Does it Matter that Pride Is a Sin?

[newton3005]

The Old Testament is a Testament of the Law, and the New Testament is a Testament of Faith. In the Old Testament the Law matters, but in the New Testament there is a presumption that faith eclipses the Law of the Old Testament; that is, the things that the Law addresses are things that are also addressed in our faith in God through Lord Jesus. The same things that are addressed in the New Testament are not necessarily named as they are through the Law of the Old Testament.

The New Testament addresses both true believers in God through Lord Jesus, and it addresses those who have yet to see, or have not fully seen, the Light of God through Lord Jesus. If somewhere in the New Testament there is at least one passage that expressly or impliedly says ‘You shall not sin,’ it is directed at those who have yet to break away from the Law enough to be carried by faith alone. Hebrews 6:1 says to leave the elementary doctrine of Christ, for the benefit of those who are well-acquainted with the Law of the Old Testament, and it implies that they are ready for a more advanced level. In this sense, the elementary doctrine of Christ is akin to having learned the alphabet and to spell words in elementary school. Just as we have learned the alphabet and spelling and are then able to advance to reading, those who have been mired in the elementary doctrine are ready to advance, not, as Hebrews 6:1 also says, to revisit that which we already know. Those who have the faith as it is described in the New Testament may no longer need of the Law of the Old Testament.

Some may ask why then, is the Old Testament in most Christian Bibles along with the New Testament? Well, every now and then, those who are familiar with the Old Testament need a refresher as to where the New Testament was born out of. To continue the analogy, even though we can now read, do we not consult the dictionary to make sure how a word is spelled, as we would in elementary school? And to those who’ve never been exposed to the Old Testament, that part of the Christian Bible serves as the origin of the New Testament.

What is sin? It’s generally defined in secular dictionaries as a violation of God’s Law. Based on this definition, a sin is only a sin if it violates God’s Law. If there is no Law against a particular act or attitude, then it is not sinful to engage in it if we take this definition literally. Romans 3:20 says, “through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

The New Testament expands the definition of sin to include the time before God’s Law came into existence. Romans 5:13 says that “sin indeed was in the world before the law was given,” but that same passage also says that “sin is not counted where there is no law.”

Pride is a sin in the Old Testament. There are numerous Verses that identify pride as a sin, both directly and indirectly. Proverbs 21:4 says “Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin.” Well, haughtiness is a form of pride that belittles others. Is all pride regarded as sin in the Old Testament? Maybe not exactly, but Proverbs 16:18 says “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The secular form of that passage is ‘Pride goeth before a fall.’

There is a form of pride in which the New Testament subtly warns us not to engage in, and that is a sense of self-pride as supposedly being derived from our own works. For those of us whose faith in God is strong, Ephesians 2:8-10 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is NOT YOUR OWN DOING; IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Anyone who has extraordinary talent in an area, such as athletics, music, singing, writing, masonry, carpentry, art, has been gifted by God. Anyone whom others might consider to be a genius, owes that to God, who has so gifted them and whose steps have been established as God establishes our own steps.

In a sense, in the context of our faith in God, if we marvel solely at ourselves for the things we do, without thanking God, then we are worshipping ourselves instead of God which, in the Old Testament sense is a sin and in the New Testament sense amounts to a turning away from God. So, as far as pride is concerned, instead of thinking ‘Look what I did!,’ we should be thinking ‘Look at this!,’ leaving room for a believer to see that God has worked His Will into us.

 

[YahuahSaves]

Completely agree!

 

[Soyeong]

The Old Testament is a Testament of the Law, and the New Testament is a Testament of Faith. In the Old Testament the Law matters, but in the New Testament there is a presumption that faith eclipses the Law of the Old Testament; that is, the things that the Law addresses are things that are also addressed in our faith in God through Lord Jesus. The same things that are addressed in the New Testament are not necessarily named as they are through the Law of the Old Testament.

In Psalms 119:29-30, David wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching him to obey His law, and he chose the way of faithfulness, so the has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith. In Jeremiah 31:33, the New Covenant still involves follow God’s law, and in Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that faith is one of the weightier matters of the law, so you are creating a false division between God’s covenants and between faith and law. There are many verses that connect our faith in God with our obedience to Him, such as in Revelation 14:12, those who kept faith in Jesus are the same group of people who kept God’s commandments. We can’t have faith in God to guide us in how to rightly live through His law instead of obeying it.

The New Testament addresses both true believers in God through Lord Jesus, and it addresses those who have yet to see, or have not fully seen, the Light of God through Lord Jesus. If somewhere in the New Testament there is at least one passage that expressly or impliedly says ‘You shall not sin,’ it is directed at those who have yet to break away from the Law enough to be carried by faith alone. Hebrews 6:1 says to leave the elementary doctrine of Christ, for the benefit of those who are well-acquainted with the Law of the Old Testament, and it implies that they are ready for a more advanced level. In this sense, the elementary doctrine of Christ is akin to having learned the alphabet and to spell words in elementary school. Just as we have learned the alphabet and spelling and are then able to advance to reading, those who have been mired in the elementary doctrine are ready to advance, not, as Hebrews 6:1 also says, to revisit that which we already know. Those who have the faith as it is described in the New Testament may no longer need of the Law of the Old Testament.

Nowhere does the Bible say that the command not to sin is only directly at those who have not yet broken away from the law and are carried away by faith. It is like you are trying to move on to algebra by breaking away from addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

What is sin? It’s generally defined in secular dictionaries as a violation of God’s Law. Based on this definition, a sin is only a sin if it violates God’s Law. If there is no Law against a particular act or attitude, then it is not sinful to engage in it if we take this definition literally. Romans 3:20 says, “through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

The New Testament expands the definition of sin to include the time before God’s Law came into existence. Romans 5:13 says that “sin indeed was in the world before the law was given,” but that same passage also says that “sin is not counted where there is no law.”

Sin is defined as the transgression of God’s law in 1 John 3:4, not secular dictionaries. The Bible often uses the same terms to describe aspects of God’s nature as it does to describe aspect of the nature of God’s law, such as with it being holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12), or with justice, mercy, and faith being weightier matters of the law (Matthew 23:23), and God’s law could not accurately be described as such if it were not God’s instructions for how to express those aspects of His nature. Sin is what is against God’s eternal nature, which is how people could sin by acting contrary to it before God had given them laws against that, in which case sin is not charged against them.

There are more ways to act in accordance or against God’s nature than what are specifically listed as in God’s law, so it is spiritual (Romans 7:14) in that it has always been intended to teach us deeper spiritual principles of which the listed laws are just examples, and which are aspects of God’s nature, which lead us to take actions that are examples of those principles even situations that God’s law does not specifically instruct us what to do. For example we should seek to do what is righteous in accordance with God’s eternal nature while it is a sin to do what is unrighteousness even though there are situations in modern society that are not specifically addressed by God’s law.

Pride is a sin in the Old Testament. There are numerous Verses that identify pride as a sin, both directly and indirectly. Proverbs 21:4 says “Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin.” Well, haughtiness is a form of pride that belittles others. Is all pride regarded as sin in the Old Testament? Maybe not exactly, but Proverbs 16:18 says “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The secular form of that passage is ‘Pride goeth before a fall.’

There is a form of pride in which the New Testament subtly warns us not to engage in, and that is a sense of self-pride as supposedly being derived from our own works. For those of us whose faith in God is strong, Ephesians 2:8-10 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is NOT YOUR OWN DOING; IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Anyone who has extraordinary talent in an area, such as athletics, music, singing, writing, masonry, carpentry, art, has been gifted by God. Anyone whom others might consider to be a genius, owes that to God, who has so gifted them and whose steps have been established as God establishes our own steps.

In a sense, in the context of our faith in God, if we marvel solely at ourselves for the things we do, without thanking God, then we are worshipping ourselves instead of God which, in the Old Testament sense is a sin and in the New Testament sense amounts to a turning away from God. So, as far as pride is concerned, instead of thinking ‘Look what I did!,’ we should be thinking ‘Look at this!,’ leaving room for a believer to see that God has worked His Will into us.

God is trustworthy, therefore His law is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so obediently relying on God’s law should be considered to be relying on God, not on ourselves, though there can be incorrect motivations for obeying it, such as pride or trying to earn our salvation as a wage. In Ephesians 2:8-10, we are new creations in Christ to do good works, so while we do not earn our salvation as a wage by doing good works lest anyone should boast, doing good works in obedience to it is nevertheless intrinsically part of the concept of Jesus saving us from not doing good works.

 

[Tolworth John]

There are numerous Verses that identify pride as a sin,

And they are all aimed at a pride that magnifies the self and gives no glory or honour to God.