The Bible and...: Part 7d: Self-Love and Sin: Pride

The Bible and...: Part 7d: Self-Love and Sin: Pride
Friday, June 28, 2024 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apologetics / Contemporary issues / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / The church / Thought for Today

Pride. The world is wrapping up its month-long celebration of it. Individuals, corporations, governments, all are reveling in pride.

We saw in the last post that pride is the chief, and first, of what were listed and labeled in the fourth century as the seven deadly sins. What does Scripture say about pride? All texts are from the NASB:

1 Sameul 2:3: “Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed.”

Proverbs 8:13: “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.”

Proverbs 11:2: “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.”

Proverbs 16:5: “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.”

Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”

Proverbs 21:24: “‘Proud,’ ‘Haughty,’ ‘Scoffer,’ are his names, Who acts with insolent pride.”

Isaiah 2:17: “The pride of man will be humbled And the loftiness of men will be abased; And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.”

Isaiah 13:11: “Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.”

James 4:16: “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”

1 John 2:16: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

What do those texts reveal about pride? Do the texts say anything good about it? Not hardly. God will judge the proud and arrogant; He will bring them low.

One thing is certain: if we embrace a life of arrogant pride, if we celebrate the sin of pride, our destruction will follow. God will judge us, and it won’t end well. Dishonor and destruction follow after pride.

Do we want to join with those who scoff, who ridicule? If the answer is “yes”, pride is one of the quickest ways to arrive there. More than anything, God declares that pride is of the world, evil. Isn’t it better to be numbered with the humble?

As for joining with those who celebrate pride, God is direct:

2 Corinthians 6:14–15: “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”

Galatians 5:1: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

Rather than rallying behind those who celebrate sin, rather than joining with them, as believers in Christ, we are to stay far away. We have nothing in common. If anything, we run the risk of becoming subject again to that slavery. And as Scripture makes clear, we are slaves to the one we obey: whether sin or righteousness (Romans 6:16).

What can we conclude? Pride is a sin that we need to confess and repent from. It is not something to celebrate.

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