Spritual Pride

Classic book, Mere Christianity, C .S. Lewis, says this, It is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. Pride always means enmity. It is enmity.

And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God. In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that, and therefore know yourself as nothing in comparison, you do not know God at all.

As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people. And of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. That raises a terrible question.

How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up with pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves very religious? I am afraid it means they are worshipping an imaginary God. End quote.

Spiritual Pride and the Problem of Self-Righteousness

This morning we're going to look at the issue of spiritual pride. I'm going to give you some areas or some ways in which spiritual pride manifests itself. And then we'll look at some things in terms of addressing this issue in our lives.

By the way, before we get fully going, Tim, it's good to see you here this morning. And Andrew, I wanted to commend you for testifying to the Lord Jesus Christ in your competition. So, good job on that.

The first area in which pride shows itself, as C .S. Lewis hinted at, is the area of salvation. The area of salvation. In one of his books, Pastor MacArthur, his book is called Hard to Believe, says the following.

Nothing is worse than spiritual pride because it is a barrier people selfishly put up that separates them from their own salvation. People who know the truth of the gospel are not willing to repent and believe.

It is because they will not see themselves as the poor, prisoners, blind, and oppressed. It has everything to do with the spiritual deadness and blindness of pride. God offers nothing to people who are content with their own condition except judgment.

And he continues, to come to God on God's terms requires us to recognize our own total unworthiness and inability. And that means the death of pride and self. Turn with me, if you will, and I have a couple of people read Luke chapter 18, where our Lord addresses the issue of pride as it relates to salvation.

Of course, that is the starting point. Salvation. We're not going to read the whole passage, but I'm going to have two people, somebody read the opening verse and then we'll get to the last verse. The bookends of this parable are a key to understanding the parable.

In the first verse, verse 9, the Lord tells us the audience he is addressing. So if somebody can read verse 9 of Luke 18. Yes. Go ahead, Gary. Thank you. So he gave this parable, Luke writes there, to those who were self-righteous, who trusted in themselves.

And as a result, because of their self-righteousness, what did they do? They looked down upon others with contempt. And you're familiar with the story, right? Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.

You have the Pharisee over here, says to God in prayer, I thank you, God, I'm not like the other people. Any of you relate to that prayer? I see smiling faces. Because why? Because I'm not an adulterer, I'm not an extortionist, I'm not unjust, and I thank you that I'm not like this man over here, right?

The Tax Collector. Tax Collector, on the other hand, with his head bowed down, he couldn't even look up to heaven. Beating his chest, his simple prayer was, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. Let's get to the end.

Somebody read verse 14. Mark. There's the crux of the parable. Remember at the beginning, he spoke it to those who were self-righteous. Had this spiritual pride about themselves and therefore looked down upon others.

And Jesus declares of the two, the one time in the gospels that Jesus talks about justification, specifically, says that this man, the Tax Collector, went down to his house justified, rather than the other.

And then he gives the crux of the lesson. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. The importance of humility in order to come to God. Humility says, I acknowledge who God says I am.

That I am a sinner, totally depraved, not only enabled, but unwilling to come to him on his terms. Humility also says that I acknowledge who he is. And that was the point of Jesus' teaching here in this parable.

So, spiritual pride, first and foremost, shows its ugly head in the area of salvation. Another area, number two. Another way that pride manifests itself is in the area of disobedience. Disobedience. Turn with me, if you will, to 2 Chronicles 26.

Familiar story? King Uzziah. I'm not going to read the whole thing, we're just going to highlight a couple of things. Sixteen years old, becomes king. Young age. Reigned for 52 years. It says in the text here that as long as he sought the Lord God, God made him prosper.

It said that the Ammonites paid tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as even to Egypt. God helped him, it says in the text, against the Philistines and against the Arabians. And his fame spread far, for he grew strong.

So we know this is the background of what's going on. God is helping Uzziah grow. His fame is spreading. They are paying tribute to him. And somebody can read verse 16 in the light of all that. Steve?

Don't you love the buts of scripture? We highlight so often the but God of Ephesians 2, 4, correct? Because it's in light of our total depravity, being spiritually dead. And that's a good one. This is not a good one.

God has helped Uzziah here, the king. He's made him prosper so much that his fame has spread, that they are paying tribute to him, verse 16. But, not a good sign. What happened? He grew proud to his destruction, as Pastor Steve read.

Spiritual pride. And he did something, he disobeyed because of his pride. There's disobedience. He went into the temple and offered incense, which was only required by the priest to do. And when they confronted him about it, he grew angry.

His pride had grown very strong. He knew that he had disobeyed God. He was confronted about his disobedience. And then what do we find out about the end of his life? If somebody can read verse 21 of chapter 26.

Tim? Thanks. That was his legacy. Why? Because of spiritual pride. In pride, he thought he could do what, because of his fame and his rapport and being the king, he could do what God had clearly said not to do.

And even when he was confronted about it, he wasn't willing to repent. And he stayed as a leper to the end of his days. Philippians chapter 2, verse 8. You don't have to turn there. This is the exact opposite.

Uzziah is an example of spiritual pride that led to disobedience. You see, when we ultimately obey the Lord and obey the scriptures, it is a sign of humility. When we disobey God, in his word, it is evidence of spiritual pride.

Philippians 2, classic passage of the Lord Jesus Christ. The kenosis, that he laid aside his glory in heaven without giving up his divine attributes and came down here to earth as a slave. And verse 8 says, being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

There is a direct correlation between humility and obedience, as exemplified by our Lord Jesus Christ. The exact opposite of Uzziah. Uzziah was a man of pride that led to his disobeying the Lord. Christ was the ultimate example of humility and obeyed the will of the Father.

That's what it means to be humble. It's to know the Father has given me his will as revealed in the word of God, and I will obey his word out of love for him. If you love me, Jesus said, you will keep my commandments.

That's humility. So disobedience is another area that pride can reveal itself in. How about a third area? Let's look at Matthew chapter 20, if you would turn there, Matthew chapter 20. So the first area that pride reveals itself in is in the area of salvation, when people are not willing to humble themselves, acknowledging who they are in light of who God is, and unwilling to repent and believe.

The second area is the area of disobedience. But I want to show you here in this third area that spiritual pride not only was the fall of kings like Uzziah, and we'll look at another king later, but it also affected the disciples, Jesus' own apostles.

Somebody can read the beginning of this Matthew 20, verse 20, just the opening verse. Continue? Yes, please. Thanks, Fred. James and John. The other account says that James and John went, but it's interesting to hear Matthew records that they sent their mom to the Lord.

And it's interesting, later on if you read, the disciples were indignant that the two went to Jesus and asked him such a thing. Now the point of the passage, let's not miss it, as it is in any point of the gospel narratives, is to highlight the Lord Jesus Christ.

But there is an underlying lesson here. What did Jesus say at the end of the passage in verse 28, or actually 27? He said, He who wants to be great among you shall be what? Your servant. And he who is to be first among you is to be your?

Slave. Thoulos. Now watch the ending. For, connective, verse 28, for even, here's the clincher, remember the gospel narratives highlight who Jesus is and what he did. For even the Son of Man, Jesus says, referring to himself, did not come to be served, right?

But to serve and to do what? Give his life as a ransom for many. In other words, Jesus is saying, look, I, the eternal Son, who created you, who created the universe, the word that was in the beginning with God, the word as the Philippians 2 says, laid aside my glory and came down here to earth, humbled myself from that state.

And you're asking me this question? So even amongst the disciples, the apostles were going to be the early leaders of the church that was birthed in Acts. We see that spiritual pride can affect the area of leadership.

Those that Jesus had trained. The ultimate example there, though, is the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, he was the example of humility for obedience. He's the example here, again, as it relates to him coming to serve and not to be served.

Any questions or comments about the first couple that we've covered? Spiritual pride manifesting itself in salvation, in disobedience, and in the area of leadership that the apostles wrestled with. Okay, let's touch on another one.

Legalism as Spiritual Pride

Legalism. In his classic book, I don't think we have this particular one, we have some of his other ones, but Jerry Bridges in one of his books, Transforming Grace, says in this area of legalism, when I was growing up, he says, I wasn't allowed to go to the local pool halls.

As I look back, I'm sure my parents did not want me to come under the influence of the unsavory characters who frequented those halls. So they built a fence to keep that from happening. Don't go into those pool halls.

The problem was I didn't understand why. So I grew up thinking it was sin to play pool. Don't laugh, I really did, he says. Imagine my consternation when I moved to a Christian conference center and saw a beautiful antique pool table in the recreation room and godly men playing pool.

So if you have a pool table at home, get rid of it. All right, let me give you a working definition of legalism. I give credit to where credit is due, but I'm going to add to it. I don't think it was fully complete.

I heard this a couple of weeks ago. I think it was four snowstorms ago. And here's the working definition. It was on Swindoll's radio program. He says this, legalism is an obsessive conformity to man-made list of rules and regulations for the purpose of exalting self.

An obsessive conformity to man-made list of rules and regulations for the purpose of exalting self. But here's my addition. By looking down at others who do not conform despite your attempts to force it upon them.

It is law-like in nature, legalism is. It is motivated by guilt and shame. It's accomplished by manipulation. It is enforced by authoritarianism. Bottom line, it's an issue of spiritual pride. When do we become legalists?

For example, when we universalize a personal conviction. I can't do this and neither should you. I must do this, so should you. Specific examples. This is not me speaking, I'm just saying. I have chosen not to shop on Sunday and neither should any other Christian.

That's too convicting, let's move on. We homeschool and so should all Christians. We don't allow our children to have body piercings and neither should other Christian parents. Churches should not host gospel hip-hop concerts.

You believe churches would do that? On a Saturday night? I remember that night Pastor Mike said to me jokingly, he said, I wonder if there are any legalists here in this room tonight. Another way legalism happens is when you make a good idea or form normative for everybody else.

What might be good for you? It's got to be for everyone else. And again, it's an issue of spiritual pride because you're seeing yourself as better than others, that you're doing or not doing something else, and the others whom you try to force it upon are not doing or not doing what you're doing, so you have somehow arrived, or you're better than them, holier than thou.

It's unfortunate because this affects many people. In his book, Grace Awakening, Swindoll mentions this incident, which was kind of amazing. He says, and I quote, The particular place these missionaries were sent to serve the Lord did not have access to peanut butter.

This particular family happened to enjoy peanut butter a great deal. Rather creatively, they made arrangements with some of their friends in the States to send them peanut butter every now and then so they could enjoy it with their meals.

The problem is they didn't know until they started receiving the supply of peanut butter that the other missionaries considered it a mark of spirituality that you not have peanut butter with your meals.

I suppose the line went something like this. We believe since we can't get peanut butter here, we should give it up for the cause of Christ. A basis of spirituality was bearing the cross of living without peanut butter.

The young family didn't buy into that line of thinking. Their family kept getting regular shipments of peanut butter. They didn't flaunt it. They just enjoyed it in the privacy of their own home. Pressure began to intensify.

The legalism was so petty, the pressure got so intense, and the exclusive treatment became so unfair, it finished them off spiritually. They finally had enough. Unable to continue against the mounting pressure, they packed it in and were soon homeward bound.".

Missionaries leaving their mission field over peanut butter. Now, if you may or may not remember, but last year when I had done a couple of Sunday schools on marks of maturity, we had talked about what are the marks of spiritual maturity, right?

Some of them were doctrinal purity, Christological clarity, and a deep love for peanut butter. Legalism is a way that spiritual pride shows itself. So if you do love peanut butter like me, I dub you. You are mature, okay?

Well, this will be a fun one since we're very theologically minded. Another area that spiritual pride can show itself its ugly head in is in the area of theology. It's funny because that's going to be a remedy when we get to it at the end.

It's kind of a two-edged sword. Okay, recall with me without turning, Jesus, the disciples, he goes to the twelve, and he asks them what? Who do people say? Yeah, and they give him the answers, prophet, Elijah.

And then he turns it on them, and he says, Who do you say that I am? And Peter in his great confession, right? In Matthew 16, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. The clincher is what Jesus said in response to that.

He said to Peter, Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. Flesh and blood, Peter, has not revealed this to you as to who I am, but my Father in heaven has revealed it to you.

Now, God has given the church, Ephesians 4, pastor-teachers to equip the saints, to teach the saints about theology and the doctrines of grace. But we have to remember that anything that we have become aware of is because God has opened our eyes to that truth.

I remember recently I had an opportunity with a buddy of mine and my dad, we were sitting around chatting about evangelism. And there was an opportunity for my dad to preach the gospel, and he did it.

So we started talking about that, what a great opportunity to give the gospel to a family member at that. So in our discussion with my father and my buddy, we ended up talking about John 3 .16, the conversation went to John 3 .16.

And in my mind, I was thinking, Pastor Cooley would love to be a part of this discussion. But my dad said, but it says here, God so loved the world. The world. I said, okay. Well, if it says the world, let's assume it means everybody who ever existed since the beginning of Adam and Eve.

Well, I said, would you agree with me that we have to look at the context of the passage? Sure. Okay, verse 17. God the Father did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, to condemn every single person who ever lived since the beginning of time, but to save the world, to save every single person from the beginning of time.

I said, the only options are either you don't believe in hell because God's purpose was to save every single person, or the other option is God is not sovereign. He's got to go to plan B. As I'm sharing with this, all I can think about was this passage in Matthew 16, and I'm thinking, Lord, thank you that you have opened my eyes to see the truth of this.

So spiritual pride can show itself in theology if God has revealed to you certain truths like that, and you might have friends or family who don't acknowledge those truths, don't look down upon them. Lloyd-Jones said it best, What a wonderful thing that is.

If we were saved by our understanding, some people would have an advantage over others simply because they have greater intellect and greater ability. So spiritual pride can reveal itself in theology.

If I'm a Calvinist and I have an Arminian friend, do I look down upon them? Or do I in humility present them the truth of the Word of God and help allow God to do his work? But what's going to be funny is theology is going to be one of the remedies to spiritual pride.

All right. Turn with me to 1 Timothy. We're going to look at a sixth area of pride, the area of finances, money. 1 Timothy 6. If I could have somebody read verses 17 through 18. So pride first and foremost manifests itself in the area of salvation when people are not humble enough to acknowledge who they are as revealed in the Scripture, who God is and repent and believe.

It manifests itself in disobedience. Pride manifests itself among leaders in the area of legalism and theology, but also in the area of finances. Notice what Paul says to young Pastor Timothy in these two verses.

Could somebody read those?

Yes, go ahead. As for the rich in this present age, God does not want them to be haughty, but to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. Thank you.

All right. Note, Paul tells Timothy to charge. Who is he addressing? The rich in this present age. What does he charge him not to do in the text? What does he charge him not to do? Charges him not to trust in riches.

Good. Somebody else? I thought I heard somebody. Not to be haughty. So he begins with that, right? Those of you who are rich, he first begins by saying, don't be haughty and then don't trust in riches.

But on the positive side, he tells them to charge him with something else. Don't be haughty. Don't be proud about your finances and don't trust in riches. But on the positive side, what does Paul tell Timothy to tell them?

Be generous and ready to share. Excellent. Verse 18. And notice, in the midst of all that, where he says, do not trust in riches but on whom? On God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. So finances, if God has blessed us with finances, that can be an area where we can become proud spiritually.

This is a classic in the Old Testament, and I don't need to turn there for the sake of time. But in Deuteronomy 8, God is addressing the nation of Israel, and he's saying to them, when you have lands and cattle and herds, don't say in your heart, my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.

You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. So finances, money, that area is another area where pride can manifest itself. Any thoughts or comments on that? Which one?

In theology, okay? Yes. Well, you got the end of my notes. Very good. Joni said that on the issue of theology and doctrine, that we're not to be proud, because God has chosen the foolish things of this world to reveal to us.

Excellent point. Very important. All right, seventh area. Two more, and then we'll look at how we can remain humble. Conflict. Conflict. Without looking at texts of Scripture, because there's a plethora of them, if I have a conflict with somebody, we've been studying in the College and Career Group the book of Philippians, and it's a very commendable book.

It's not like the book of Galatians, where Paul really comes hard down in the Galatian churches, calling them foolish, I've wasted my time with you, I'm perplexed about you. No, nothing like that. Or even the Corinthian church.

Philippians is a good, commendable book. He loves them, shows his affection for them. He tells them, you're my joy and crown. But in the midst of all that, there are two verses there in the book, Philippians 4, verses 2 and 3, where he urges two ladies, Evodia and Sindihi, to agree in the Lord.

It just kind of appears out of nowhere. Even in a good church in Philippi, there was some conflict there. And he says to somebody else in the church to come alongside and help these women who have labored with me in the gospel.

So when there's conflict, spiritual pride can show itself. Because if I have offended somebody, as Matthew 18 says, if I go to my brother, if there is sin, then the person has sinned against me, humility says, I will repent.

I will confess that. First, we confess to God, of course. And then there's also the aspect of forgiveness. Jesus talked about this all the time, right? The parable of the unmerciful servant whose master forgave him, and yet he wasn't willing to forgive.

When I grant forgiveness, what is forgiveness, as Jesus outlined in that parable, is the canceling of a debt somebody owes. They do owe it to you. That's forgiveness from the divine perspective, right?

We owe God a debt. His wrath has to be satisfied, propitiation. He can't just turn aside. So in forgiveness on a human relational level, forgiveness means you owe me a debt for what you did that you cannot pay, but I cancel that, I forgive you.

Never to be brought up again. That takes humility to offer forgiveness and to ask for forgiveness. Beware of the pride showing itself up in that area. And last but not least, spiritual pride manifests itself in an unteachable spirit.

In an unteachable spirit. If you don't have an attitude or a spirit that is willing to continue to grow and learn, that at the same time I see how God has worked in my life, I have matured and grown, but there's still room for growth.

I haven't arrived. That I have a teachable spirit. As God speaks to me through his scripture, through his servants, through others in my life. So eight areas where pride can manifest itself, ultimately reveals itself first and foremost in salvation, but then once God does save us, then there are other areas we need to be aware of.

So I don't know what it is for you. Maybe one of those is more of a temptation than others. Any comments on those before I address how we can address the area of pride and humility? Salvation, theology, disobedience, money, leadership, legalism.

Boy, pride can really manifest itself in a number of ways. So what would be your advice to somebody whom you know, obviously not yourself, but somebody who you know is struggling with pride in one of these areas.

What would you say to them to encourage them to remain humble? All the pride people you can be humble and go last. The others can go first, just kidding. Amelia. Preach the gospel to yourself. Very good advice.

Even as a saved person, preach the gospel to yourself. Excellent. What other advice would you give them? Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus. Which coincides with the first because the gospel is what? The death and resurrection of Christ.

It's all about the gospel of his son, Romans 1. Job, Peg mentioned about how he saw who God really is. His power, right? And his magnificence. Stephen. Excellent. So whatever we have, everything from salvation to even our riches, material wealth all comes from his hand.

Very good perspective. All right, let me give you what I have for the first one. Let me just quote first classic Princeton theologian Charles Hodge. He says this about humility. Christian humility does not consist in denying what there is of good in us.

That's not Christian humility, he says. He says, though, it's an abiding sense of ill dessert and in the consciousness that what we have of good is due to the grace of God. That's why I shared that quote.

Terrific link. What we have is due to the grace of God. That's humility. Not that there is no good in us, but what there is in us is because of the grace of God. So the first thing I would say to people is, number one, you need to have a high view of God.

A high view of God. Remember earlier we said that spiritual pride can manifest itself in theology because I have more theological knowledge than somebody else. But to have a high view of God, it implies that you have to study theology.

It's a study of God. You have to have a high view of God. Turn to Daniel chapter 4, if you will. And as you turn there, your view of yourself will be determined by your view of God. If you have a high view of God, in other words, you will have a proper biblical view of who you are.

It flows from the first. Your view of God will determine what you think your view of yourself. So it begins with your view of who God is. By the way, we're looking at another king right now. Earlier we looked at King Uzziah, right?

And his fall, his spiritual pride of disobedience. Interestingly enough, when you read Isaiah chapter 6, he was a contemporary of Uzziah, the prophet Isaiah. In the year that King Uzziah died, it's significant, I saw the Lord high and exalted, and the trident of Israel filled the temple.

Above him were seraphs, right? We know that. And what were they calling out? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Interesting that prophet Isaiah saw that in the year that King Uzziah died. Not by chance.

Alright, Nebuchadnezzar, another one. Somebody read verse 31 of chapter 4. Verse 30, I'm sorry, of chapter 4.

You got it? Thank you.

I mean, when I read that, it just, you know, even though in the written paper of the text of Scripture, but it's like highlighted, bold, and underlined, these words. It's not this great Babylon which I have built by my mighty power for the glory of my majesty.

Everything is about me. Me, myself, and I, my three favorite people. It got so bad, of course, according to Daniel's prophecy, that what happened to Nebuchadnezzar? He lost everything, right? He didn't just lose everything.

The text tells us later that he ate grass like ox. His nails were like birds' claws. Can you imagine how low he got? And his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers. Actually, when I read that, I thought, I was looking in the mirror this morning, I don't mind that a little bit for me.

But that's how low he got. And notice what his conclusion was when he came to his senses. Somebody read verse 37, please. What did he conclude? There's the clincher, similar to the tax collector and the Pharisee that Jesus taught.

Those who walk in pride, he is not only able to humble, he did humble him. He knew from experience. So, we need to have a high view of God in order to have a proper view of ourselves. For the sake of time, don't turn to this passage.

But Paul is another excellent example. In the book of 2 Corinthians 4, he says, We have this treasure in jars of clay, or as one of my old prophets used to say, in peanut butter jars. Why? To show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Paul had a right view of himself. Why? Because he had a proper view of God. Second thing I would tell people, have a high view of God. Second advice I would give them, and all your advices were excellent.

Number two, remember this. God opposes the... but gives grace to the humble. James mentions it in 1 Peter. They quote from Proverbs 3 .34. Of course, you say that to somebody and they say, yeah. But Romans 8, if God is for us, who can be against us?

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Never, ever forget that. Number three. I will turn to this one. We have a couple in the meantime. Galatians 6, if somebody can read verse 14. Of course, it goes in the context.

We're not going through this expositionally. Obviously, it's more topical. Galatians 6, just to give you the context of the whole book. You know, they had abandoned the gospel. That's why in chapter 1, Paul says to them, if I, if we, myself included, Paul, are an angel from heaven, come and preach to you a different gospel, let him be anathema, accursed.

And that's where he calls the Galatians foolish, and he's wasted his time on them. Because they were departing from the gospel of Christ. And so, at the end here, he concludes with this. Chapter 6, verse 14.

Who would like to read that? Steve? Thank you. I should have specified which, because you both had your hand up. You want to remain humble? The last three have to do with boasting. Oh, good. My daughter's not here.

I can talk about it. She says to me the other day, my oldest, I got cups for everybody at the dinner table. I did this. She did good stuff. She served. But she was boasting. What are we boasting in? Paul says here, boast, I will boast in nothing except what?

In the cross of Christ. The hymn writer put it best, Jesus, keep me near the cross. You boast in the cross of Christ, you're basically preaching the gospel to yourself, are you not? You're basically focusing on Christ, the Lord.

Boast in the cross. Number four, 2 Corinthians 12. We won't turn there. You're familiar with it. Paul was given, and we're not going to get into the theological ramifications of it, but he was given a thorn in the flesh.