“If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
1 John 1:6-10 ESV
There’s a stark difference between pride and confidence in God. Lucifer, Hezekiah, king Saul, Nebuchadnezzar, Peter, politicians and world leaders and most of us, have a problem with pride. Pride keeps us from admitting and taking responsibility for our actions. Pride blinds us to the fact that we are answerable to Someone greater than ourselves. I heard two great sermons the other day on king Saul, he could’ve been a great king if he knew how to take responsibility for his decisions and repent. Pride is a byproduct of fear. What do I mean by that? Fear instead of trusting in God, will let us make decisions in haste and then blame others or come up with excuses. I have acted in that way regrettably in the past, you’ve read me sharing different testimonies of past mistakes, but the one thing I’ve learned to do now is repent and quickly. The Holy Spirit will make sure of that. To ignore or disobey His promptings is to lose His fellowship.
When God said everything He had created was good, He didn’t say it with a prideful attitude, He said it with confidence. He had no one to compare Himself with. He is above everything and everyone, because He is the Creator. We, on the other hand, have received everything from Him. So He tells us what our boasting should be about and looks like. By doing so, we remove pride from our hearts.
“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I Am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV
What does He delight in? Steadfast love, justice and righteousness. What are the three areas that we are warned about boasting in, or being prideful about? Intellect, power and wealth. He doesn’t delight in the prideful arrogance of men.
We also remove pride by confessing or owning up to our sins and mistakes. We will never be truly cleansed until we’re willing to admit that we’re nothing without Him. People who claim morality without the cleansing blood of Jesus are full of pride. There is no good person without the righteousness of God. That’s why trusting and obedience are Siamese twins. Pride falsely claims that we’re capable of our own righteousness, that we can plan our future and the outcome. Pride is a set up for our destruction.
Everything Satan wanted Jesus to do in Luke 4 was based on pride. Questioning what God had instructed Adam and Eve to do was rooted in pride. Refusing to accept the finished work of Jesus as the only way to heaven is rooted in pride. Unforgiveness, selfishness and jealousy, is rooted in pride. Any teaching that leaves out God the Father and His Son Jesus, is rooted in pride. Because what we’re actually implying is that we’re our own masters.
We will never be cleansed until we humble ourselves. Some of the people I mentioned earlier, with exceptions, were restored because they chose humility and repentance over pride. The Bible says that God resists the proud. It also says that pride takes the lead before a fall. We see pride on full display almost every day, especially in our leaders in government and even in churches.
“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you,” 1 Peter 5:5b-6 ESV
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.”
Proverbs 16:18-19 ESV
Whenever we hide our sin instead of confessing them, we become darker on the inside. Pride makes us feel secure, telling us we’ve gotten away, providing a false sense of security. Confession allows us to be at peace, to feel clean inside and out. Our fellowship with the Holy Spirit is restored, as well as our relationship with each other. Nothing grieves the heart of our Father more than our refusal to accept responsibility for our actions. He gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to come clean, their refusal plunged every generation into spiritual darkness. No one ever gets away with sin. It’s only a matter of time. But all the while the Holy Spirit’s warnings are being sounded. That’s God’s grace, that’s His mercy and love. Forgiveness never precedes confession. We confess to be forgiven and yes, we use words. We even cause sickness and diseases in our bodies when we hide our sins.
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
James 5:13-16 ESV
“What bliss belongs to the one whose rebellion has been forgiven, those whose sins are covered by blood. What bliss belongs to those who have confessed their corruption to God! For He wipes their slates clean and removes hypocrisy from their hearts. Before I confessed my sins, I kept it all inside; my dishonesty devastated my inner life, causing my life to be filled with frustration, irrepressible anguish, and misery. The pain never let up, for Your hand of conviction was heavy on my heart. My strength was sapped, my inner life dried up like a spiritual drought within my soul. Pause in His presence. Then I finally admitted to You all my sins, refusing to hide them any longer. I said, “My life-giving God, I will openly acknowledge my evil actions.” And You forgave me! All at once the guilt of my sin washed away and all my pain disappeared! Pause in his presence”
Psalms 32:1-5 TPT
If we consistently do things God’s way, obeying His Word, we will live a pride free life. We will be quick to repent and admit our faults. Resist the urge to cover what will be eventually exposed anyway. Jesus has paid the penalty for every act of disobedience, our responsibility is to make confession to Him and anyone we have wronged a part of our daily spiritual life. Work at destroying the spirit of pride with the help of the Holy Spirit. As He points out areas of pride, deal with it. The enemy knows that pride was his downfall and he wants it to be ours as well. Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14. Resist him steadfast in the faith. It’s one of the most subtle sins. Because it masks itself as being confident. But as I pointed out earlier, they’re not the same. When God gets the glory it’s confidence in Him when we get the glory it’s pride. Remember what I said about praises of men? You take them and make a bouquet and present them to the Lord with gratitude, acknowledging all He has done. When pride tries to muddy your life, run to the blood of Jesus for a cleansing. Don’t entertain it. Confess it. Here’s a list of pride builders to watch for:
The pride of power
Pride of position
Spiritual pride (the most subtle and dangerous of all) Luke 18:9-14
“Pride is the invisible dragnet with which the devil captures the most confident of God’s people.”- Doug Batchelor
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
July 30, 2021