Tag Archives: integrity

Unclaimed Blessings…

And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. Deuteronomy 33:24

One night, looking for a Word of instruction in the Bible, the Lord led me to the blessing that Moses pronounced on the twelve tribes of Israel, before dying.

In it, I was highlighted the blessing given to the tribe of Asher, particularly the part that emphasizes his abundant multiplication.

This blessing attracted my attention, and I gave myself the task of tracing the path of its development as a tribe. I discovered the following:

Asher is the surrogate son of Leah, the seventh son of Jacob,

And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram. Genesis 35:26

His name means, happiness, joy, blessed,

And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher. Genesis 30:13

The sons of Asher were five, four males and one female,

And the sons of Asher; Jimnah, and Ishuah, and Isui, and Beriah, and Serah their sister: and the sons of Beriah; Heber, and Malchiel. Genesis 46:17

According to the census taken by Moses one year after their departure from Egypt, those who were numbered of the tribe of Asher, over twenty-one years old, were forty-one thousand and five hundred.

Those that were numbered of them, even of the tribe of Asher, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. Numbers 1:41

If we compare this number with the general population of the census, older than twenty-one years,

Even all they that were numbered were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty. Numbers 1:46

It turns out that the percentage of the tribe of Asher in relation to the people in general, was 6.88 percent.

Several years later, almost at the end of their sojourn in the desert, and after the plague due to the sin of Baal-Peor, Moses ordered another census; According to this census, those that were numbered of the tribe of Asher, greater than twenty-one years, were fifty-three thousand and four hundred.

These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered of them; who were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. Numbers 26:47

It represents 8.87 percent of the entire population.

These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty. Numbers 26:51

Which means that they grew just 1.99 percent in forty years; that is, they grew at a rate of 0.05 percent per year.

The instruction that the Lord gave to Moses regarding the distribution of the land was,

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 53Unto these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. 54To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance: to everyone shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him. Numbers 26:52-54

All of the above means that in the distribution of the land, the tribe of Asher received 8.87 percent of the entire land.

The Bible presents an additional census, based on the support that each tribe offered to David to form his army, in this census Asher still remains a small tribe.

And of Asher, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, forty thousand. I Chronicles 12:36

If to all this we add the blessing that Jacob pronounced on the twelve tribes,

Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. Genesis 49:20

We can see that something happened to Asher who could not capitalize on the projection that his spiritual fathers made about him.

where did it go the blessing that Moses pronounced on Asher? They could have been the greatest tribe, it was prophesied about them that they would multiply!

All this led me to reflect. Many times the same thing happens with each one of us. There are blessings that we have not yet reached, although they were pronounced long ago.

This meditation has led me to audit my ministerial life, and to review every vision, every Word, every prophetic dream, every prophecy that the Lord has given me, and discover why some of them have not yet been fulfilled.

I come to activate, and I decide to remove the negligence, the apathy, and the fainthearted, which I have often been, and that have prevented me from materializing what God said I would be.

 

Be integrous, and prosperous!

 

Twitter: @pastormontoya

Why are we not Integrous? Reason Number 1: Our Evaluation Platforms are Distorted

The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. Proverbs 20:7

Nobody is born being integrous, integrity is cultivated, and it is reached with effort; of course, in the measure of the willingness to expose ourselves before God. Integrity is the openness that the human spirit acquires of allowing the inheritance of sin to be exposed to the light; No one who is unwilling to expose himself before God can be integrous.

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. Genesis 3:10

Integrity has nothing to do with morality, although of course, there will be those who strive to define it in terms of it. Integrity is a human virtue of a spiritual nature, and therefore, to cultivate it, it is necessary to eradicate all the secular models and morality patterns on which it was intended to be built first.

Integrity is ordered from the personal decision to act according to divine dispositions; it can only be integrous who is willing to honor God through his executions. The basic reason why we cannot be integrous is because very few have decided to have God in their knowledge.

And even as they did not like to retainh God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Romans 1:28

To think that we can become integrous without Him is to move away from the possibility of being it, appeal to morality as an alternative resource just wraps us in a spell; So, those who want to expose themselves to the possibility of being integrous in God, welcome, and forward in the effort.

I have many years in the Gospel, and in the pastorate, and I have noticed that many believers -including me- although in Christ and faithful participants of a congregation of faith, have not been able to reach a status of total integrity; and I do not want you to confuse believing that when we point to someone’s non-integrity it is equivalent to identifying the person as a sinner.

A person can be exempt from sin and not be integrous, and it is because integrity has to do with perfection, and not with levels of immorality, as is highlighted in social morality science.

One day in dialogue with the Lord, I dared to ask him, why have not many men and women of God been able to be integrous? And this is what He answered me.

The evaluation platforms and the ways of measuring human behavior are distorted; everyone evaluates the situations and conducts themselves according to their own convenience.

The first obstacle that we have to overcome is the tendency to self-justification. This is the biggest obstacle that prevents us from being integrous.

Although we all know and confess that justification is not for works, in everyday practice the reality is different. There is a tendency within us, and increasingly stronger, to justify our actions and our feelings. We need to explain why we are late, why we did, or did not do, such a thing, we compare ourselves with others; and worse still, we appeal to the Word to validate acts that do not lead us to anything good, many of them even shameful.

The strength of this tendency, unfortunately, we extract from the principles of morality that we sustain. We blame others; we argue that we did it in naivety, that Satan deceived us. We all know very well what we are talking about.

To cultivate integrity we must consider, first, how we are assessing the situations that confront us.

The evaluation platforms that we currently use to measure our behaviors, and the reactions to everyday situations, are distorted, manipulated according to the good and private interest and directed by selfish thoughts.

Integrity is aimed at achieving community benefit. In recent days I was enlightened by God in my own case.

It happened to me that one of these days Christian was left without a vehicle, and I had to take him to his place of employment; but also like every day I had to take Diego and Zion to their school. So that Christian did not incur in a delay, I decided to take Christian to his employment place, first, and then leave Zion and Diego at school. I didn’t have enough time to make a route to left each one in their proper place.

It happened that Diego was late and to not affect Christian, I left Diego and took Zion with me.

After dropping off Christian at his place of employment, I decided to go back to pick up Diego to eventually drop them off at their school.

The scheme seemed good to me, why pass by the school first to drop off Zion if in general, it was already late? A few more minutes would not make a difference.

My evaluation platform was wrong, it was unfair. I should have taken Zion to school before picking up Diego since Zion had made an effort to get up early, to be on time at the time of departure because he knew what had happened to Christian’s vehicle and the need he had. Not to arrive late that day.

At the moment of acting, my decision seemed right, it was practical, it made things easier for me, but I incurred an injustice against Zion.

The evaluation platforms that we use are distorted, they are selfish, they do not seek to establish justice and truth, and worse, they do not seek the community wellness.

When I was corrected by the Lord, I confess, I got uncomfortable. Confronted by the experience, I immediately remembered that in the Scriptures I had read at some point a text that says, “so that you may learn to fear Jehovah your God every day“. I looked for it, and it says literally:

And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. Deuteronomy 14:23

And there I understood the correction. Integrity is cultivated. You learn to be integrous. ¡If the fear of God is learned, how much more integrity!

Of course, if the person does not self-justify, otherwise, the person cannot learn to be integrous, and he will lose the opportunity to be exposed to an ambiance of integrity.

We see now why the need to destroy mundane evaluation platforms, and replace them with biblical and spiritual platforms, is the only way to achieve integrity. It is ordered in the same Scripture,

LORD, who shall abidea in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. Psalm 15:1-2

Integrity demands effort, sacrifice, dedication, boldness. Integrity demands the community wellness before the personal one.

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18

Integrity is built through the effort of the person to show that their intentions are honest. The integrous strives not to act moved by a hidden reason. His action is sincere, does not hide any trap, or double agenda, nor seeks to obtain a result that has not manifested in advance.

Integrity is built on the foundation of truth. Being integrous means being truthful, it is the person who acts according to the truth. The integrous does not deceive, does not commit fraud, and does not disappoint the trust of those who trust in him.

Being integrous before God means to appear before Him believing that He is the only God, that apart from Him there is nothing, no one. Idolatry is considered as a symptom that the person suffers from an absence of integrity,

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

Integrity is built on justice actions. Integrous is the person who is not attached to material things.

Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. Matthew 19:21

Integrous is the person who does not refuse to do tasks even if they do not correspond to him, even if they are not his responsibility.

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Matthew 5:40, 41

Integrous is who gives, who does not retain, who does not take for himself, who develops the quality of not clinging to material things, because doing so accumulates treasures in the heavens.

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

Integrous is the person who learned not to justify himself, the one who properly judges each situation; integrous is the one who understands that each situation warns him of the existence of a lack of integrity that must be overcome.

h to retain: or, to acknowledge

a abide: Heb. sojourn

Be blessed…

@pastormontoya

Why are we not Integrous? Reason Number 2: Because we do not Submit to the Processes of Teaching through the Experience Lived by which God enables us

He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. Psalm 15:2

This point can also be enunciated in the following way: because we do not see teaching in daily experiences, and we flee from them.

God is present everywhere and at all times, and although this statement is part of the general knowledge we have about God, in reality, the idea of God’s presence has been different; Because we have hardly seen God in the places we frequent, nor in the experiences we have confronted.

We have not been able to reconcile the concept that God is Almighty with the idea that He maintains a certain passivity before the circumstances of life, even in many people the idea prevails that certain circumstances are “accidents” that take God by surprise.

The apparent “passivity” is not because God does not interact with man, but because we do not see what we would like to see.

The reason why we do not see God in places or in lived experiences is because we usually associate God with problems and hope that He shows up to solve them. Obviously, by not seeing our problems resolved, we do not see God.

God is not a troubleshooter, as many conceive Him. God establishes teaching with the purpose that we reach integrity, so that we are perfect, not so that we have an existence full of pleasures and cravings.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 2nd. Timothy  3:16

The Bible states that God trains and teaches those who trust in Him about how to face life.

Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. Deuteronomy 4:6

And He does it not only through his Word but also activating teaching through experiences lived.

And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. I Chronicles 12:32

Precisely because of this naivety about how to understand the purpose of the circumstances it was that Jesus reproached the scribes and Pharisees of his time,

And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? Matthew 16:3

If we review for example Psalm 19 we will see that there is divine teaching throughout the day, and even during the night,

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Psalm 19:2-4

Every daily situation, every routine experience lived, for or against, are the school of God to bring us “wisdom” and make us come to reason about what He is crying up to us.

She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Proverbs 1:21-22

And we do not refer to the usual general teachings, of patience, of love, of faith, when we say, -God is teaching me to have patience, to have love for my neighbor, to have faith.

It is also not a matter of looking for “reasons” that explain the phenomenon of experiences, but of finding the teaching to achieve the protocol to operate with wisdom.

It is about specific teaching, personalized teaching, according to the level of spiritual growth of each one.

I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: Proverbs 8:20

Everything that happens has the purpose of teaching us, of confronting us, of training us, so that we learn to act – and to establish – according to the protocols of the Kingdom of God on earth. Nothing happens by accident.

God teaches and trains those who trust in Him, and He does so by activating circumstances for them to establish a personalized spiritual growth school.

In the Bible, we discover that many of the revelations of the men of God came through experiences lived, some of them painful, that at the time they did not understand.

Although he had a lot of knowledge about who God is, Job knew about the meaning of integrity according to God through the experience of the disease in his skin,

Then Job answered the LORD, and said, 2I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. 3Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. 4Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. 5I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Job 42:1-5

Many people from Jerusalem and the neighboring provinces received the testimony of the Gospel because of the death and eventual resurrection of Lazarus,

Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. John 12:9

The apostle Peter understood the mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles through experience with Cornelius,

And so, we could continue to establish example after example that illustrates the way how God uses routine experiences as a training school, even for some, ministerial type.

What is the teaching behind of turning the other cheek after the blow on the right one? What is the teaching behind of leaving the cloak to whom took away also your clothes? what teaching behind being willing to carry the load for an extra mile when they only asked us to take it for a mile?

There is teaching, there is no doubt, otherwise, Jesus would not have recommended it. These teachings teach us to allow God to be He who establishes our justice, teach us not to hold anything back for ourselves knowing that God watches over our needs, teach us to understand that our victory is in Him and not in the ways we usually make way.

Why are we not integrous? Because we have not integrated into our consciousness that daily experiences lived are lessons of growth, of maturity, of discernment, of integrity. Obviously, if we have not integrated them, we will never try to discover the teaching they wanted to establish in us, the real reason why they came.

Finally, let’s answer two questions: the first one, why do some situations affect us for a long time, that is, why do they remain between us for a long time? and the second one, why are other situations repetitive?

Some situations remain for a long time because we resist accepting a change that God wants to introduce into our lives; because we do not want to get rid of something; or simply because of arrogance and pride.

The Scriptures state that situations remain for a long time until the person understands and accepts the change that God is introducing in their life.

That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Daniel 4:25

Other situations become repetitive situations because the person refuses to submit to the sovereignty of God.

And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. 15And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Acts 10:10-16

What teaching is behind what is happening to us right now?

How long will the situation that today overwhelms us last?

Why again the same situation, why again the same experience?

How long, Lord?

Until you understand.

The experiences are neither prizes nor punishment, a medieval idea with which religion was conformed as such.

Let’s learn, we are in the prophetic school of God.

What will you teach me today, Lord?

 

Pastor Montoya

Follow us on Twitter: @pastormontoya

Integrity According to the Bible

He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known. Proverbs 10:9

In the Old Testament, the term in the Hebrew language that is translated into English for integrity is תָם (tam), תָמִים (tamim, plural), which literally means, be complete, be finished, be finalized.

But its significance goes beyond an etymological meaning; the word in Hebrew presents the idea that the person who is classified as integrous is the person who has exhausted all his strength, at the level of exhaustiveness, to reach the highest level of Excellence in his effort to show his true intentions.

The concept of integrity in the Bible has been formed from the contributions of men and women who have interacted directly with God.

Thus, for example, integrity in Abraham’s time is defined as the disposition of the heart associated with an honest attitude. The person tries not to act moved by a hidden reason. His action is sincere, it does not hide any trap, nor does it seek to obtain a result that it has not manifested in advance. Integrity is defined as a mindset, equivalent to being genuine.

And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Genesis 20:6

In the time of Moses, Joshua and the judges, integrity is associated with the effort to remain faithful to the truth. Being integrous means being truthful, it is the person who acts according to the truth. The person classified as integrous does not deceive, does not commit fraud, and does not disappoint the trust of those who trust in him.

Being integrous before God means to appear before Him believing that He is the only God, that apart from Him there is nothing, no one. Idolatry is considered as a symptom that the person suffers from an absence of integrity,

Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. Joshua 24:14

At the time of the kings, integrity is associated with acts of righteousness. Integrity is the effort of the person to maintain a constant attitude according to the righteousness of God.

I was also upright before him, and have kept myself from mine iniquity. … 26With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. 2 Samuel 22:24-26

The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me. Psalm 7:8

This concept is also present in the time of the patriarchs,

Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. Job 31:6

Thus, integrity, although presented as a condition of life, integrity is built through the effort of the person to show that his intentions are in accordance with an honest disposition of the heart, according to the truth, according to righteousness. The degree of effort determines the quality of the integrity.

When we come to Jesus’ time, the concept has completely lost its validity, and the people lack integrity.

Hence, in his doctrine, He adds other definitions. Thus, in his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, the integrous is the person who does not refuse to do tasks even if they do not correspond to him, even though they are not his responsibility.

And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Matthew 5:40, 41

Integrous is who gives, who does not retain, who does not take for himself, who develops the quality of not clinging to material things, because doing so accumulates treasures in the heavens.

Integrous is one who spares no effort to show others that his intentions are not based on petty, selfish interests. His effort is aimed at showing others that his feelings are true, not just appearance.

In another section of his teachings we find Jesus presenting the parable of talents,[1] and the parable of the minas.[2]

In both parables, the wicked and slothful servant, from the parable of the talents, and the wicked servant from the parable of the mines, both are judged by their lack of integrity. There was no effort in them to achieve what was entrusted to them. The harshness of the punishment is in accordance with the degree of integrity expected of them.

Integrous is one who cannot be reproached for not striving to be faithful towards something, or towards someone, or for not achieving the operation entrusted to him.

When we come to the New Testament’s time, the word integrity appears only once translated as such (Titus 2: 7), and it is the apostle Paul who adds an additional conception to the concept that comes from the Old Testament.

The term in the Greek language translated into English as integrity is αφθοριαν (afthorian), and literally means, incorruptible, immortality.

  • Romans 2: 7 ( ἀ φθαρσίαν: immortality);
  • 1st. Corinthians 15:42 ( ἀ φθαρσίᾳ : incorruption);
  • 1st. Corinthians 15:50 ( ἀ φθαρσίαν: incorruption);
  • 1st. Corinthians 15:53 ( ἀ φθαρσίαν: incorruption / immortality);
  • 1st. Corinthians 15:54 ( ἀ φθαρσίαν: incorruption / immortality);
  • Ephesians 6:24 ( ἀ φθαρσίᾳ : sincerity);
  • 2nd. Timothy 1:10 ( ἀ φθαρσίαν: immortality);
  • Titus 2: 7 (αφθοριαν: uncorruptness)

Integrous is someone, or something, that cannot or is not subject to corruption. Integrity is a feeling, a conviction or an action that remains unchanged. It is also associated with actions, actions endorsed by words. Integrous is the person who does according to what he says. Integrity is demonstrated, not only at the level of theory.

Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2Saying, the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: 3All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. Matthew 23: 1-3

In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Titus 2: 7

Although secularly associated with a moral quality, integrity has nothing to do with morality. Integrity is the decision of the people to act according to the divine disposition. Integrity is the action that involves effort and boldness.

God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. Job 27: 5

Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once. Proverbs 28:18

Integrity is a virtue equivalent to wisdom. Who achieves it gets the reputation of being a person of dignity and honor,

For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

Integrity develops the capacity to establish the Will of God on earth. The integrous person is backed by God himself.

And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. Isaiah 38: 3

Integrity is the daily effort to achieve that for which we were reached by the Lord.

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, Philippians 3:12, 13

We cannot end this teaching without neglecting to mention the level of excellence in the integrity process: recognizing our failures, and amending them.

And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house. 2 Samuel 24:17

The integrous is one who recognizes his/her mistakes, his/her faults, his/her sins, confronts those who offended, and knows how to ask for forgiveness … and corrects the damage …

@pastormontoya

http://www.ministerioscristorey.com

[1] Matthew 25:14-30

[2] Luke 19:12-26

How to impart life through our words? …

Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. –            Acts 11:14

This fragment of the life of the apostle Peter in which he is exposed to a situation not triggered by his own agenda, nor aimed at having apostolic results to extend the Kingdom, illustrates that the proclamation of salvation and eternal life goes beyond the content that is shared with others.

The angel knew what he was saying when he said to Cornelius: –He will speak to you words by which you will be saved, and all your house; nevertheless, would Peter have preached to Cornelius without God having previously intervened, knowing that he was a Gentile, a Roman?

How can you give words of salvation to someone you do not want to be saved!

The words that produce Salvation and Eternal Life do not consist in the message per se, but in the truthfulness of the attitudes we develop towards those who transmit them and in the commitment before God that we are sent in His representation to transmit Salvation to our interlocutors.

If we read carefully the account of the apostle’s encounter with Cornelius, we will realize that the apostle’s “preaching” did not go beyond being a historical account of what had happened in Jerusalem, it was not really the proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah as we find it in other accounts; however, his words provoked salvation among the assembled Gentiles.

And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. (11:15)

In the reading of the account of the encounter with Cornelius and his house, chapter ten of the book of Acts of the Apostles, it is verified that the content of the message of the apostle was not profound, without scriptural references, as in other cases of similar preaching.

Just before Cornelius sent for Peter, as the angel had instructed him, the apostle discovered that no one who does not walk in integrity can impart other words of salvation.

God led Peter to confront his lack of integrity

The apostle was confronted by God for his discriminatory conception towards the Gentiles. He himself confessed it:

Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation (10:28a)

In the story, it is discovered that the confrontation of God served to provoke in the apostle changes aimed at the restructuring of an adequate apostolic integrity. He needed it in order to impart life through his words.

But God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean (10:28b).

On the way to building his integrity, the apostle discovered that integrity is based on the principle of not being respectful of persons.

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: (10:34)

Then, the apostle recognized that others can receive the same or greater content of revelation and spiritual experiences than they received:

And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. (10:45)

And, finally, the humility to recognize and accept the teaching that comes through others:

Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. 17Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? (11:16, 17)

How could the apostle have spoken words of salvation to Cornelius and his household having within him discriminatory attitudes toward them? What spiritual authority would his words have had?

Confronting his lack of integrity was the constant struggle that the apostle waged throughout his ministerial life. In Antioch, Syria, we see him again suffering from the lack of truthfulness caused by his discriminatory concepts towards the Gentiles:

11But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. Galatians 2:11-13

A message lacking in integrity on the part of the messenger will only serve to sow deceit and death, and the result will be a work devoid of salvific value.

Salvation and Eternal Life is not achieved with the content of a message, it is imparted by words that are faithful to the integrity of the conduct of the one who imparts them. A person who is not righteous only establishes lies and death.

We speak life only when we have cultivated integrity, when our actions respond to convictions and not interests; when we seek benefit for others rather than personal promotion; when we are willing to learn and understand that another may have the revelation of what is happening, and we sit down to learn.

How can we speak words of salvation if our behaviors are often perverse? Lying is not only false information, but it is also a perverse intention to prevail over others; lying consists of the perverse attitude of showing others an imaginary appearance so that they can live from fantasy.

We do not need to be preachers to impart words of life. We can all impart life every day, in offices, in workshops, in shops, in schools, in universities, in the street… anywhere. All we need is integrity, the content of the message can be just, Peace… and it will be enough.

Be prosperous!

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. –    Matthew 5:48

 

Pastor Pedro Montoya

Twitter: @pastormontoya