Sin of Pride

Order of Service

• Prayer Requests
• Opening Prayer
• Sermon
• Closing Prayer

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Sermon Title: The Sin of Pride

Scripture: Isaiah 14:11-14

I. Pride as the Original Sin

A. Pride is the sin of Satan — his desire to be worshiped and to usurp God

1. Isaiah 14:11-14 — the fall of the king of Babylon, with deeper reference to Satan's expulsion from heaven
2. Luke 10:17-19 — Jesus reminisces about watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning
3. Matthew 4:9-11 — Satan's ultimate desire to be worshiped, revealed in the temptation of Christ

B. God singles out pride for repeated and severe condemnation throughout Scripture

1. Proverbs 8:13 — God hates pride and arrogance
2. Proverbs 15:33 — before honor comes humility, the opposite of pride
3. Acts 5:3 — Ananias and Sapphira: pride-driven desire for recognition led to lying to the Holy Spirit, with immediate fatal consequences

II. Pride Destroys Ministry

A. King Uzziah — 2 Chronicles 26:16-21

1. A good king whose heart became proud; he entered the temple to burn incense, a role reserved for priests
2. Struck with leprosy immediately and separated from the house of the Lord for the rest of his life

B. Moses at the rock — Numbers 20:9-13

1. God commanded Moses to speak to the rock; instead, in frustration, Moses struck it twice
2. Consequence: neither Moses nor Aaron were permitted to enter the Promised Land
3. Moses later argued with God to reverse this judgment; God sternly refused

C. Peter rebukes Jesus — Matthew 16:22-24

1. Peter, envisioning an earthly kingdom, rebuked Jesus for speaking of his death
2. Jesus responded: "Get behind me, Satan" — Peter's thinking was set on man's interests, not God's
3. Also see 2 Corinthians 5:12 — Paul identifies pride as the chief problem of the false teachers in Corinth

III. Pride Prevents Intimacy with God

A. God's ways are not our ways — Isaiah 55:8-9

1. The first step toward knowing God is acknowledging the vast gap between us and him
2. Pride prevents us from acknowledging that gap

B. God dwells with the humble and contrite

1. 1 John 2:16 — the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but from the world
2. Isaiah 57:15 — God dwells with the contrite and lowly in spirit
3. Isaiah 66:2 — God looks to the one who is humble, contrite, and who trembles at his word

C. Ultimately, pride can prevent a person from knowing God at all

1. All false religion is man's attempt to reach God on his own terms — the essence of pride
2. Christianity is distinct: it is God reaching down to man, not man climbing up to God

IV. Pride Destroys Relationships

A. Amnon and Tamar — 2 Samuel 13:10-21

1. Amnon's so-called love was rooted in pride and the desire for control
2. After violating Tamar, his "love" turned immediately to hatred — a pattern seen in lustful, controlling relationships

B. David's failure to act — 2 Samuel 13:21, 37-39

1. David was furious but did not punish Amnon, likely because of his own guilt with Bathsheba
2. David longed to reach out to Absalom but could not bring himself to admit he had been wrong
3. Pride and the refusal to admit fault allowed the crisis to escalate and bring further tragedy

C. Joseph and his brothers — Genesis 37

1. Joseph was theologically correct about his dreams, but flaunted his favored status over his brothers
2. Jacob/Israel never repented of his open favoritism
3. The brothers' resentment, fueled by pride on all sides, led to Joseph's betrayal

D. Paul and Barnabas over John Mark — Acts 15

1. John Mark had abandoned a previous missionary journey; Paul refused to take him again
2. Barnabas, possibly motivated by family loyalty, insisted on bringing him
3. Pride on both sides led to a painful separation — yet God used even this division to spread the gospel more widely

V. Other Sins Rooted in Pride

A. Lust and sexual immorality — driven by a desire for control and domination

B. Sins of the tongue — assuming what I have to say is more important than what others have to say

C. Covetousness — believing I deserve what belongs to someone else

D. Greed and status-seeking — Galatians 2:11-14: Peter separated himself from Gentiles to maintain status with visiting Jewish believers; Paul confronted him to his face

E. Ungratefulness — forgetting what we actually deserve and complaining about what God provides

F. Lovelessness — demanding what we want without regard for others

VI. The Cure for Pride

A. Understand what we deserve and what God graciously gives

1. Anything better than hell is a gift of grace

B. Meditate on the greatness of God through the Psalms — Psalm 145

1. Psalm 145 contains not one word about the psalmist — it is entirely focused on who God is and his worthiness to be praised
2. Reading the Psalms daily shapes our prayers and reminds us of our true standing before God

C. Pursue the mind of Christ — who gave up heaven to serve enemies who ultimately killed him