The doctrine of pride

1. Pride is the basic mental attitude sin — because it always has a counterpart. Pride is the worst of the mental attitude sins — because it always has a counterpart. Long before Satan’s pride showed his approbation lust showed. As he went around heaven everyone was impressed with his beauty. Satan was listening to this impressiveness long before his pride ever showed up. Pride was the original sin of Satan, pride is a part of a counterpart. Pride is lofty self-respect, high esteem for one’s self, making an issue out of yourself. Vanity is empty pride in respect to one’s person. vanity merely means pride without even having an excuse for being proud. When pride is show in the field of contempt it is called superciliousness.

2. Pride was both the original sin of Satan and the motivator for his fall — Isaiah 14:12-14. Ezekiel 28:14-17 tells us how he came to say this. Pride is an angelic sin and the greatest of all creatures, Satan himself, fell in this way. 3. Pride is also a human sin. Categorically pride is the basic mental attitude sin, yet it never stands alone, it is never an island, it becomes a part of a counterpart. It is always joined or connected with some other sin. The pride in sin manifests itself when there is no pressure, but as soon as there is pressure up comes the counterpart, whatever it may be — jealousy, cowardice, maligning, judging, vindictiveness, implacability, etc. All arrogant people are totally different under pressure.

3. Pride is also said to be a human sin — 1 Timothy 3:6; 6:3,4.

4. Pride is related to personal reversionism. Pride is not only a sin but it is also a spiritual condition — Psalm 10:2-4. Believers rejecting Bible doctrine are also in a state of arrogance. It is arrogance to think that you can get along without something that God has provided — your daily spiritual food. Describing the unbeliever type reversionism in Romans 1:30, he is said to be a slanderer. This is a verbal sin which is a counterpart to pride.

5. Pride is related to national reversionism. There are five cycles of discipline in national reversionism. The second discipline is divine judgement against the economy. At this stage of discipline pride is mentioned as the biggest characteristic. In the second cycle of discipline when you have depression or recession and the economy falling apart the chief sin related to it is always the sin of pride — Leviticus 26:19. Often the reason why you have depression or a recession is because government officials interfere with the economy. The juggle the economy and interfere with business. There is a divine law that says that in the economy free enterprise must prevail, and wherever you have a recession under free enterprise it is to eliminate the unfit and to improve the quality of services rendered. 2 Chronicles 32:26 — there is an answer to this. It comes from the field of humility in government. Cf Isaiah 9:9. National pride is also associated with the administration of the fifth cycle of discipline — Isaiah 28:1-3. Hosea 7:10-14.

6. Pride in relationship to God — 1 Samuel 2:3. The Hebrew says, “Arrogance shall come out of your mouth, therefore do not boast [or multiply] conversations.” In other words, if you have pride and you put pressure on it out comes conversation — verbal sins. Pride also rejects the principle that Jesus Christ controls history — Daniel 4:37, Nebuchadnezzar recognised that when he was in pride he had rejected this principle, and because of it he was humbled. The principle of pride related to Jesus Christ is given in the dissertation on blind arrogance — Matthew 19:27-20:34.

7. Positive volition toward doctrine insulates the soul from pride. In his famous speech Elihu is Job 33:16,17 — the function of GAP and Bible doctrine in the right lobe is the way in which God stops His discipline and protects from the pride complex. Proverbs 8:13; 11:2 — the answer is wisdom, it removes pride.