Name of Assembly: United Apostolic Church
Type of Service: Bible Study
Date: November 19 th , 2024
Series Topic: The Peril of Pride
Lesson 4: The Manifestations of Pride
Scripture Text: James 4:5-6
“ 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” – James 4:5-6.
INTRODUCTION
In our previous lessons, we have considered the destructive nature of pride. We have seen how pride prevents individuals from being aware of their spiritual condition, distorts their perspective of themselves and others, hinders fellowship with God and others, and ultimately leads to destruction. We have defined pride as “an exaggerated sense of one’s importance and a selfish preoccupation with one’s rights.” It is an attitude that says, “I am more important than you are, and if need be, I will promote my cause and protect my rights at your expense.”
The only way to effectively deal with pride is through genuine humility. While it is true that there are practical ways in which a person can limit proud and arrogant behavior, pride ultimately dies only as the person’s self-life is dismantled. The fallen, depraved human nature inherited from Adam must be rendered powerless by our cooperation with the Holy Spirit in His effort to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. Only when we die to self-will is our pride effectively dealt with, and Jesus Christ is magnified in our lives.
Our self-life must be crucified as the following passages indicate:
“Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?” - Mark 8:34-37 (TMB).
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” - Galatians 2:20.
“And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” - Galatians 5:24.
This lesson and the subsequent ones will examine the process that frees us from pride and arrogance and ushers us into true humility.
SPIRITUAL POVERTY
“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”- St. Matthew 5:1-3.
To be poor in spirit means to have a correct estimate of oneself. It is the opposite of the attitudes of self-praise and self-assertion. The person who is poor in spirit recognizes his spiritual poverty and wretchedness. The person who is poor in spirit consciously depends on God, not on himself or herself; they are acutely aware of the fact that they have no ability in themselves to please God.
When people recognize their spiritual poverty, they know there is nothing they can do to save themselves, and they realize there is nowhere or no one to turn to for help except Jesus Christ. They understand that their destinies are out of their hands. They fully appreciate what is recorded in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
The term “filthy rags” is quite strong. The word filthy is a translation of the Hebrew word iddah, which means “the bodily fluids from a woman’s menstrual cycle.” The word rags means “a rag or garment.” Therefore, these “righteous acts” are considered by God as repugnant as a soiled feminine hygiene product.
What can be regarded as “our righteousness?” This refers to our human efforts to attain righteousness by what we do. Many believe that if they feed the poor, give their tithe and offerings, or devote a certain amount of time to volunteering in the church, that will make them righteous. However, this is the very definition of self-righteousness. On the cross, Jesus took our sins upon Himself and purchased our salvation. As a result, we are “ … now justified by his blood” - Romans 5:9, and part of this justification is an imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Paul puts it this way: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” - 2 Corinthians 5:21. Jesus is righteous by His very nature. By God’s grace, “through faith in Jesus Christ,” that righteousness is given “to all who believe,” according to Romans 3:22. That’s imputation: the giving of Christ’s righteousness to sinners.
In utter desperation, we must approach the Almighty God with nothing but a plea:
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
We must all realize that self-righteousness is not righteousness at all; we must rely entirely on God's mercy and allow Him to impute His righteousness to us.
A person can receive initial salvation but never fully surrender their life to Jesus Christ.
We may play a musical instrument, sing in the choir, teach Sunday School, and even hold ministerial credentials, but our love of self and the world may not yet be broken.
We may still be slaves to sin. The prideful self that has developed the habit of defying Jesus Christ's Lordship may remain unaltered. Self may still occupy the throne of our hearts, and we may not have a strong enough desire to relinquish control and yield to the King of kings. Self may reign as we deny the instructions and promptings of the Spirit of God.
The reality is that though we are numbered among the redeemed, we may still be unbroken, unrepentant, and not surrendered to Jesus Christ even though we might be exhibiting a form of godliness as stated in 2 Timothy 2:5, “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
THE CORRECT APPROACH TO GOD
“ 9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharise The Correct Approach to Gode, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”- St. Luke 18:9-14.
Jesus exposed the Pharisees' self-righteousness, pride, and unbelief throughout His public ministry. The sad thing is that the Pharisees were deceived and thought they were right while Jesus was wrong. This is illustrated in this parable.
Both the Pharisees and the Publicans went to the temple to pray. It may have been the hour of public prayer, or they may have gone to offer personal prayers.
In verse 9, Luke informs us that our Lord spoke this parable “unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” The Message renders the verse as follows: “He told his next story to some who were complacently pleased with themselves over their moral performance and looked down their noses at the common people.”
As a rule, the Pharisees did not trust God for righteousness; instead, they trusted that their works would make them righteous. They mistakenly assumed they had met the demands of the law of God and were also in the habit of despising those who were not as ‘externally righteous’ as themselves. They trusted in their outward conformity to the ceremonies of the law and considered all who did not do so as sinners. This is the true character of self-righteousness. Self-righteous persons always despise others, believing that they are far above them in holiness, and are quick to say to them, “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou” - Isaiah 65:5. True religion, on the contrary, is humble. Those who trust in Christ for righteousness know they are poor, miserable, and guilty and are not focused on comparing themselves to others. Instead, they compare themselves to God’s righteous standards as taught by Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:12, “ 12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
Jesus exposed the self-righteousness of the religious leaders of His day through this Pharisee who had an exaggerated sense of his importance and was self- absorbed. He was not engaged in prayer; instead, he addressed God. His pride caused him to be deceived about prayer, for verse 11 states that he prayed with himself and told God (and anyone else listening) how good he was. He was quick to point out all the positive things he had done. The Pharisees used prayer to get public recognition and not as a spiritual exercise to glorify God, draw closer to Him, and be transformed. Unfortunately, this Pharisee was completely blind to the fact that his entire spiritual experience was rooted and grounded not in God but in himself!
Pride caused him to be deceived about himself, for he thought God accepted him because of what he did or did not do. The Jews were required to fast only a few a year, but he fasted twice a week. He tithed from everything that came into his possession, even the tiny herbs from his garden (Matthew 23:23).
By human standards, this Pharisee lived an exemplary life that many modern Christians would have approved. He prayed, fasted, tithed, and abstained from all obvious, visible sins. It is interesting to note that when he took a personal inventory of his life, he saw nothing negative. Everything he saw and thought about himself was positive.
The Pharisee’s attitude indicates he had little love or reverence for God. He did not draw near to God with a humble, broken, or submissive attitude; Rather, he came with the attitude of one who felt that the Lord was fortunate to have such a follower as he.
The approach of the publican was very different: “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner” (Verse 13). The publican did not march into God’s presence and demand His undivided attention. The Bible says he stood afar off. The Pharisee also stood, but he endeavored to get as close as he could to the upper end of the court. The publican kept at a distance under a sense of his unworthiness to draw near to God. As he stood in the presence of the Lord, an understanding of the majesty and holiness of God overwhelmed him, and a sense of his humanity and sinfulness devastated him. H must have felt like David in Psalm 40:12: “Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.” As he bowed before the Holy One his sins were “ever before” him.
It was usual for the persons who came to pray in the Temple to lift their hands, but this publican would not lift so much as his eyes to heaven, much less his hands. Unlike the Pharisee, the publican expressed repentance and humility in everything he did. He came with the attitude that he was fortunate that God was willing to admit him into His presence and to hear his broken cry.
Although he felt unworthy to lift his hands or eyes, he lifted his heart! Perhaps he recalled the prayer of David in Psalm 51:6: “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” He smote upon his breast in annoyance at himself and sincere, godly sorrow for having grieved the Lord. His prayer was short, but what he said was to the point: “God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
The publican's prayer was different from that of the Pharisee. The publican did not speak of his righteousness toward God or man. He knew that he was a sinner and was willing to acknowledge that. This attitude and prayer will always be acceptable to God.
The Pharisee’s address was full of pride, pretense, and show. The prayer of the publican was full of humility and sincerity. The Pharisee’s address was full of confidence in himself and his righteousness and sufficiency. The publican’s prayer was full of repentance for sin and desire towards God.
In the King James Version, the Pharisee used 34 words in his address. The publican used only 7 in his prayer. In other words, the Pharisee used almost five times the number of words as the publican.
This man came up to the temple to pray, and he prayed indeed. And a broken and contrite heart God will not despise. This despised, sinful, but broken-hearted man ‘went down to his house justified (acquitted and looked upon as righteous in the sight of God) rather than the other.’
Those of us who have had an initial experience with God but who have never come to an end of ourselves in godly sorrow, brokenness, and complete surrender will not be able to appreciate the tremendous blessing that this publican received. Perhaps we have never really thrown ourselves on the mercy of God, but instead, we have attempted to justify ourselves to avoid the reality of our actual spiritual condition.
Have we given up a few obvious bad habits and made some alterations to our lifestyle, particularly in the external area, but we are primarily unchanged? Is it that the pride of life still dominates our thoughts and attitudes, and self still occupies the throne of our hearts? Is it that we have experienced reformation, not transformation?
The Kingdom of Heaven becomes a living reality when we reach spiritual poverty. Only the poor in spirit can sincerely pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), for our kingdoms must be relinquished before God’s Kingdom can come.
John the Baptist clearly understood this principle, for in John 3:27-31, we read the following: “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.”
A genuine, radical inner transformation can only begin when we are fully persuaded, like John, that “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Let us be constantly reminded of how the Lord’s Prayer ends: “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen”- Matthew 6:13.
CONCLUSION
At the place of spiritual poverty, we are confronted with the evidence of our actual state. The painful truth about how ugly we are inside scares us. All seems lost, and we feel helpless and hopeless. It is precisely at this point that transformation begins. Deep within our innermost being, we renounce and abandon the sin and self-will we have cherished. Suddenly, everything is different as all the obstacles that have kept us at a distance from God are removed.
Those who waste their lives seeking happiness and fulfillment in their relationship with Jesus Christ outside of a surrendered and crucified life will never understand the unspeakable joy to be found in His presence.
As we examine ourselves, can we honestly say that we have come to an end of self-will? Is Jesus Christ occupying His rightful place on the throne of our hearts? Have we truly surrendered to Him? “Is our all on the altar of sacrifice laid; our heart does the Spirit control?” Are we, like the Publican, going down to our homes justified?
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, I acknowledge that I do not know enough about poverty of spirit. In Your mercy, please bring me to that place of self-nothingness where all I desire is you. I am tired of a works-based religion. I am tired of trying to earn my salvation by performing good deeds. Please help me to die to self-will. I want to be like the Publican. Bring me to an end of myself, no matter what the cost. I will not let You go until You rid me of self and fill me full of You! In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
