Let me start by restating a comment from the last BLOG. If [2] from below is based on the idea that grace is what the human soul is able to come up with (by obtaining humility), then the devil has turned the idea of grace into something that human beings can at the very least assist themselves in obtaining. That would change the biblical concept of humility into a human concept of works or a way to obtain grace. The quotes below are from a recent but unnamed book that I am using as a background in an effort to show forth the true beauty of the grace of God.
“[1] In this study, you’ll be learning about the character trait of humility…[2]You’ll learn that God rewards humility. [3] You’ll study about an angel and some people who allowed pride to enter into their hearts, and you’ll see what happened to them because of it….[4] You’ll also study about the punishment for pride…[5] To humble yourself means to make yourself low. How do you make yourself low? You make yourself low by not thinking more highly of yourself than you think of others. You make yourself low by putting others first-above yourself…[5] Humble people are selfless people….[6] Humble people admit that they have faults and weaknesses. [7] Humble Christian people admit that they are nothing without God. They admit that apart from God, they can do nothing.”
The Gospel is the Gospel of grace and nothing but grace. “He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (Eph 1:5-6). “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:4-9). Whatever humility is, it must fit with the idea of grace presented in these passages of Scripture. Grace is based on the character of the triune God and He shows grace based on Himself rather than on the works or merit of human beings. In order to receive grace as grace, then, a person must be emptied of any idea of merit or works to obtain grace.
From [3] above (in light of the other statements) we can see wrong ideas of pride and of humility. What we must understand about pride in the heart is that we don’t have to allow pride in the heart. The natural human being is full of pride. The heart exudes pride in all that it thinks and does. Humility, then, is not just something that can be put on here and there, but it requires a new heart. For the believer who has a new heart the devil constantly wants the believer to look to self, merit, works or something that is not in line with God’s free and glorious grace. But when we think of allowing pride to enter the heart, pride is not something that can be defeated by the self of the human heart. The human heart must bow in humility before God and ask Him to take pride from the heart. The battle is constantly over what I can do and what grace can do. Pride, as Jesus instructed His disciples regarding demons, can only be cast out by prayer and fasting (Mat 15:17-21).
The last part of [3] and then [4] tend to have the same idea. It is not that it is wrong to think that God punishes pride, but we must be careful of how we think of these things. As we can see from Romans 1:18-32 God punishes sin by hardening the heart and turning it over to more and more sin. The nature of sin is that it leads to its own punishment and even more punishment. God does not always specifically work to cause bad things to happen to people because of pride, but bad things happen to people when they are proud. A heart that has pride will be turned over to more and more pride. A proud heart will excuse and justify its own sin. So it is left to more and more sin. But a proud heart may not recognize what is happening to it especially if God gives the soul external things.
One way we can be led astray by thinking in terms of [3] and [4] is that we can be led to think that humble people have good things happen to them and proud people have bad things happen to them. This is not the way that God has set out. Instead He disciplines those He loves and brings hard and fiery trials on them to teach and train them. If we are not careful, we will think that God is punishing us when in fact He is working in us so that we may share His holiness (Heb 12:10). God may leave the proud to themselves and they may have an easy life full of outwardly good things. If a person is deceived into an outward and self-centered humility, that can be eternally fatal.
God Loves... Himself 
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