Accountable2You » Resources » Personal Accountability » Biblical Integrity: Living with Christlike Consistency
I sat in our high school football locker room with a smirk, letting out an occasional chuckle as several seniors teased a sophomore lineman. But the room fell silent instantly when my friend Austin walked in. He approached the lineman, walked him out the back door, and returned to talk to the rest of us. Whenever Austin spoke, we listened. He wasn’t concerned with being popular, cool, or funny, yet everyone respected him because he lived out what most of us only professed. He didn’t only call himself a Christian, like we did; he was consistently Christlike. Whether in the lunchroom, weight room, or Sunday school room at church, Austin lived with integrity.
Living a life of integrity is possible for every Christian.
Sadly, we seldom find people who, like my friend, profess to be a Christian and actually live in integrity. Many of us profess to follow Christ but try to hide our sin, convincing ourselves that we can delay obedience and pursue God “later.” In doing so, we end up looking more like the world than the Savior we claim to follow.
But God’s Word assures us that living a life of integrity is possible for every Christian. It not only guarantees this, but it also teaches us what biblical integrity is, why it matters, and how we can cultivate it for God’s glory.
While the Bible doesn’t give a direct definition of integrity, it often describes people with integrity as blameless, upright, faithful, and wholehearted (Psalm 15:2, 25:21; Proverbs 11:3). Throughout Scripture, we find vivid examples of what integrity in action looks like:
Scripture offers more examples of integrity, but only one of absolute integrity: Jesus Christ. He lived every moment in perfect obedience and humble service to His Father’s will (John 6:38). For Christians, His life is the ultimate standard. To live in biblical integrity means to live like Christ. It means reflecting His character, glorifying His name, and taking every thought, attitude, action, and habit captive to obey God’s Word (1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 10:5).
We can call ourselves Christians, post Bible verses on social media, and attend church occasionally, but if our lives look no different from those who don’t know Christ, we dishonor the Name we claim to represent. So, how do we live in integrity?
David’s commitment to walk in integrity in Psalm 101 provides us with helpful, practical steps for our own pursuit of integrity.
David begins his psalm with this firm resolve: “I will walk with integrity of heart within my house” (Psalm 101:2). He teaches us that integrity doesn’t happen by accident, but is done with intentionality. We don’t simply stumble into a life of integrity; it requires a personal commitment to live it out.
We read in the rest of David’s psalm that we are required to put our commitment into action. One of the things we must do is to turn away from perversion, arrogance, deceit, and wickedness (Psalm 101:1, 4–8). But integrity in the Bible isn’t only about not sinning. As Christians, we are called to put off sinfulness, renew our minds, and put on Christlikeness (Ephesians 4:22–24).
Since there is no neutral state regarding sin, once we put it off, we need to put on Christ. We do this by devoting our strength, not to sinful habits, but to spiritual disciplines such as reading the Bible, praying, and serving others. By His grace, God uses these practices to shape us into Christlikeness.
Biblical integrity not only includes putting off the sin within us, but also guarding ourselves against the evil outside us. In Psalm 101:3, David vowed, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” We, too, must be careful about what we allow into our hearts and minds. We have a responsibility to guard our integrity against anything that could lead us to sin, including conversations, media consumption, device use, and our surroundings.
Integrity grows best in community. David knew to surround himself with faithful people who would shape the kind of person he wanted to become (Psalm 101:6). When we are in bad company or choose to isolate ourselves, sin can easily deceive us into thinking it’s easy to hide struggles and ignore subtle compromises. But integrity grows in the light of godly relationships.
Integrity grows in the light of godly relationships.
We have the local church as our God-given community. There, we can receive encouragement, correction, discipleship, and accountability from others who love God’s Word and care about our souls (Hebrews 3:13; Galatians 6:1–2).
In our increasingly digital age, accountability extends to our online lives as well. Installing software like Accountable2You on your devices helps you build godly habits, guard against temptation, and stay transparent with someone who will help you walk in biblical integrity and purity.
A life of integrity doesn’t mean perfect sinlessness. Rather, it means that we must no longer deceive ourselves about our sin. Instead of trying to conceal it from God and others, or lying to ourselves about its implications, we confess it, repent of it, and put on Christlikeness as we walk forward in grace.
It’s one thing to find the call to live in integrity difficult, but it’s another thing to disregard it altogether. If you claim Christ’s name but have no desire to live like Him, then I invite you to have an honest self-evaluation of the genuineness of your claim.
When we live with biblical integrity, we get to enjoy a greater degree of security (Proverbs 10:9), preservation (Psalm 25:21; 1 Peter 3:16), guidance (Proverbs 11:3), and blessing (Proverbs 20:7). Above all, a life of integrity enables us to display the power of God’s grace and be used as tools for His glory (2 Timothy 2:21).
As Christians, we are called to be like Christ at all times and in all places. Would your spouse, friends, colleagues, children, and even phone activity reports attest to your consistency of character? In a world desperate for truth and light, let us walk with integrity and encourage others to do the same.