Austin Bible Church
Arrogance or pride is a basic mental attitude sin. It is a state of self-esteem, lofty self-respect for real or imagined reasons, real or imagined superiority. Arrogance includes vanity, empty pride, excessive desire for attention, approval or praise, conceit, and haughtiness. Arrogance was the original sin of Satan and motivation at the time of his fall. Isaiah 14:12-14ְ Ezekiel 28:14-17.
""How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! "But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'" (Isaiah 14:12-14, NASB)
""You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. "You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you. "By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you." (Ezekiel 28:14-17, NASB)
The sin of arrogance is the greatest hindrance to love in any category. Pride eliminates your sense of integrity or objectivity, justice, and fairness. You become subjective and don't have true capacity for love. You love yourself more than anyone else. You lose your sense of humor.
Pride is the worst sin. The most powerful mental attitude sin is jealousy. These two often go together. God warns against pride in 1 Timothy 3:6.
" and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil." (1 Timothy 3:6, NASB)
The arrogant believer becomes unteachable. 1 Tim. 6:3-4.
"If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions," (1 Timothy 6:3-4, NASB)
Arrogance is related to other sins. 2 Tim. 3:2; Rom. 1:30.
"For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy," (2 Timothy 3:2, NASB)
"slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents," (Romans 1:30, NASB)
Arrogance precedes a fall. Prov. 16:18.
"Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling." (Proverbs 16:18, NASB)
Pride is related to national divine discipline. 2 Chron. 32:26.
"However, Hezekiah humbled the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come on them in the days of Hezekiah." (2 Chronicles 32:26, NASB)
Pride is the trigger mechanism for evil and reversionism. Psalms 10:2-4.
"In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns the LORD. The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, "There is no God."" (Psalms 10:2-4, NASB)
Self-righteousness is a manifestation of pride. Because arrogance produces subjectivity, you can’t properly use authority. Nations are destroyed if arrogance grows too much. Lev. 26:19; Hosea 7:10-14.
"'I will also break down your pride of power; I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze." (Leviticus 26:19, NASB)
"Though the pride of Israel testifies against him, Yet they have not returned to the LORD their God, Nor have they sought Him, for all this. So Ephraim has become like a silly dove, without sense; They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria. When they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like the birds of the sky. I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation to their assembly. Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me. And they do not cry to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds; For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves, They turn away from Me." (Hosea 7:10-14, NASB)
Slandering comes from pride. Positive volition to the Word of God protects your soul from pride. 1 Sam. 2:3; Job 33:16-17; Prov. 11:2.
""Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed." (1 Samuel 2:3, NASB)
"Then He opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride;" (Job 33:16-17, NASB)
"When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2, NASB)
True humility means you have learned to hate arrogance and the evil it produces. Prov. 8:13.
""The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate." (Proverbs 8:13, NASB)
The maturing believer’s soul becomes changed by the Holy Spirit and learns to recognize pride and to quickly correct their thinking via confession of sin.