God opposes the proud (James 4:5-8).
Why is it that so many say that pride is a serious sin but they do not act like it is a serious sin?
Why do so many tremble when caught in pornography, lying or stealing but they have little to no fear of God for the pride of their heart?
Because they fear man more than they fear God! They fear being caught by man more than the judgment or being caught by God. The truth is that so many are living their lives without the true manifest presence of God (John 14:21) that they fear being caught in sin by man more than God because God is not the all consuming reality burning inside their hearts on a daily basis. Their lives and their affections are fixed upon and centered upon things instead of the One created all things.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance (Proverbs 8:13). If it is the fear of the Lord to hate pride then shouldn't we tremble if He sees in us something that He hates!
To fear God means that there is good reason to tremble! When Scripture says that God opposes the proud that means that He resists them and stands in opposition to them.
Satan wasn't kicked out of heaven for killing, fornication or drugs. He fell like lightning from heaven because of pride!
What is pride? It is putting yourself before God: it is choosing your way instead of accepting God's way, which basically translates to, "I think that I am more important than God"! Now no one would actually say that they are more important than God but that is precisely what we say when God tells us to do something and we do not do it for one reason or for another!
Adam and Eve were not banished from paradise for lying, stealing or adultery. They simply partook of something that God prohibited. What led them to err so greatly? Pride!
Only seven other souls with Noah were saved from the flood.
Pride hardens the heart (Daniel 5:20) and pride deceives the heart (Obadiah 3). In other words, pride blinds you to reality!
Only four were spared the fire from heaven that turned Sodom into ashes. After being told not to look back towards Sodom, and then looking back, Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt. She wasn't judged for gambling and for watching porn. She looked upon that which the Lord prohibited. This warning still applies to all who have been saved for Jesus said, "Remember Lot’s wife" (Luke 17:32) and this was recorded in the Gospel because the Holy Spirit thought it would be helpful to us!
Only two Israelites, who were saved from Egypt while being adults entered into the Promised Land.
Jesus said, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).
Now there is a GREAT DIFFERENCE between believing in Jesus and believing Him!
One believes that Jesus is only the Son of God who died on the cross to save from hell but they fail to believe His words by taking them seriously.
Jesus didn't speak idle words. He didn't say what He really didn't mean. His intent was to GRIP the attention of the hearers and bring them to reality and to a point of decision.
Forsake that pile of poop, that soul damning theology that would claim that the words of JESUS were only for the Jews!
The apostle Paul said, "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself" (1 Timothy 6:3-5).
According to the apostle, those who do not consent to the words of Jesus are proud and they no nothing, not little, but they know nothing. They have zero reality of Christ, His kingdom, His holiness and truth and the judgment to come! From such we are TO WITHDRAW; how much less are we to participate with those who teach that the words of Jesus were only for the Jews, that we are not under the dispensation of law but of grace, and therefore, render the words of God, which are Spirit and life, which will judge all on the last Day, which are the very foundation of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 3:11), utterly useless!!!
Referring to God's chastisement and judgments upon the Israelites whom He saved from Egypt, the apostle Paul warns those who have been saved by grace through faith, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).
Paul was warning all who have been saved and baptized to stop complaining, stop your sexual immorality, stop your idolatry and drunkenness, lest you put God to the test (1 Corinthians 10:1-9).
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“Reason dictates that persons who are truly noble and who love wisdom will honor and love only what is true. They will refuse to follow traditional viewpoints if those viewpoints are worthless...Instead, a person who genuinely loves truth must choose to do and speak what is true, even if he is threatened with death...I have not come to flatter you by this written petition, nor to impress you by my words. I have come to simply beg that you do not pass judgment until you have made an accurate and thorough investigation. Your investigation must be free of prejudice, hearsay, and any desire to please the superstitious crowds. As for us, we are convinced that you can inflict no lasting evil on us. We can only do it to ourselves by proving to be wicked people. You can kill us—but you cannot harm us.” From Justin Martyr's first apology 150 A.D. Martyred A.D. 160