What Does the Bible Say About Honesty and Integrity?

You may be a bit surprised and a little disappointed when you begin to look through the pages of the Bible to learn what it says about honesty and integrity.

That’s because our English words honesty and integrity do not match up perfectly with Hebrew and Greek words. The number of verses containing these English words is limited, and that number varies widely from translation to translation.

In the New King James Version of the Bible, for example, the word honesty does not appear anywhere. The word honest does appear, but in only a handful of places in the Old Testament. The word integrity appears 19 times in the Old Testament, but only once in the New Testament.

But this does not mean the concepts are unimportant in Scripture, or that the Bible is silent on these subjects. What it does mean is that we need to be more creative in our search.

What are honesty and integrity anyway?

Most of us first think of honesty as telling the truth, and that is certainly part of its meaning, but not all. Honesty is just as much about actions as it is about words.

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary captures this aspect when it defines honesty as “fairness and straightforwardness of conduct.”

There is a connection between speech and action, and that connection is a person’s character. This connection is exactly what Jesus was pointing out when He said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

What about integrity? What is it?

One interesting aspect of this word that Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary brings out is “incorruptibility,” which is a major theme of Scripture. In addition, the dictionary defines the word as “the quality or state of being complete or undivided.” This facet also shows up in passages throughout the Bible.

The two concepts are clearly related. Honesty describes a lifestyle based on truth. Integrity reflects character that is incorruptible, uncompromised and wholehearted. It is impossible to maintain one without the other.

Honesty—a lifestyle based on truth

Truth is important to God. In fact, we cannot worship Him if our lives aren’t based on truth.

Jesus made this clear toward the end of a one-on-one conversation with a Samaritan woman. She had asked about the most appropriate place to worship God (John 4:20), but instead of choosing between two physical locations, Jesus told her that the spiritual is more important than the physical.

“God is Spirit,” He explained, “and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (verse 24). Truth is a big part of what makes for acceptable worship.

To live a life of honesty, we must begin with a proper understanding of truth. That means coming to understand that there is no such thing as “your truth” or “my truth,” as modern Western culture promotes. There is only God’s truth. (See “What Does the Bible Say About ‘My Truth’?”)

Truth is absolute. It does not change with the times but remains constant.

A matter of the heart

A good starting point for anyone wanting to live a life of honesty is God’s law. The Ninth Commandment in particular says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).

This commandment specifically prohibits false testimony (or lies told in a legal setting). Even so, like all of God’s law, the spiritual principle applies more broadly—in this case, to all falsehoods.

But honesty does not end with our lips. Honesty is, first and foremost, a matter of the heart. As noted above, Jesus connected our speech and character when He said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).

No one has had a completely pure heart (except Jesus Christ). As the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9).

It is the question Jeremiah asked next that is devastating in its implication: “Who can know it?” The implication is that we cannot know even our own hearts—that we deceive ourselves as well as others.

The source of truth for an honest life

A life of honesty must be based on God’s truth. Thankfully, God has not left us in the dark. He inspired human beings to record His very words, which are truth (John 17:17), so that we have access to His truth.

That’s not all. Knowing the human proclivity for self-deception, God has also provided help in understanding His Word through His Holy Spirit. Jesus even called it the Spirit of truth (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13).

To live a life of honesty, a person must humbly approach the pages of Scripture, always ready and willing to learn from the Bible.

Integrity—a lifestyle of undivided loyalty

The word integrity connotes wholeness and completion. To live a life of integrity in biblical terms means to be wholly committed to God. It means to live honestly without compromise.

We see this concept clearly in Deuteronomy. God called on His people to love Him “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

This statement is used as part of the Jewish Shema, a declaration of faith in Judaism. Of course, this biblical injunction is not for Jews only, and the concept reappears throughout the Bible. Jesus quoted it as the great commandment (Matthew 22:37-38).

Other passages describe the opposite:

• 1 Kings 18:21: Elijah faulted Israel for vacillating “between two opinions.”
• Psalm 12:2: David condemned those who spoke with a “double heart.”
• James 1:8: James described doubters as “double-minded.”

James used the expression double-minded a second time in his book. In that passage, he urged his readers to cleanse their hands and to purify their hearts (James 4:8). To cleanse and to purify means to remove anything that is opposed to God’s will.

A case of divided loyalties

In the book of Acts, there is a sobering account regarding divided loyalties.

Christians are to live lives of honesty, not merely on the surface, but in the heart. The early Church, full of enthusiasm, was growing exponentially. Jews from diverse locations heard and believed the gospel. They lingered in Jerusalem longer, undoubtedly to learn more before returning to their native countries.

This created a need for food and shelter. To solve this issue, “they had all things in common” (Acts 4:32). Individuals with the means to do so provided for others, sometimes by selling land.

Ananias and Sapphira, a couple in the early Church, chose to share some of the proceeds from the sale of their property (Acts 5:1-2). Apparently, though, they agreed to lie to the Church by saying that they had given the entire amount.

Peter confronted them individually. They each lied to him, effectively lying to God (verses 3, 9). Both paid with their lives.

This story is a stark reminder that when it comes to serving God, there is no room for dishonesty or double-mindedness.

Honesty and integrity before God

Psalm 15 is one of the best passages to read when looking for what the Bible says about honesty and integrity. This psalm, as translated in the New King James Version, never uses either word. Nevertheless, it describes the individual who lives with both honesty and integrity.

The psalm begins by asking a simple question: “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?”

The question itself has no reference to a person’s speech, actions or character. It only asks what sort of person God will allow to live in His presence.

Living a life of honesty and integrity

The remaining four verses of the psalm give specific character traits important to God. The sort of person who will dwell with God is someone who “speaks the truth in his heart” (verse 2).

Speaking the truth in the heart is more than simply telling the truth. It is an ability and a willingness to look at life honestly, even when it hurts. It means never making excuses for our mistakes and sins. It is the heart that must be true for a person to live in honesty.

The image of a person speaking “the truth in his heart” captures the essence of what it means to live a life of honesty. It is the opposite of Jeremiah’s description of the heart as “deceitful above all things.”

A later statement in this psalm provides a wonderful example of integrity. The psalm identifies the person “who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (verse 4) as acceptable in God’s sight. This is a picture of someone who will not compromise, even in the face of loss.

In our society, it might refer to a business arrangement that has become unprofitable through unforeseen circumstances. Even though the individual in question stands to lose money, he or she delivers what was promised, recognizing that not following through would be dishonest. That is integrity.

So, what does the Bible say about honesty and integrity?

You may not find our English words honesty and integrity in many biblical passages, but the concepts are there throughout.

Christians are to live lives of honesty, not merely on the surface, but in the heart. We must also live lives of integrity, never compromising with the truth, but rather being wholehearted in our devotion to God.

The apostle John appealed to his readers—and that includes us—to live with honesty and integrity: “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).