The Danger of Pride

1. Read: Proverbs 16:18

2. About the Text:

1) Out of all the sins that man may commit, pride is most fundamental.

2) It is a root sin that is responsible for many other sins.

3) Every Bible character that sinned did so due to their own pride.

a. Adam and Eve’s sin of eating of the forbidden fruit was rooted in pride.

b. Saul’s envy of David was rooted in Saul’s pride.

c. David’s adultery with Bathsheba was rooted in pride.

d. Ahab’s murder of Naboth was rooted in pride.

e. Nebuchadnezzar was turned into a beast because of his pride.

4) The result of these sins was both physical and spiritual destruction.

5) Let’s look at the danger of pride.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. Pride causes self-deception.

1) “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

2) “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6).

3) Naaman – 2 Kings 5:10-12

2. Pride is responsible for lies.

1) Proverbs 6:16-19

2) Old Prophet – “He said to him, “I too am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” (He was lying to him.)” (1 Kings 13:18).

3) Ananias and Saphira – “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:4).

3. Pride is responsible for false testimony.

1) Jesus discussed this: Matthew 15:18-20

2) Ahab used false testimony to have Naboth killed – 1 Kings 21:13 – “And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died.”

3) The Jewish leaders used it to put Jesus to death. “Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward” (Matthew 26:59-60).

1. It divides man from God.

1) Isaiah 59:1-3

2) Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden – Genesis 3:22-23 – “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.”

2. It divides brother from brother.

1) 1 Timothy 6:3-5

2) In Genesis 4, Cain’s pride in his own evil works drove him to kill Abel – “not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:12).

3) “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered” (Proverbs 28:25).

3. It divides the church.

1) Pride in men’s wisdom divided the church at Corinth – “for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3).

2) Jude 1:16-19

1. It destroys lives.

1) Consider the destructive power of pride on Nebuchadnezzar’s life

2) Daniel 5:20-21

2. It destroys relationships.

1) The book of Esther records that pride almost destroyed the Jewish people.

2) “When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath” (Esther 3:5).

3. It destroys the soul eternally.

1) Mark 7:20-23

2) “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world” (1 John 2:6).

3) “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

4) “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure” (Psalm 101:5).

5) The proud are listed in Romans 1:30 as those deserving of death.

1. Pride is dangerous because it is . . .

1) Deceiving

2) Divisive

3) Destructive

2. Invitation