The Sin Of Pride
By David J. Stewart | July 2014
Ezekiel 15:2, “Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest?”
I listened to a life-changing MP3 sermon today by Pastor Jack Hyles titled,
“THE
SIN OF PRIDE.” I wrote this article from many of the things I learned in the
sermon. We are so blessed to have the sermons of Brother Hyles.
We ought to be reminded periodically that there is nothing good about us. Luke 14:11, “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” God created us from the dirt of the earth. A scientist has calculated that the human body is worth about $160 in material content.[1]
There is no sin in all the world that will destroy you as quickly as pride. There is no sin that God hates any more than God hates pride. It is a sin to be PROUD of what you are, what you've done, what you have. Anything you've done is by the goodness and grace of almighty God. Anything you've accomplished, anything you are, or have become is because of the goodness and grace of almighty God. Always look everybody straight in the eye. Nobody is any better than anybody else.
You're no better than anybody else because you have a different type of material that clothes your body, or go home to a bigger hunk of wood or brick, or drive a newer model car, or because you have a face that is more pleasant to look upon than somebody else. It is a wicked sin for anybody to think that he or she is better than someone else. Job 20:4-5, “Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?” We are all made from the same dust of the earth, living on borrowed time, all headed for the judgment of God in eternity (Hebrews 9:27). You're no better than anyone else, and no one else is any better than you. Always look everybody in the eye!
Only by
pride do we sin, despising the Lord and His Word. 2nd Corinthians
10:5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing
into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Proverbs 13:10,
“Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.”
Pride causes all sin.
PRIDE DETHRONES GOD
Pride takes the crown off God's head and puts it on yours. Romans 6:12, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Pride takes the scepter out of God's hand and puts it in yours. It takes the throne of God and puts you on it. Pride is spiritual treason that overthrows the King of kings. To the same degree that you are proud of yourself, you are an idolater.
The
person who is proud becomes his own God. You are guilty of self worship,
which is more vile than the heathen who bows before a god of wood or nature.
1st John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.” You didn't make your face. You didn't
make your brain. You didn't make your body. Everything that you own or have
ever done or possessed is the gift of God. Pride is the maggot under the
rock of success. Don't ever forget who and what you are, that is, a dirty
and rotten, undeserving, sinner. Nobody is any better than anybody else. God
gives to us all that we have, and He can also take it away at His pleasure
to test, teach or humble us.
Pride is the embryo of a critical nature. You criticize others because you
think you're so great. You have no right to criticize anybody else. When you
cut others down, you shrink as they shrink. You may try to cut them down to
make yourself taller, but it doesn't work that way. You have no right to
talk ill about anybody else. Pride is a premature judgment seat, where you
steal rewards that are reserved for Heaven that lose their everlastingness
on the journey to earth. Pride is the trowel exalting itself over the mason.
Pride is the needle exalting itself over the seamstress. Pride is the
president of Hell. Pride is the hammer that exalteth itself over the
carpenter. Pride is the scalpel that exalteth itself over the surgeon. Pride
is the clay that exalteth itself over the potter.
Pride expelled Lucifer from Heaven, who exalted himself above the clouds to
be equal with God (Isaiah 14:14). Pride caused Adam to fall, which allowed
sin into the world (Romans 5:12). God broke up Heaven over pride. Pride
caused the downfall of one-third of the angels. The earth is cursed because
of pride. The animals in the forest are ferocious because of pride. The
serpent crawls on his belly because of pride. The hospitals are caused by
pride. The funeral homes and cemeteries are caused by pride. When you say
“I” and “me,” you're in trouble. Pride did to Job what death could not do.
Losing his children, wife's loyalty, riches and friends didn't defeat Job,
but pride did. Pride built the gallows for Haman. Pride was the door to Hell
for the praying Pharisee. Proverbs 15:25, “The LORD will destroy the
house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow.”
Proverbs 11:2, “When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is
wisdom.” Proverbs 29:23, “A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour
shall uphold the humble in spirit.” Pride and grace never dwelt in
one place. Oh proud soul, consider what you used to be. Oh proud soul,
consider what you might have been. Oh proud soul, consider what you might
yet be. Pride is the master sin of the Devil. Nobody has a right to step in
front of God and say “applaud me.” If you've risen above others, it's because
of grace. If you've earned more than others, it's because of grace. If
you're righteous above others, it's because of grace. The only thing that
you have a right to call your own is sin and misery. The poorest person who
hitchhiked to church from the ghettos is just as good and welcomed as the
wealthiest church member. John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
THANK GOD FOR HIS GRACE, MERCY AND GOODNESS!
If it weren't for the grace of God we could all be laying on Skid
Row, a drunkard. If it weren't for the grace of God, we could all be coping
with drug addiction. If it weren't for the grace, mercy and goodness of God, we
could all be dwelling in some flop house or be in a rehabilitation center.
We are but dust and clay, and our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah
64:6). There is no such thing as blue bloods (royalty) in the sight of God.
God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). Pride is not the barrier in
the race, it is the barrier after winning the race because you think you're
somebody. All you ed-ur-cated folks with a Ph.D. (post hole digger), come on
down! Humble yourselves in the sight of God almighty!
We categorize sin. We pick which sins that we think are worse than others. To God, pride
is a worse sin than drunkenness. Pride is a worse sin than immorality. Pride
is a worse sin than cursing. Why? Because pride exalts your self above God
almighty, to sit upon His throne. I have nothing to glory of, save the cross
of Christ! I'm only righteous in Jesus Christ!!! Galatians 6:14, “But God
forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” The only
good thing about me is the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ Who lives
inside my body as a Christian (Romans 8:9).
We have nothing to brag about. Bow down proud face, you are an insult to
grace. Bow down thou proud rich, for thou art the poorest of them all. Bow
down thou proud scholar, thou art the most ignorant of them all. Bow down oh
proud soul, for you are the most foolish of all. Bow down thou proud strong,
thou art the weakest of them all. Bow down thy proud high one, thou shalt
fall before them all. Step aside big shots! Step aside one proud of your
beauty! Step back educated one! Make way for the poor unsung heroes who
serve God with nothing, the nobodies, the losers, the failures and wayward sinners!
Everyone is equal in the eyes of God.
Let us never forget that it is only by God's grace, love, mercy and goodness that we enjoy all good things!
NO ONE IS ANY BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE
When
we point a finger of condemnation at others by criticizing them, and
gossiping about them, we have our own three fingers pointing right back at
us (Matthew 7:1-5; James 2:10). Don't judge others because they sin
differently than you do, for we are all guilty sinners in God's eyes...
Romans 2:1-3, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?”
We are not worthy, not one of us, to be called God's children. I am nothing! You are nothing! Let us always humble our self and lift up the precious name of Jesus!!! The Bible says that no man has ever seen God the Father at any time, but the Father has revealed Himself to humanity through His only begotten Son. John 1:18, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” In Christ we see the Father, for they are one and both equal (John 10:30-33; Philippians 4:5-6). Colossians 2:9, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” The Godhead became incarnate in the flesh of the man Jesus Christ. John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
1st Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” All glory be to God! It was pride that caused the Hebrews in the Wilderness not to have faith in God, perishing in the Wilderness in unbelief (Hebrews 4:2). Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” What was it that made you fall? Was it somebody that bragged on you that caused your fall? Was it prosperity? Was it your intelligence? Was it your beauty? Was it your diploma hanging on a wall? Was it your successful career? Oh friend, hide thyself in God almighty. Glory only in Jesus Christ. I will glory of Christ in me, the hope of glory! I have nothing to glory in of myself. All hail the power of Jesus name!!! John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
They Knew Not Until The Flood Came
Luke 17:26-27, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”
Preaching Helps Us To Think Clearly; The Bible Nails Down Things In My Life!
Church—A Hospital For Sinners
(mature Christians say “We have sinned!”)
Ye Must Be Born Again! |
You Need HIS Righteousness!
| Believe The Gospel
