his ways.

And if the man refused to repent, then they should expel him from among them, in the hope that he would come to his senses & repent. But if someone who isnt a Christian comes to the church seeking Christ, they can come regardless of their sin. Thats what the church is for. No matter what your past has been, if you are here genuinely seeking a relationship with the Lord, you are welcome here. But once you become a Christian. Once you have been forgiven, that changes the standards. Then if you slip back into sin, reconciliation & repentance need to take place. Paul said, I prayed that they should repent & turn to God & prove their repentance by their deeds. III. THERE ARE REASONS FOR INTEGRITY Now finally, Why should we be genuine & true? Why should we want to be an authentic person & not a hypocrite? Because we will be respected. The Bible says, The righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. ILL. Back in the early 1950s there were 3 young men who were rising to the top as far as evangelists were concerned in the evangelical circles of Christendom. All 3 were doing well, but 2 of them were especially outstanding. And everybody anticipated that these 2 would be the greatest evangelists, perhaps, that our country had ever seen. But both of them soon dropped by the wayside. One became addicted to drugs & alcohol, & the other one took his own life. But the third one, the one who seemed the least promising at the time, remained steadfast & true. And God has used him in tremendous ways. Some have tried their best to find anything that would show him to be less than genuine in his commitment to Christ. But they have failed. And such is the respect that he has earned, that in N.C. there is even a Freeway that the state has named after him. Today, in his 70s, Billy Grahams witness for Christ & the respect he has earned is stronger than it has ever been, all because he was genuine, steadfast, & true.

ILL. Edgar Guest wrote, Id rather see a sermon than hear one any day, Id rather one would walk with me than merely tell the way; The eyes a better pupil & more willing than the ear, Fine counsel is confusing, but examples always clear. I may not understand the high advice you give, But theres no misunderstanding how you act & how you live. CONCL. Folks, a long time ago, the apostle Paul wrote, Therefore God exalted him to the highest place & gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven & on earth & under the earth, & every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father [Philippians 2:9-11]. One of the things that a farmer learns early on is that when harvest time finally comes the real wheat is so heavy with the grain that it has produced that it begins to bow. But the weeds still stand tall & strong. They never bow. But one of these days every knee is going to bow & every tongue will confess. So you can bow now, or you can bow later. But sooner or later you will bow. This morning, if you are here & you are not a Christian we extend Gods invitation & pray that you will respond. If you have a decision on your heart we invite you to come to Jesus as we stand & as we sing.