What is Sin - Part 3 : Pride

WHAT IS SIN?

Part 3 - Pride

Pastor Bruce A. Shields

House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

SCRIPTURE READING

Luke 18:9-14      The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

 “⁹To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:

¹⁰"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹²I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

 ¹³"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

 ¹⁴"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

INTRODUCTION

Man’s original sin = disobedience

Satan’s original sin = pride

Last week I spoke about the fact that there are two laws (covenants) in effect right now between man and God; the Law of the 10 commands (Old Testament), and the Law of Love, which is the New Covenant.

The Law only leads to death

Galatians 3:11 “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law...”

Romans 7:5 “For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.”

The LAW only leads to death, but faith in Christ Jesus saves us from the covenant of Law, and places us in God’s Grace, which is found in the covenant of Love; the New covenant.

The Law of the Old Testament was to testify that we CANNOT meet God’s standards, and that because of sin, we are in desperate need of a savior.

The Old Testament gives account to whom that Savior is, how He would come and how He would save.

Acts 13:39 “Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.”

Galatians 3:24 “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.”

Galatians 5:4 “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

Law and Grace are opposite side of the same coin.

Knowing that we are now in the Grace of God, through Christ Jesus, the New Covenant that we who believe belong under must understand that we are to serve our master, Jesus Christ.

Though our faith justifies us from everything the law condemned us for through Jesus, we cannot serve two masters, and if we live in a sin, we give up our inheritance, just as the prodigal son, and are no longer the children of God, but literally become the children of the devil.

We see that this happened to the Sadducees and the Pharisees;

John 8:31-47

“ ³¹To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

 ³³They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?"

 ³⁴Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father. "

³⁹"Abraham is our father," they answered.

   "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. ⁴⁰As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹You are doing the things your own father does."
      "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself."

 ⁴²Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. ⁴³Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? ⁴⁷He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

Listen closely to the words of Jesus here.

They had pride in the fact that they were descendants of Abraham.

They proudly stated that the only Father they had was God.

But their actions spoke differently.

How many today have pride that they are “Christians”, proudly stating that their Father is God?  Yet, their actions speak differently.

Jesus showed that their actions spoke louder than their words, just as ours do today.

Are your lips claiming you are a follower of Christ?  If you say yes, that is good.  Are your actions proving it?

Isaiah 29:13 “The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

I pose one of the most important questions that one can ask.

Are you one who gives honor to God with your words, but your actions say otherwise?

Have you traded your Father God for the devil because you are living in the sin of pride?

I.                   PRIDE IS;

a.      Defined by Webster

                                                              i.      A feeling of SELF-respect and PERSONAL worth

                                                           ii.      Satisfaction with YOUR achievements

                                                         iii.      A trait of being stirred to action by your dislike of something or someone falling below YOUR standards (judging others)

                                                         iv.      Unreasonable and inordinate SELF-esteem

                                                           v.      Having a high opinion of oneself

                                                         vi.      Possessed of a DUE sense of what one is worth or deserves

Pride is self-centeredness and self-righteousness; putting yourself before others needs and feelings.

b.     Defined by the Bible as SIN

I Corinthians 4:6

⁶Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.

                                                              i.      It is SIN:  Proverbs 21:2-4 “² All a man's ways seem right to him,
       but the LORD weighs the heart. (where sin and faith take place)

 ³ To do what is right and just
       is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. (you cannot buy God off)

⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
       the lamp of the wicked, are sin!

                                                           ii.      Satan’s fall: Isaiah 14:13-15 “¹³ You said in your heart,
       "I will ascend to heaven;
       I will raise my throne
       above the stars of God;
       I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
       on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.

 ¹⁴ I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
       I will make myself like the Most High."

 ¹⁵ But you are brought down to the grave,
       to the depths of the pit.

                                                         iii.      Wanting honor, attention, recognition...is pride: Luke 20:45-46 “⁴⁵While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁶"Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.”

c.      Defined by your actions

                                                              i.       James 4:11-12 “ ¹¹Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹²There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?”

                                                           ii.      Galatians 6:3 “³If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ⁴Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, ⁵for each one should carry his own load.”

                                                         iii.      Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

II.               THE RESULT OF PRIDE

a.      To yourself, it causes;

                                                              i.       1 Corinthians 8:1a-3 “We know that we all possess knowledge.^[a] Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. ²The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. ³But the man who loves God is known by God.”

                                                           ii.      Psalm 101:4-5 “⁴ Men of perverse heart shall be far from me;
       I will have nothing to do with evil.

 ⁵ Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,
       him will I put to silence;
       whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
       him will I not endure.

                                                         iii.      2 Chronicles 26:16 “¹⁶ But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God...”

                                                         iv.      Psalm 10:4-6 “ ⁴ In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
       in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

 ⁵ His ways are always prosperous;
       he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
       he sneers at all his enemies.

 ⁶ He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me;
       I'll always be happy and never have trouble."

b.     To others, it has caused;

                                                              i.       Daniel 5:18-21 “¹⁸ "O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. ¹⁹ Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. ²¹ He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.”

c.      To God, it causes;

                                                              i.       James 4:6b-7 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

 ⁷Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

                                                           ii.      Proverbs 3:34 “³⁴ He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.

                                                         iii.      Isaiah 66:2 “Has not my hand made all these things,
       and so they came into being?"
       declares the LORD.
       "This is the one I esteem:
       he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
       and trembles at my word.”

III.            THE CURE FOR PRIDE

a.      Love

Are you under the covenant of law or love?

I Corinthians 13:4 “Love...is not proud.”

                                                              i.      God

1.       Matthew 22:35-37 “³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

³⁶"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" ³⁷Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

a.      Love is an action

b.     I Corinthians 13 tells us what love IS

c.      Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey my commands.”

d.     He commands us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind...but He didn’t stop there.

2.      ³⁹And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' ⁴⁰All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

                                                           ii.      Others

1.      Believers

a.       I John 4:19-21 “¹⁹We love because he first loved us. ²⁰If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. ²¹And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

2.      Non-believers

a.       Love our neighbors as ourselves.

3.      enemies

a.       Mathew 5:44 “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

b.     Luke 6:27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,”

c.      Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

b.     The Word commands you to humble yourself

                                                              i.      Not false humility - "True humility" is distinctly different from "false humility," which consists of deprecating one's own self, gifts, talents, and accomplishments for the sake of receiving praise from others.

1.       Proverbs 3:7 “⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.  ⁸ This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”

                                                           ii.      True humility

1.      Humble Yourselves!

a.      Romans 12:1-3 “¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 ³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

2.      Toward God

a.       2 Chronicles 7:14-15 “¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ¹⁵ Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”

c.      Make God your Father

                                                              i.      Confess your sinfulness as the Tax Collector did!

1.       Luke 18:13-14a “¹³"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'  ¹⁴"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.”

                                                           ii.      Repent of your sin!

1.       Without repentance, confession is useless and there is no forgiveness.

                                                         iii.      Make amends with your brother!

1.      Then you can come to the altar of God

a.       Matthew 5:22-24 “²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

 ²³"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

                                                                                                                                     i.      Have you slandered someone?

                                                                                                                                  ii.      God does not want your offerings until you have made things right with the ones you have offended.

                                                                                                                               iii.      You cannot BUY God’s forgiveness for your sin.  Only true LOVE can bring forgiveness.

CONCLUSION

The Word of God tells us that Pride is a Sin.

We cannot serve two masters, and when we live in our sin, it is our master.

When we live in pride, we are no longer children of God, but children of the devil.

Jesus shows us what the cure for our pride is and that is love.

Love being an action, we need to ensure that our actions are keeping up with our words.

If we honor God with our mouths but do not live in love, our pride and arrogance will cause our separation from God.

Confess, and repent, and enter into God’s grace once more, becoming once again a child of God.