, these traditions were the very ones which Paul made known in his epistles.
In John’s epistle to the elect lady and her children (2 John 1), he encouraged them to look to themselves so that he, and those with him, might not lose those things which they had wrought. In order for John to receive a full reward, those to whom he had ministered must take heed to their own service and their walk before the Lord. This line of thinking seems to be less emphasized today in many Bible-believing groups. However, it is a truth set forth by the scriptures. Paul reiterated this truth in Galatians 4:11 when he said, “I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.” In 1 Thessalonians 2:19, he declared that God’s people were his hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing. You might say that Paul concluded the matter when he asked, “are not ye my work in the Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1).
The Lord wants His children to have joy and that without limitations. He wants Christians to experience the fulness of joy that only comes from right relationships. This fulness only exists in the lives of believers as certain conditions are met. The right relationship involves fellowship with God which in turn evolves into the right kind of fellowship with other believers. According to today's passage, the words of the Lord Jesus bring fulness of joy to the saint of God. Additionally, answered prayer offers fulness of joy (John 16:24). In addition to our fellowship with the Lord, the Bible suggests that fellowship with other believers also yields fulness of joy (2 John 1:12). Every astute Bible student recognizes that these two fellowships are inextricably linked (1 John 1:3). No dedicated Christian can experience true fellowship with other dedicated believers without first having the right kind of fellowship with God Almighty.
The Lord blessed the throne of David and desired to do the same for his posterity. Because the Lord wanted to establish Solomon’s rule, He provided some guidelines for Solomon. One prominent issue involved Solomon following in his father’s footsteps by living with integrity of heart. Integrity is very much a matter of the heart. In fact, four times in scripture integrity is associated with the heart. Twice the Bible refers to the integrity of Abimelech’s heart (Genesis 20:5-6) and another two times it refers to the integrity of David’s heart (1 Kings 9:4; Psalm 78:72). Though these men had little else in common, both understood that integrity involved a matter of the heart. A lack of integrity is first and foremost a heart issue.
Men used to be commended for their level of integrity and one's handshake was considered a man’s bond. As societies continue to crumble from the pollution of immorality, men of integrity are quickly disappearing. Unfortunately, churches seem far from immune to this moral decline. What is integrity? In a narrow sense, integrity as used in scripture can be difficult to pinpoint. The word integrity occurs sixteen times in scripture. By considering each occurrence, one can discover clues that provide insight as to its meaning. Integrity is contrasted with the words like perverse (Proverbs 19:1) and perverseness (Proverbs 11:3). Conversely, integrity is used in conjunction with words like upright (Job 2:3; Proverbs 11:3) and uprightness (1 Kings 9:4; Psalm 25:21). In our passage, the word integrity is used alongside the word innocency (Genesis 20:5). These facts would lead the believer to realize that integrity speaks of a moral purity and moral correctness.
