HF122 - Pride Goes Before Destruction
To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Fri, June 11, 2004
Subject: Bible Study HF122 - Pride Goes Before Destruction
Hebraics,
In this study we want to consider one of the causes for stumbling in a believer's life. It is a little more insidious than simple unbelief. Even the strongest of believers can struggle over this issue at one time or another. The issue is about pride.
As most of you know, pride was the reason Satan was cast out of heaven. Pride remains Satan's favorite playing field. We have to consider that pride itself is a major hallmark of a false prophet. In this study we want to concentrate primarily on the issue of pride in a believer's life. I'll only touch briefly on the false prophet and false teacher. (We've covered this aspect in the past.)
Let's talk about it.
This is Bible Study HF122 - Pride Goes Before Destruction.
The seventy disciples return to the Lord simply overjoyed because the demons were subject to them in His name. Notice carefully the very first thing Jesus says to them: "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning."
Folk tend to wonder what this statement refers to. Was Jesus speaking of Satan's past fall, of his future judgment, or of something that had happened because Jesus was then present in the earth? Whatever the case, there is another lesson being taught in this incident.
After saying this, the Lord gives the lesson that all believers must take to heart. Jesus said, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are recorded in heaven." (Cf. Luke 10:17-20.)
Why did Jesus caution the disciples with the "nevertheless"? It is because unless power has its roots in humility and with proper objectivity, the use of power for the sake of power can result in a pride trip. Satan was a spiritual being and yet pride is what brought about his fall in the beginning. Thus we hear the sage say, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling." (Prov16:18)
In looking at the issue of pride, it is important to differentiate between a believer who gets tripped up over a prideful attitude and the person who is actually a false prophet. The believer will repent and turn back to the Lord. He has learned his lesson. The false prophet remains as he is.
The false prophet takes great pride in himself. Rather than bring glory to the Lord, he is seeking to draw attention away from the Lord and to himself. These are the ones Jesus warned His people to beware of. Jesus calls them "wolves in sheep's clothing." He said, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." (Matt7:15)
We often wonder how a person can preach or teach in the name of the Lord and yet be a false prophet or teacher. The problem is that we are often naive when it comes to the nature of evil. There is an evil spirit at work in the world that seeks to destroy all that is good and holy. Evil's greatest work is done through the avenue of masquerading as goodness. Jesus warned of this very thing in the parable of the tares.
Let's get back on course with regard to pride in a believer's life. Perhaps the worse combination of attitudes to be found in any believer are arrogance and ignorance. Ignorance is a result of not knowing or understanding the true ways of the Lord. Arrogance is a haughty attitude that sees itself above others. You can see why this combination is deadly in a believer's life.
Paul explained this problem to the Corinthian church. He said, "For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged." (Cf. 1Co11:30,31) The context has to do with the elitist attitude among the members. This sin of elitism was being brought to the covenant table, and because of this, the Lord was bringing punitive judgments - but the judgments were judgments to life.
Keep in mind that a haughty spirit is listed among the things the Bible says that God hates. Listen carefully: "There are six things the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers." (Prov6:16-18)
Did you notice which 'sin attitude' heads the list. The head of the list is "haughty eyes." What I didn't point out is the statement that is made just before the list. It says, "Therefore his calamity will come suddenly; instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing." (Verse 15)
It should go without saying that the best preachers are always those who see themselves as sinners saved by grace, preaching to sinners who need grace. The one who vaults himself as someone great, or someone who has a handle on what life is all about - that is, the one who is condemning and judgmental of others - this is the one in danger of having his world come down around his ears by a judgment from the Lord.
Who then does the Lord actually look to? God spoke through Isaiah saying, "Heaven is my throne and earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hands made all these things, thus all these things came into being, 'declares the Lord.' BUT TO THIS ONE I WILL LOOK, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." (Isaiah 66:1,2. Caps for emphasis only.)
Some years ago I had an experience that shook me well enough. In talking with another minister, I made a derogative remark about a third minister. I simply did not agree with that minister's position on a certain issue. It wasn't a matter of whether I was right or wrong. Evidently the Lord saw something in my heart that He did not like, and so my heart smote me.
Then the Lord say to me, "Who are you to judge another man's servant. To His own Master he stands or falls. And stand he will. The Lord is able to make him stand." Of course I recognized the Romans 14 Scripture. Next the Lord adds a commentary. He said, "Just because you don't agree with a man does not mean you are right."
For some reason that reached the deep of my heart and since that time I've tried to be very careful in offering my opinions on another servant of the Lord. Have I missed it? Too many times I admit. But the lesson remains, and I am often brought to repentance over some unkind thing that I've said against another.
This does not mean that we don't have a right to discernment. We most surely have the right to recognize when a evil work is in place, but we do not have the right to put ourselves in the place of God. James said, "Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law ... There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you to judge your neighbor." (Cf. James 4:11,12)
I think it would be good at this time to point out that while we generally think of pride in a bad sense, actually there is a good form of pride. The good pride is a pride of appreciation. This kind of pride is mixed with humility. We find this kind of pride in our appreciation for the American flag and for godly leadership. There is nothing wrong with having pride that is wrapped up in humility and appreciation.
King Jehoshaphat had the good kind of pride. It says, "So when the Lord established the kingdom in his control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he had great riches and honor. He took great pride in the ways of the Lord and again removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah." (2 Chron 17:5,6)
The bad pride, that is, the pride that brings destruction, is a pride of arrogance. Its roots are ugly. It is self-seeking and self-glorifying. It was this pride that brought about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 a.d. The religious leaders did not see themselves as sinners in need of salvation, thus they rejected God's purpose for them in their rejection of Jesus Christ as God's Son, the Redeemer of Israel. Theirs was a pride of race and culture, which translates over into bigotry and prejudice.
The sad thing is that they did not even know their own purpose in life. They were not chosen because of any innate goodness on their part. They were chosen to fulfill a role in the redemption program of God, therefore their being chosen was to serve as a priestly nation for the world until the Messiah should come. They were entrusted with the oracles of God, and yet they were as much in need of a Savior as any other people group on the earth.
Be that what it may, let's touch on another issue of pride that can be readily seen today. There have been and will continue to be failures in the pulpits of the world as long as arrogance takes the forefront. While the arrogant man is lifting himself up, he is in fact setting himself up for a failure. David said, "For You save an afflicted people, but haughty eyes You abase." (Ps27:27)
The point being that as long as a man is little in his own eyes he will do well in the kingdom of God. A second note is that each minister and child of God should keep in mind that he or she is not above the same sorts of failures that are seen in others. And if he begins to sing Satan's tune of, "How great I am. How great I am," he is surely headed for a downfall.
This may be especially true for those who are not careful over what is called the confession message. Believers are told to never confess a weakness, or a fear, or anything that would take away from 'who they are in Christ.' While all this sounds well and good, the truth of the matter is that this form of confession teaching can run contrary to the humility we have been called to live by.
A good example of this is when the disciples ask the Lord to increase their faith. In the response Jesus gave, it almost seems that he ignored their request - but listen carefully you will see how He answered them quite well.
"Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which are commanded, does he? So you do, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" (Luke 17:5-10)
Did you notice the confession Jesus told the disciples to put in their mouths? We are to say, "We are unworthy servants." Why would the Lord want us to say such a thing? It is because we must never forget that our redemption and our service in God's kingdom is always a result of His working in us, and not what we ourselves are able to accomplish.
Is that what is being taught in some of the confession message today? No, people are being taught to declare their greatness. How about weakness? People are being taught to never confess weakness or lack.
Certainly there is a balance in all this, but the matter of the heart never changes. Jesus told the disciples not to make their boast or even to rejoice in the fact that the spirits were subject to them. Rather they were to rejoice because their names were recorded in heaven. We must never forget that life as we now know it is but a short space of time. How we live our life is going to center greatly on the attitude of our heart.
When Paul complained to the Lord concerning his struggles, the message he received was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for [My] power is made perfect in weakness." The apostle then spoke of his confession. Paul said, "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (Cf. 2Co12:7-10)
Well --- Let's leave the study for now. Feel free to make a contribution or ask questions.
The Lord bless you,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)