1 ¶ A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
3 He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
*Psalm 15 gives us great insight into the character that God desires us to have in our lives and in our dealings with others.
1. Speak Truth From the Heart
a. We get into trouble by trying to define character by whether or not a person adheres to the 10 Commandments.
b. True character is defined by having integrity, uprightness, and being truthful in all dealings and conversations/relationships with others.
c. True character begins with honesty and integrity before God.
d. When that is right, your hands and your tongue will line up with your heart – true integrity before man.
e. Even when society defines truth differently from Scripture, we still must maintain biblical truth in our lives and conduct.
f. WARNING: Truth without love can be destructive. (Ephesians 4:15)
2. Speak No Slander or Gossip
a. The person of character does not make the mistakes and faults of others a matter of conversation.
b. A person of character will seek to disprove a negative story about another Christian.
c. Problems within the body of Christ must be dealt with, but the key is to involve as few people as is necessary. WE MUST BE CAUTIOUS NOT TO TURN ISSUES INTO CAMPAIGNS!
3. Wrong No One
a. This can only be done as we choose to honor others and their interests above our own. (Philippians 2:4)
b. Fairness and a proper respect of ALL persons is a necessary characteristic of all Christians.
4. Hate Evil and Honor Righteousness
a. God has called us to hate sin, but to love the sinner.
b. What often gets the church in trouble is that we appear to hate people more than we appear to hate the evil that people do.
c. We live in a democracy and therefore have a God-given right to exercise our freedom to vote in elections for the candidates who best line up with our moral and biblical stand. You are contradicting this right when you vote your politics instead of your faith.
d. One of the frustrations in our society is that the only people being recognized most of the time are the ones doing evil or unrighteous things.
e. We are living in a biblically prophesied time where evil is exalted rather than righteousness.
5. Keep Promises with Honesty and Integrity
a. We get ourselves in trouble when our mouths and our hearts or intentions aren’t speaking the same things.
b. Christian character requires moral integrity!
c. In the “grey area” world in which we live, people don’t want to believe in or adhere to black and white moral absolutes – but they still exist!
d. Mere lip service will do little more than destroy your witness and your character.
6. Handle Material Possessions with Integrity
a. Financial accountability is crucial to effective Christian witness.
b. The question should always be posed – do you have the money or does it have you?
c. It is not wrong to want nice things in this world. It only becomes wrong when we only want nice things in this world and have no desire for nice things in the world to come.
