Spiritual Pride
Spiritual pride can lead to a perilous comfort, and humility is the key to a healthy spiritual life.
A.W. Tozer addresses the issue of spiritual pride, warning that our arrogance and self-righteousness may be the reasons for rejection and dislike from others, despite our outward piety. He emphasizes the importance of self-examination and humility, suggesting that we often disguise our faults with a facade of good humor and spirituality. Tozer reminds us that persecution may stem from our association with Christ, and encourages deep heart searching and repentance rather than complacency in our perceived spirituality. Ultimately, he calls for a humble approach to our faith, recognizing that we may not be as spiritually advanced as we believe.
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It might be a shock to some of us if we could know why we are disliked and why our testimony is rejected so violently. Could it be that we are guilty of a deep sinfulness of disposition that we just cannot keep hidden? Arrogance, lack of charity, contempt, self-righteousness, religious snobbery, fault-finding--and all this kept under careful restraint and disguised by a pious smile and synthetic good humor. This sort of thing is felt rather than understood by those who touch us in everyday life. They do not know why they cannot stand us, but we are sure that the reason is our exalted state of spirituality! Perilous comfort. Deep heart searching and prolonged repentance would be better.
Yet let us not assume that if we are persecuted it is because of our faults.
The opposite may be the fact. They may hate us because they first hated Christ, and if that is so, then blessed are we indeed. The point is, let us take nothing for granted. We may be better than we think we are, but the likelihood is not overwhelming. Humility is best.
Sermon Outline
- The Dangers of Spiritual Pride
- The Consequences of Spiritual Pride
- A Different Perspective
- The Importance of Humility
- Humility is Best
- Taking Nothing for Granted
- Blessed Are We
Key Quotes
“Arrogance, lack of charity, contempt, self-righteousness, religious snobbery, fault-finding--and all this kept under careful restraint and disguised by a pious smile and synthetic good humor.” — A.W. Tozer
“Perilous comfort. Deep heart searching and prolonged repentance would be better.” — A.W. Tozer
“Blessed are we indeed.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We should take nothing for granted and continually examine our hearts for signs of spiritual pride.
- Humility is essential for a healthy spiritual life, and it requires deep heart searching and repentance.
- We may be better than we think we are, but humility is still the best approach.