The Case Against Pride

Ezekiel 28:12-19
“‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were
created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.
You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you
sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted
your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a
horrible end and will be no more.’”

Pride

The original sin: Lucifer thought he could make himself be like God.

Isaiah 14:12-15
How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You havebeen cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. Lucifer thought he could make himself like the Most High God.

Definition of pride: having an excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit, vanity.
Synonyms: arrogant, pretentious, puffed up, boastful
Pride disrupts unity in the body of Christ.
The Bible warns us repeatedly against the power of pride:

Proverbs 18:12
Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 29:23
Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.

Proverbs 17:19
If you love to argue, then you must be in love with sin. For the one who
loves to boast is only asking for trouble.

James 4:6
But He gives us more grace. That is why scripture says “God opposes the
proud but shows favor to the humble.”

God opposes the proud

There is only room for ONE God, ONE king, ONE ruler, ONE Lord.
Anything that sets itself up against the authority and kingship of Jesus is
rooted in pride.
Pride convinced Lucifer that he could be like God and caused Lucifer’s fall.
Satan tempted Adam and Eve with the same lie in the Garden of Eden.

Warnings about pride

Jesus warned:
- Luke 10:17-20
  The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit
  to us in your name.
  They were thrilled. They couldn’t wait to come back and report to Jesus.
  He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
  Let’s pause. Doesn’t that seem like a strange response?
  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to
  overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do
  not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are
  written in heaven.”
- Jesus was saying “Do not fall into the temptation of pride. Make sure you understand.
  Make sure you give credit. Make sure you rejoice.”
Paul warned:
- Romans 12:3
  For 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 faith God has distributed to each of you.
  Paul even tells the church in Corinth that God allowed him to be tormented
  by a thorn in the flesh in order that he not become conceited due to the
  incredible revelations God had given him.

God’s way is to live a life of humility

Jesus, the perfect Son of God, humbled himself, even to the point of death
on the cross.
Philippians 2:3-11
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value
others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you
to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ
Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a
cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name
that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.