Overcoming Pride

Overcoming Pride

By Apostle Felix

8  For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 

Hebrews 4: 8 – 11

Pride can be regarded as the mother of all sins. And this is because pride is a declaration of total independence from God to total dependence on self. The sin Adam and Eve committed was not necessarily the eating of a fruit, but the rejection of God and the decision to rely on themselves and the created to be like God. They rejected the word of the Lord and settled for the word from the mouth of satan, suggesting independence from God. Satan, himself who is an arch-enemy of man, is the author of pride and the father of lies. Satan understood very well the consequences of independence from God. The consequence of pride is the fall from grace.

4  If you want to be made holy by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from the Anointed One and have fallen away from the revelation of grace! 

Galatians 5: 4

You may be asking, how is the above scripture related to pride. In every sense, it is. As already alluded to, pride is independence from God. It is predicated on human effort and attempts to be like God. The law was not given to man to be made holy. The purpose of the law was to remind man that he was a sinner and needed a saviour. The law reflects the condition of man’s heart and it does not have the power to change the heart. The law does not justify the law keeper but consistently reminds man of his shortcomings. How can one then overcome pride?

20  So then, the law was introduced into God’s plan to bring the reality of human sinfulness out of hiding. And yet, wherever sin increased, there was more than enough of God’s grace to triumph all the more!
21  And just as sin reigned through death, so also this sin-conquering grace will reign as king through righteousness, imparting eternal life through Jesus, our Lord and Messiah! 

Romans 5: 20, 21

The only way to overcome pride is to accept and rest in the finished work of Christ. This is called ‘grace.’ God resists the proud but He gives more grace to the humble. Resting in Christ’s finished  work is humility, and one receives grace. How can one rest in Christ’s finished work? According to Hebrews chapter four verses eleven and twelve, believing in what Christ has done for us and abandon any religious ritual for the work of Christ, is resting in Christ. Don’t you wonder why elements are so emphasized in false churches? The reason is simple. Those are the works of the flesh, that points man, not to God, but to man himself. Those elements are satan’s tools of pride. The finished work of Christ is enough. You do not need water because He has given you the living water that flows from within you. You do not need oil in a bottle because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You do not need salt because you are now the salt of the earth. You do not need Elijah’s anointing or any of the prophets of old because you have the anointing from the holy One, Jesus Christ. Believe it and rest in Him. God bless.