“Pride, we may be sure will keep us out of God’s presence, because it would not suffer angels themselves to stay in it” (Edward Pelling, 1692).
If pride and self are the very heart of what it means to be fallen human beings, then we should take the whole issue of pride far more seriously than we do. While pride is a terrible thing in an unregenerate and non-religious man, it may be that far worse is pride in a religious man. If we take the pages of the Old Testament as a whole, we see that those who had the oracles of God and the religion revealed by God were judged far worse than the surrounding nations who were outwardly worse than the Israelites. If we take the pages of the New Testament as a whole, we see that the very religious (scribes and Pharisees) who thought they were righteous were judged by Christ to be far worse than the openly sinful.
If God hates pride and His eye is on it to bring it down, then all the religious things of men are utterly worthless in His sight. If God hates pride, then all the orthodox theology and creeds cannot cover a man from the wrath of God. If God hates pride, then all the external forms of prayer will not cover a man from the wrath of God. If God hates pride, then all the external forms of worship will not cover a man from the wrath of God. If God hates pride, then all the good works a man can do will not cover a man from the wrath of God. If God hates pride, then all the preaching (even if orthodox and expositional) in the world will not cover a man from the wrath of God.
If God hates pride and person A is full of pride, as stated above, then all that person’s theology and creeds would only be coming from a proud heart and for a proud heart. If God hates pride and person A is full of pride, then person A’s prayer comes from a proud heart and is opposed by God. If God hates pride and person A is full of pride, then all the forms of worship would be from a proud heart and for a proud heart. If God hates pride and person A is full of pride, then all the good works a man does is from a proud heart and for a proud heart. If God hates pride and person A is full of pride, then all the preaching that a man can do or anyone can listen to will be from a proud heart and for a proud heart.
All the religious or spiritual things that Scripture sets out for us are to be done from humble hearts full of grace seeking the face of God. So if we do them from pride and for pride, though indeed we may not admit that and may be blinded to it, we are using the things that are meant to enable us to seek God and we use them to seek the things of self. Pride takes the things of God and uses them for self. Pride takes the holiest of things and uses them for unholy self and pride.
II Chronicles is quite clear that we are to humble ourselves and pray and seek the face of the Lord, which clearly shows us that if we don’t humble ourselves our prayer is not in seeking the face of the Lord but in seeking for things from God for self. We are told in Hebrews 4 that in prayer we are to come to the throne of grace in order to obtain grace, yet we know that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. The proud person may realize that s/he needs some help, but the proud person does not realize the need for grace to do it all. If we go to a throne of grace, while we are to come with confidence, that is not the same thing as coming with pride in the heart. We can come to the throne of grace only in great humility. We can only seek grace if we come with humility.
Somehow and in someway we must see that pride in the heart ruins all true Christianity regardless of all the externals of it. If we could only see the horrible and ruinous effects of pride in our own souls, we would cry out to God to tear it from us regardless of the pain. But we see pride as more of a nuisance than as the worst thing in the universe for our souls. Pride earns damnation and the wrath of God. Pride ruins every prayer offered in pride and makes it as incense offered to an idol. Pride ruins every good work and makes it the sacrifice of the devil. Pride ruins all worship toward God and makes it the worship and adoration of man. Pride turns every sermon it is involved in into an act of self-glory for the preacher. Pride will even take something thought of as humility and raise itself up in boasting for its false humility. Pride is in some sense the very devil incarnate in the human soul. When people think that they can offer true worship to God apart from being emptied of pride is simply an astounding blindness worked by pride. How anyone can think that a person can be converted without being humbled is simply a great ignorance at best. God teaches the humble His way (Psa 25:9), but only them.
God Loves... Himself 
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