Session
Five
PRIDE
I was not looking forward
to reading these two chapters.
I know that God has dealt
with my heart on a number of these issues, but I also know that as John Calvin
has so famously stated our hearts are ‘idol factories’ and I believe that not
only are these two, pride and selfishness, sinful attitudes, they can become a
form of idolatry.
As John Wesley stated: “In his natural state, every man born
into the world is a rank idolater. Perhaps, indeed, we may not be such in the
vulgar sense of the word―we do not, like idolatrous Heathens, worship molten or
graven images. We do not bow down to the stock of a tree, to the work of our
own hands. We do not pray to the angels or saints in heaven, any more than to
the saints that are upon the earth. But what then? We have set up idols
in our hearts; and to
these we bow down, and worship them: we worship ourselves, when we pay that
honour to ourselves which is due to God only. Therefore, all pride is idolatry;
it is ascribing to ourselves what is due to God alone. And although pride was
not made for man, yet where is the man that is born without it? ”
You may be thinking, HUH? Idolatry?
”EXTERNALLY I commit no
idolatry; but my wicked heart loveth the self, and cannot be refrained from
vain imaginations, yea, not from such were the fountain of ALL idolatry.”
I love, love, LOVE how Jerry asks us to look at the different
forms that pride takes, because it would be easy for us to take a broad brush
and sweep it around the room and confess, “yeah, I’ve got pride” because that
doesn’t really get to the heart of the matter. In order or each of us to grow,
to mature we must get to the root of the problem. Hebrews 12:15 addresses this
with regards to bitterness, and discusses how this root can contaminate and
defile many.
I believe the same is true of EVERY sin we allow to grow in our lives,
of EVERY idol we secretly nurture. If we simply hack them off at ground level and
do not deal with the roots then they will re-appear time and again until you
deal with the heart or root of the matter. So Jerry’s specifically identifying
different types of pride was helpful to me.
I am though, never dismayed when I find that men have “feet of clay”.
It is something my experience with clergy abuse taught me. None of us
have or will have arrived. We should all be striving, of course, but here is
where I want us to focus: One: we were ALL born with a selfish nature and two
we ALL have blind spots.
Remember last session we talked about how important it was to have a
humble heart? How important it is to love one another correctly? So if you see
me being selfish, will you say to me, “Hey, Gail, I noticed you cut that person
off while we were driving and you cursed under your breath as we were trying to
get into that parking space because we were running late.” And I, in the moment,
I am only thinking of myself. I’m pressed for time, I’m stressed, and darn it
(which a young friend pointed out is really just slang for damn) I NEED that
spot because I will be late without it.
I am certainly not considering others as more important than myself and
I am certainly not thinking about Jerry’s words in the previous chapters
reminding me that God is Sovereign and if I am late there is a reason and a
purpose for it. I can tell you as I am writing this though, that my son
narrowly escaped driving into a tornado because he left his home at the precise
moment that put him at his store just minutes after it touched down. A friend of mine said it like this: “we don’t
leave one nanosecond before or later than He ordains”
Granted my frustrated parking scenario above is a made up scenario, but
it’s not entirely unlikely that I would respond this way with the right
pressures applied to my wicked heart. How would you address me? Or would you
address me at all? Would you silently think negative things about me and then
go home and talk about what you’d witnessed to your spouse or with someone
else?
Because that’s not love. And we are called to love one another in the
Body of Christ.
Hebrews 10:24 exhorts us to stir one another UP to love and to helpful
deeds. Matthew 18, beginning in verse 15 says if your brother sins against YOU,
you alone, are to confront him, in private, just you and him. Matthew 7 tells
us HOW to confront, by first examining ourselves.
But as you know, Galatians 6:1 has my heart in this matter, because it
spells it out in the clearest way. If your brother is overtaken by sin or
misconduct…which reminds me of Hebrews 12:1 where sin is described as ‘deftly
and cleverly clinging to and entangling’ believers…Galatians goes on to tell us
that if you are responsive to and being controlled by the Spirit, you are the
one who should set this wayward brother right, to restore him, to reinstate him,
gently, without any sense of superiority.
Why? Because YOU too have feet of clay. But for God’s grace and mercy
you too could have made THAT choice THAT day. You could have turned left
instead of right and there you’d be. Proverbs 16:18 tells us that, “Pride comes
before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Galatians 6:2 goes on to tell us that we should be seeking to bear one
another’s burdens, but the Amplified expands the word burdens to, “troublesome
moral faults”. Isn’t this the hardest thing for us to stomach about another
person?
Specifically pride and selfishness, easy to identify in others…loathsome
to look at in the mirror…let’s get to our questions:
I.
Pride of
Self-Righteousness
1. What does the Scripture say about sinful
pride? (See James 4:6; I Peter 5:5) And the dangers that even believing
teachers face? (See Romans 2:1-3:21)
James 4:6 says: “But He gives us more
and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all
others fully). That is why He says, God sets Himself against the proud and
haughty, but gives grace [continually] to the lowly (those who are humble
enough to receive it).”
And I
Peter 5:5 says: “Likewise, you who are younger and of lesser rank, be subject to
the elders (the ministers and spiritual guides of
the church)—[giving them due respect and yielding to their counsel]. Clothe (apron)
yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, so that
its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and
arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the
insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and
He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to
the humble.”
In
both of these verses you can clearly see that God is opposed to the proud, and
that He gives grace to the humble, but let’s go back to that James verse for a
second: did you catch what James said there? BUT (one of my favorite words in
the entire Bible, “But He gives us more and
more grace (power of the Holy Spirit, to meet this evil tendency and all others
fully” He pours out His GRACE to meet THIS evil tendency and ALL others FULLY.
When we are faithless He remains faithful.
As for those believing teachers in
Romans, they were being condemned because they
were guilty of the very same things
they were condemning others of; they just kept
their indiscretions on the DL (down low
for my non-slang speaking friends)
But listen to what Paul says next:
“ For it is not merely hearing the Law [read] that makes one righteous
before God, but it is the doers of the Law who will be held guiltless and acquitted and justified. When Gentiles who
have not the [divine] Law do instinctively what the Law requires, they are a
law to themselves, since they do not have the Law. They show that the essential
requirements of the Law are written in their hearts and are operating there, with
which their consciences (sense of right and wrong) also bear witness; and their
[moral]decisions (their arguments of reason, their condemning or approving thoughts)
will accuse or perhaps defend and excuse
[them] On that day when, as my Gospel proclaims, God by Jesus Christ will
judge men in regard to the things which they conceal (their hidden
thoughts).But if you bear the name of Jew and rely upon the Law and pride
yourselves in God and your
relationship to Him, And know and understand
His will and discerningly approve the better things and have a sense of what is
vital, because you are instructed by the Law; And if you are confident
that you [yourself] are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in
darkness, and [that You are] a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the childish,
having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— Well then, you who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While
you teach against stealing, do you steal (take what does not really belong to
you)? You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery [are you
unchaste in action or in thought]? You who abhor and loathe idols, do you rob temples [do you appropriate to
your own use what is consecrated to God, thus robbing the sanctuary
and doing sacrilege]? You who boast in the Law, do you dishonor God by
breaking the Law [by stealthily infringing upon or carelessly neglecting or
openly breaking it]? For, as it is written, The name of God is maligned and blasphemed among the
Gentiles because of you! [The words to this effect are from your own
Scriptures.] Circumcision does indeed profit if you keep the Law; but if you
habitually transgress the Law, your circumcision is made uncircumcision. So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the requirements of the
Law, will not his uncircumcision be credited to him as [equivalent to]
circumcision? Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the Law will
condemn you who, although you have the code in writing and have circumcision,
break the Law. For he is not a [real] Jew who is only one outwardly and publicly, nor is [true]
circumcision something external and physical. But he is a Jew who is
one inwardly, and [true] circumcision is of the heart, a spiritual and not a
literal [matter]. His praise is not from men but from God.”
It’s not the keeping of God’s law that makes
us right with Him, but some where,
some how we came to believe that if we do
enough we will please Him, forgetting He
is only pleased with His Son. We forget too,
that the disciplines we do have to
withstand the temptations we encounter (for
instance mine to avoid drugs) are only by
His grace, and do not, therefore make us
better than those who are unable to
withstand those temptations. We tend to look
with contempt on those whose
weaknesses are different or more exposed
than our own. Galatians 6 warns against
this.
2. “The sin
of moral superiority and self-righteousness is so easy to fall into today,” Jerry
writes, “when society as a whole is openly committing or condoning such
flagrant sins as immorality, easy divorce, a homosexual lifestyle,
abortion…Because we don’t commit those sins we tend to feel morally superior
and look with a certain amount of disdain or contempt on those who do.”
a. Why do
you suppose it is that we can so easily drift into the pride of moral
superiority and then develop a spirit of contempt toward those who practice
those sins?
I suppose we can easily drift into the pride
of moral superiority because we forget that our actions are not what saves us,
God’s grace and unmerited favor do, somewhere along the line we stop resting in
the holiness of Christ and begin to manufacture our own brand of holiness and
measure it by how well we keep the commandments, forgetting that the
‘self-discipline’ to avoid certain sins is purely a work of His grace in our
lives. As we go we begin to develop contempt for those who do not possess
enough ‘self-discipline’ to keep themselves pure from such sins (as we have)
and so it goes.
b. To what
kind of people did Jesus tell the parable about the self-righteous Pharisee?
Why is this significant to us? (See Luke 18:9)
Verse 9 of Luke 18 tells us “He also told this parable to some people who trusted
in themselves and were confident that they were
righteous [that they were upright and in right standing with God] and scorned and made nothing of all the rest of men:”
This story is applicable to US, today.
IF somehow we have begun to trust in
ourselves, and we are confident that we are righteous and in right standing
apart from Christ we are deceived. This parable is a warning to our deceived
hearts. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that our hearts are deceitful above all things.
It reminds us that we too are adulterers, murderers, thieves, and guilty before
a Holy God. How dare we lift up our haughty eyes and condemn another.
It’s
shameful and a mockery of the grace we’ve received.
3.
Believers who care deeply about a particular belief system are susceptible to
pride of correct doctrine—thinking people who hold other beliefs are
theologically or spiritually inferior. What did Paul say to prideful believers
who concluded eating food sacrificed to idols fell within the bounds of
Christian liberty? (See I Corinthians 8:1)
Paul warned the believers that knowledge
puffs up. He goes on to say that yes, it is fully within your ability as a
believer to eat, but in verse nine he issues a warning.
“Only be
careful that this power of choice (this permission and liberty to do as you
please) which is yours, does not [somehow] become a hindrance (cause of
stumbling) to the weak or over scrupulous [giving them an
impulse to sin].”
The OVERARCHING principle
here is love.
How can we love our fellow believers? If I
know that my fellow believer has an aversion to drinking alcohol, and I also
know I am free to consume, should I then glibly consume in his or her presence?
No, If by drinking I am causing him or her to stumble. I am to give way my
liberty to the one who may sin because my freedom may cause my brother to
stumble. My love for my brother or sister should guide me, not my love for my
freedom.
Jerry said this, “I’m not suggesting
that we should not seek to know the truths of Scripture an develop doctrinal
convictions about what the Scriptures teach; I am saying that we should hold to
our convictions in humility, realizing that many godly and theologically
capable people hold OTHER convictions.”
He followed it with this
profound statement: “I was once asked to comment about a book that taught a
system of sanctification with which I strongly disagree. In my letter I wrote
the following: “Please note that I am saying ‘things with which I disagree’ not
things wherein he (the author) is wrong. I may find out when I get to heaven
that I am the one who was wrong.”
THIS is the attitude we
should have.
Not a smug I KNOW my
theology is absolutely 100% correct, but that we are learning and growing and
as sinful frail humans we might get it wrong.
Twenty years ago, Andy and
I were Armenian, does this mean we were bound for hell, hopelessly lost in
incorrect doctrine? And before that we attended a hyper charismatic church,
were we even saved at all? Some folks would sadly say we were not saved,
perhaps they would even doubt our salvation today. I take heart in Jerry’s words…it reminds me that
knowledge does indeed puff up, and that we should keep a humble, teachable
heart.
II Pride of Achievement and Independence
1.Where does our ability
to achieve or succeed come from? (see Genesis 45:4-8; I Samuel 2:7; Daniel
2:21; Haggai 1:5-6)
Genesis 45:4-8 “And Joseph said to his brothers, Come near to me, I pray you. And
they did so. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt! But
now, do not be distressed and disheartened
or vexed and angry
with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to
preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there
are still five years more in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God
sent me before you to preserve for you a posterity and to continue a remnant on the earth, to save your lives
by a great escape and save
for you many survivors. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He
has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all
the land of Egypt.”
I Samuel 2:7 “The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and He lifts up”
Daniel 2:21 “ He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up
kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have
understanding!”
Haggai 1:5-6 “Now
therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways and set your mind on what has
come to you. You have sown much, but you have reaped little; you eat, but you
do not have enough; you drink, but you do not have your fill; you clothe
yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages has earned them to put
them in a bag with holes in it.”
It is clear from these passages that
everything we have or are comes from the Lord.
2 .Read I Corinthians 4:7 How relevant are Paul’s words to us
today?
I Corinthians 4:7 “For who separates you from the others
[as a faction leader]? [Who makes you superior and sets you apart from another,
giving you the preeminence?] What have you that was not given to you? If then
you received it [from someone], why do you boast as if you had not received
[but had gained it by your own efforts]?”
I was fortunate as a new believer in that I
had a bible study teacher who pounded this fact into our heads. She constantly
reminded us that everything about us, from our looks; to our talents to our
abilities were nothing to take pride in. Each attribute was a gift from God,
and in raising our children she reminded us to point their hearts toward the
One Who created them. Instead of saying to my daughters “you are such a pretty
girl” I was told I should say God has blessed you with a beautiful face”
I don’t know that I agree with Jerry’s
assessment that folks should write in their Christmas letters a long and
lengthy explanation of how they have tried to instill a grateful attitude to
God in their child for the attributives God blessed Him with i.e. graduating
summa cum laude, for the folks on their mailing list should be well acquainted
with the family and know this, but this is just my opinion.
3. How does God feel about a proud heart? (See Psalm 101:5;
Proverbs 16:5; 21:4) How does He feel about our failure to acknowledge His
gracious blessings?
Psalm 101:5 “Whoso privily slanders his neighbor,
him will I cut off [from me]; he who has a haughty look and a proud and arrogant heart I cannot and I will not tolerate.”
Proverbs 16:5 “Everyone proud and arrogant
in heart is disgusting, hateful, and exceedingly
offensive to the Lord; be assured [I pledge it] they will not go unpunished.”
Proverbs 21:4 “Haughtiness of eyes and a proud heart, even
the tillage of the wicked or the
lamp [of joy] to them [whatever it may be], are sin [in the eyes of God].”
A proud heart is disgusting
to God, he says over and over He can not tolerate it. And truthfully, neither
can we, right? Don’t we find the prideful and arrogant among us the most
difficult to stomach? But Jerry is telling us that WE possess some measure of
this disgusting sin of pride as well and he is imploring us to re-examine our
hearts to see if there be any wicked way in US.
Failure to acknowledge His
blessings brought swift justice in the OT.
In Deuteronomy 28:47-48 He
says: “Because you did not serve the Lord your God
with joyfulness of [mind and] heart [in gratitude] for the abundance of all
[with which He had blessed you], Therefore you shall serve your enemies
whom the Lord shall send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and in
want of all things; and He will put a yoke of iron upon your neck until He has
destroyed you.”
4. Which biblical
principles help us guard against a sinful desire for personal recognition? (See
Luke 17:10; Psalm 75:6-7)
Luke 17:10 “Even so on your part, when you have
done everything that was assigned and commanded
you, say, We are unworthy servants [possessing no merit, for we have not gone
beyond our obligation]; we have [merely] done what was our duty to do.”
Psalm 75:6-7 " For not from the east nor from the west nor from the south come
promotion and lifting
up. But God is the Judge! He puts down one and lifts up another.”
If we can remember that our service is to
Him and we have only done our duty, then we will quell that sense of personal
recognition that rises up in us. My father, was never much for praise. When I
did something well, and I sought him out for approval, would say to me, “Why would
I praise you for doing well, you are SUPPOSED to do well.” As a child those
words stung, but as an adult I have held those words to my heart as a truism of
sorts. I am only doing what I am supposed to do, the difference between THEN
and NOW is, someday I WILL hear these words: Well done, GOOD and faithful
servant.
5. What do Proverbs 2:1; 3:1; 4:1; 5:1 and 7:1 emphasize (in the
context of a father-son relationship) and why are the principles of these
verses relevant to the topic of prideful independence verses a teachable
spirit?
Proverbs 2:1 “My son, if you will receive my words
and treasure up my commandments within you”
Proverbs 3:1 “My son, forget not my law or teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments”
Proverbs 4:1 “Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father,
and pay attention in order to gain and to
know intelligent discernment, comprehension, and interpretation
[of spiritual matters].”
Proverbs 5:1 “My son, be attentive to my Wisdom [godly
Wisdom learned by actual and costly experience], and incline your ear to my
understanding [of what is becoming and prudent for you]”
Proverbs 7:1 “My son, keep my words; lay up within you my
commandments [for use when needed] and treasure
them.”
The emphasis is on
listening to or heeding the counsel of one who is wiser or more mature than the
hearer, in this case, the son.
An independent spirit
expresses itself in two ways, resistance to authority (especially spiritual)
and an unteachable attitude. This often comes across in a ‘know it all
attitude’ or as Jerry says, “We don’t know how much we don’t know”
That being said, Hebrews
13:17 has been mis-used by many an unscrupulous pastor to promote blind
obedience in his congregation. Jerry points out that there is a balance to
spiritual authority. This does not mean that someone has the authority to tell
you who to marry or where to work. It does not mean that someone has the
authority to tell you what you should wear, or how long your hair should be. I
could go on…but you get my point. It does mean, as Jerry stated, “…that there
are those more mature than you who can help you grow up to become a mature
Christian yourself, able to help others”
The clip below from the movie "Castaway" reminds me of how prideful we can become when we think WE have done something, how we forget that WE can do nothing apart from Him...it seems silly to many I am sure...but this, to me at least, displays our pride in our accomplishments in a way we can *see*
The clip below from the movie "Castaway" reminds me of how prideful we can become when we think WE have done something, how we forget that WE can do nothing apart from Him...it seems silly to many I am sure...but this, to me at least, displays our pride in our accomplishments in a way we can *see*
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