First sin recorded in the Bible; it is the gateway by which all other sin has entered the world
It began with Lucifer
It is the mechanism by which Lucifer became Satan
Ezekiel 28:15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
Ezekiel 28:16 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.
Ezekiel 28:17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.
Lucifer allowed himself to believe that he was something special because he was created in great beauty and wisdom, the epitome of God’s creations. He lost the perspective that he had a creator that by nature was greater than himself.
Isaiah 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
Isaiah 14:13 For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ (1 Timothy 3:6)
It Continued with Adam and Eve
Genesis 3:5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
This is what Satan wanted all along (Isaiah 14:14)
This was the doorway by which sin was brought into the world
CITE: Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
Are we beginning to see the devastating power of Pride?
We must – just as it was used in the beginning it continues today! We are all highly susceptible to it.
Who are the Victims of Pride?
Everyone—do not be fooled for a second that it is only overt and out in the open, it is also concealed and belongs to the quiet and shy as well.
Like all sin it is more readily seen in others than ourselves AND perhaps the prouder that WE are the more that we are bothered by it in others. Expound
Examples Uzziah, Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Haman, the Pharisee and tax collector, Diotrephes, the man of sin that exalts himself and set himself up as God, and …
Passover night John and James were arguing about who was greatest; Christ had and was setting the example for us
Luke 22:24 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.
Luke 22:25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’
Luke 22:26 But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.
Luke 22:27 For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.
Luke 22:28 “But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.
Luke 22:29 And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me,
Luke 22:30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Pride is Powerful and Dangerous
It can it cause us to do wrong (action) or through inaction to not do what is right
Pride is the misguided belief that we are something that we are NOT; more specifically it is the fact that we believe that we are solely responsible for what we think we are and bear no fault for what we really are.
Can you imagine then the range of problems that can manifest themselves from such a grand delusion?
We think that we are something that we are not and that we can be more than we are capable of.
It can even be that we think that we are more than what we are or that we are responsible for who and what we are (talent, character, righteousness)
Pride is a reliance on and looking to self; it is putting your thoughts, wants and desires above everything else.
Because of this pride takes us off the path and away from God
To be proud is not to keep the commandments
Psalm 119:21 You rebuke the proud—the cursed, Who stray from Your commandments.
Pride breaks the first commandment in letter and all 10 in spirit
#1 Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
All 10: 1-4 governs our relationship with God 5-10 our r/ship with man
If we are putting our ways first and exalting ourselves then we cannot keep the 10C
Pride is at the root of breaking all the 10C which are at the root of all the commands that we find in the Bible.
The Bible makes this clear in many places where it shows many of the sins that pride leads to:
animosity, arguing, clashes, discord, disputes and dissension,
Proverbs 13:10 By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.
and even fighting and warfare
The proud fight. Why? They think of themselves more highly than they ought. They think they are mighty and that they got what they have because of who and what they are. They think they can get more by whatever means they see fit. They know better than Gods ways. It is a contentious spirit
And because Proverbs 16:19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Psalms 10:4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.
God Pushes the Prideful Away
Because of this it is also a slap in the face to God. It is an affront to Him and something that He does not want around.
Psalms 138:6 Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.
He will keep the prideful person at arm’s length. He doesn’t want them near Him because it is one of the six things that God hates and sees as an abomination and is a sin
Proverbs 6:16 These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
Proverbs 6:17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,
Proverbs 21:4 A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin .
Why? We are putting ourselves before God. We do not recognize Him as the one that has given us everything that we have. It denies the commandments; it does not put God first.
To be proud is not of God and what He is trying to teach us.
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
God Will Punish the Prideful
Those that harbor this attitude are destined to fail
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
Pride is the belief — that we are greater than what we really are
Haughty spirit is the outward manifestation of that belief; the showing what is inside
Without the help of God we will eventually fall and fail especially if we are prideful.
Jeremiah 50:32 The most proud shall stumble and fall, And no one will raise him up; I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it will devour all around him.”
It is one of the reasons that this country got off the track
Leviticus 26:19 I will break the pride of your power….
God brought down nations in the past and will do so in the future b/c it is an attitude that will be present in the end time.
2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
2 Timothy 3:2 For men will be… boasters, proud….
2 Timothy 3:4 … haughty,[saying, being, and acting; he really covers it all here] …
2 Timothy 3:5 And from such people turn away!
And when the day of the Lord comes it will come on these people
Isaiah 2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
Isaiah 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up— And it shall be brought low—
This judgment is against nations and individuals
Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it.
Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
Isaiah 13:11 “I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
The church will not be immune
And it will affect and be in the church
Revelation 3:17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
God will fight against and destroy the proud
There are those that God has punished in the past and will do at His return and ultimately if they persist to the very end and do not repent they will receive a final judgment for continuing in Pride.
Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.
This is the second death in the Lake of Fire
Do we understand why now? This is the same sin that turned Lucifer into Satan and God is not going to have that happen again.
This is the way of the world, but it cannot be our way
Not only do not be that way, turn away…turn away from people like that and don’t be around them and especially don’t look up to them and desire to be like them
Pride is celebrated in our culture as godlessness is propagated.
Don’t look up to those that are that way
Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
Romans 1:29 being filled with all unrighteousness…
Romans 1:30 … proud, boasters,…
Romans 1:32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
We are to be different, completely different
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Take what God has given you as a responsibility, not a point of pride! If you are strong, if you are intelligent you have a responsibility to serve more and give more to others – not be the focal point of others admiration.
By serving
Romans 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
Romans 12:5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;
Romans 12:7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;
Our focus is to be outward;
No commandments on how to treat yourself; We will take care of ourselves
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Philippians 2:6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
Philippians 2:7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Philippians 2:9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
We cant do it without JC in us by the power of the HS
We are to love one another
; unselfish outgoing (not towards self or for selfish reasons that benefit us) unselfish outgoing concern for others
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
1 John 3:17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
Keep perspective
Let’s turn to Job and read the questions that God poses. As we go through them I would like you to answer them to yourself
Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:
Job 38:2 “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?
Job 38:3 Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
Job 38:4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
Job 38:5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
Job 38:6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
Job 38:8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb;
Job 38:16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?
Job 38:31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?
Job 38:35 Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, ‘Here we are!‘?
Some of this we may not even understand the question much less have the answer
Job 40:1 Moreover the LORD answered Job, and said:
Job 40:2 “Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”
Job 40:3 Then Job answered the LORD and said:
Job 40:4 “Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth.
How well did we answer these basic things of God
The creation and created is nothing compared to the Creator (this goes for Satan who is beyond us in ability and strength and knowledge
This is who we are: Less than nothing a vapor; filthy rags; a spec in the universe
This is the crux of the matter! Who are we really?
By comparison to God—nothing
It is this loss of perspective that leads to pride
By the grace and mercy of God we have been chosen/called
Free unmerited pardon; Mercy upon whom he will have mercy
1 Corinthians 1:26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.
1 Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
1 Corinthians 1:28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
1 Corinthians 1:29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
Nothing that we did in and of ourselves
We can’t get salvation; Try it sometime; No salvation by works
Use the gifts that God has given you for others not yourself
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
Ephesians 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
It is his Work in us
This why we are not to boast
Humility
We are to receive the Word of God in humility;
1 Peter 5:5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
Follow the example of Jesus Christ
Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
We cannot come before God in a prideful manner; it is contradictive. He wants us to be right and just before Him. So we must get rid of the haughty spirit that besets us and with His help put our heart in the right place first. That is to replace our carnal human spirit which is at odds with God with His spirit…
Psalms 51:19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.
He appreciates the sacrifices we make, but we need to do first things first