(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better)
Focus:
What’s the first deadly sin?
Intro:
I’m guessing you’ve heard the phrase “seven deadly sins,” and that would not be surprising since a) it kinda rolls off the tongue and b) the idea has been around about 1500 years since the list was first created by Pope Gregory 1.
There is no such list in the Bible, of course, at least not explicitly. AND the topic of sin is way bigger than we’d get to snuck in around our Bible reading.
That said, remember two things.
One, all sin is heinous before God, and as we’ve read, the wages of sin is death. We’re all broken, we all need a savior, and the solution to our problem is offered to all in Jesus.
The second, to answer the question, is the sin of pride.
pride. The first of the *seven deadly sins, being the inordinate love of one’s own excellence. It is traditionally believed to have been the sin of the angels and the first man, and is denounced as a vice particularly repugnant to God throughout the OT and NT (e.g. Prov. 16:18; 1 Pet. 5:5).(1)
In today’s passages, both in the Old and New Testaments, you’ll smell whiffs of pride. And since part of what we do here is talk about things that pop up along the way, here goes.
New covenant:
Passage: 2 Timothy 4
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 22
Words: ~432
So the charge to young Timmy, the pastor, is to be faithful to the word “in season and out of season,” meaning even when it’s not popular. Why? Because there will be times when people chase after preachers that tell ‘em what they want to hear. And where’s the pride in that? The same as in Gen 3 when Eve, then Adam, succumbed to wanting to decide right and wrong for themselves.
pride, evil of — Pride is viewed as a great evil because it involves pretending to a greatness and glory that belong rightly to God alone.
The sinfulness of pride:
It is condemned as evil 1Sa 15:23; Pr 21:4; Jas 4:16 See also Mk 7:22-23; Ro 1:29-30; 2Co 12:20; 2Ti 3:1-2; 1Jn 2:16
It is a characteristic of Satan Eze 28:2; 1Ti 3:6 See also 2Th 2:4 the antichrist
Warnings against pride:
In the book of Proverbs Pr 16:5,18 See also Pr 3:7,34; 6:16-17; 11:2; 25:6-7,27; 26:12; 27:1; 29:23
Elsewhere in Scripture Ps 119:21 See also Lev 26:19 ;
Proud talk: 1Sa 2:3; Ps 12:2-3; Jer 9:23-24 ; Ps 5:5; 40:4; 138:6; Isa 5:21; Jer 13:15-17; Mt 23:12 pp Lk 14:11
Jesus Christ’s teaching on pride; Ro 12:16; 1Co 10:12
God opposes the proud: 1Pe 5:5; Jas 4:6; Pr 3:34The gospel excludes pride
Ro 3:27 See also Lk 18:9-14; Ro 4:2-3; 11:17-20; 1Co 1:26-31; Eph 2:8-9Godliness involves rejecting pride
Pr 8:13 See also Ps 101:5; 131:1; Ro 12:3; 1Co 13:4; Gal 6:14 (2)
Old covenant:
Passage: 2 Kings 4-5
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 71
Words: ~2248
So in this passage we hear about Naaman exhibiting pride as he walks away, and that’s a good reminder that pride has an opposite — humility.
The various Hebrew words (translated ‘afflicted’, ‘needy’, ‘poor’, etc.) associated with humility (Heb. ‘anaw, ‘anı̂) are derived from an anthropocentric view of humanity in which humility is weakness caused by oppression or mismanagement. However in Scripture a theocentric worldview controls the connotations of the term, which refers primarily to submission to God. Such submission is the appropriate attitude before the divine majesty and is a necessary condition for accepting his grace. Even God himself is willing to stoop low to save the humble. In the NT, humility is taught by both example (in the incarnation, the foot-washing and the passion) and word to Jesus’ disciples. Grace is given only to the humble.
Pride (ge, ga’on, gbh) with its associated words (translated ‘loftiness’, ‘height’, ‘majesty’, ‘exaltation’, etc.), is not always a negative quality in the OT. God is exalted high above all he has made. Blessings given by his gracious hand, when acknowledged as such, are properly viewed with pride. It is when theocentricity becomes anthropocentricity and the divine majesty is usurped that pride becomes sinful. Pride is therefore a direct opposite of humility. In the NT Paul can take pride in his work for God since that work is all of grace. In contrast, self-centred pride is a symptom of depravity. In heaven, God is fully, finally and perfectly exalted and all sinful human pride is banished for ever.(3)
Wisdom:
Passage:
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses:
Words: ~
Commentary:
Love you!
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) F. L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 1333.
(2) Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).
(3) D. C. Searle, “Humility, Pride,” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 567.