Pride The First Sin. Series

The legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi was known to be a rather prideful man. He also became accustomed to fans seeking his autograph. One day while eating at a restaurant, he spotted a kid approaching his table. Lombardi grabbed a menu and quickly scribbled his name. When the kid got to the table, coach Lombardi arrogantly handed him the autographed menu. The kid said, "I don’t need a menu. I just need to borrow your ketchup."

Ancient church leaders put the sin of pride at the top of their list of 7 deadly sins for obvious reasons. If you haven’t been with us we are in a series of sermons called “What happens in Vegas stays in you”. Sin stays in us. We have to scrap it off of us.

This list of seven deadly sins was complied back in the 4th and 5th centuries. These sins can destroy the personal spiritual life and so early church leaders wanted us to avoid them at all cost and develop the virtues that trump them.

The Bible teaches us that as believers in Jesus Christ we are to have a humble spirit. That is the corresponding virtue to pride. There is a lot of miss-interpretation about what true humility is today. Therefore, this is a good time for us to see what the scripture really teaches us both pride and humility. Pride is a very elusive thing, a very deceptive sin that most do not see in themselves. However, it is at the root of so much wrongdoing in our lives.

I. PRIDE AND ITS HISTORY.

Pride is the oldest sin in the Book. In Genesis 3 when Satan tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he said to her, 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve and then Adam eat from the tree and we have always assumed they wanted to be like God. Pride is a problem for all of mankind. In Genesis chapter 11 we find an ancient story about the people on earth just after the great flood. Noah’s great grandchildren wanted to build a great city and tower. God wanted them to fill the earth and be fruitful but they gathered in the plains of Shinar and said in Gen. 11:4 “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

So out of pride the great-great grandchildren of Noah were disobeying God and not filling the earth, so God confused their languages and scattered the peoples through out the middle east and we call that partially built tower the tower of Babel.

When you read the Bible, and seriously consider sin, you end up seeing yourself and your own sin in-between the lines. Every sin that we are going to talk about, every one of us has committed. I want to remind myself and you about how we can do better in the future. God isn’t finished with us yet and so we are here to grow in His grace and build the virtues to erase the sins.

Ted Turner allegedly once said, “If I only had a little humility, I would be perfect.” Well God wants to perfect us, but not in the Ted Turner style of things, but in the Jesus way.

Let’s first define a few things about pride and then close with instructions to put the humble heart of Jesus into our own lives.

II. GOD TALKS ABOUT PRIDE IN THE BIBLE.

A. Before I tell you why God hates pride there are two examples in the Bible of positive pride.

1. Galatians 6:3 and following which says, “3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5for each one should carry his own load.” What Paul was saying is that every Christian should put their efforts into developing their own consistency instead of picking on others.

2. James 1:9 9The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.” If you don’t have much today, be happy, because God loves you and in heaven you have riches.

B. But elsewhere God says he hates pride in us. In Proverbs 6 verse 16 it says, There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes,” is the first sin God hates, that’s pride. Really some simple reasons why that is so. I’ve listed five from scripture.