There are four great areas of spiritual vulnerability for people:
The first one we will cover is PRIDE.
Pride is probably man’s biggest obstacle to salvation. Proud human beings find it difficult to wholly submit to God. The word, wholly, is significant. We’re religious creatures by nature, so it’s easy to be religious. Man cannot but be religious. As proof, it is obvious that religion has dominated the human landscape, either truly or idolatrously, from the beginning of time. Man is irrecoverably religious, regardless of how much someone may deny it concerning himself. No matter how sophisticated society becomes, man will worship and devote his life to something religiously. Jesus indicated that every man will have a master, even if it’s money (John 8:34; Matthew 6:24). To others it may be fame, or position, or power. And, even if man’s worship is pointed in the right direction, partial submission and lip service to God is far from satisfactory to Him (Mark 7:6-9; Luke 6:46). It may actually be the most precarious position to be in because it gives a false sense of security with God. God is worthy of full surrender and full devotion.
Natural pride
The Apostle John referred to the pride of life (1John 2:16). This is the natural pride that every person is born with in a fallen world. There is a prideful independence that comes with being a human possessing free will. And human will power is selfish and strong. Who doesn’t want everything his own way if possible. Learning to yield our wills is difficult. But Christ is our example. He did the will of His Father every day of His life right up to the end (John 4:34;6:38; Matthew 26:39-44). That’s how He taught us to pray (Matthew 6:9-10).
Total Surrender
Recognizing God is one thing. We’re hard-wired to believe in God. Most people can’t remember the initial point in youth when they began to believe in God. It seemed to occur naturally. But surrendering wholly to God is much different from belief. It is the most unnatural thing a person can do. It is resisted more than anything else in life. Surrender is essentially turning one’s life over to God and His Word. It means being dominated by the will of God forever. It consists of living for a different reason than before. It is shifting the focus from self and self-direction to God and being divinely led by His Word and His Spirit (Matthew 4:4; Psalms 32:8; Romans 8:14).
The introductory sin in the universe was pride.
Pride is not of God. God did not make His creatures to be proud. God Himself is not proud. The Bible indicates that pride came into the Lucifer’s heart because of his natural beauty and endowments (Ezekiel 28:13-17). Then his pride led him to be jealous of the only One greater than he. Pride always distorts a person’s perception of his own importance and power. Lucifer, then, through conceited ambition, thought he could overthrow God (Isaiah 14:12-15). He must have been surprised when he fell like lightning from heaven (Luke 10:18). Pride is the worst thing that can happen to an intelligent creature of free will. It turned the most beautiful angel into a devil.
The introduction of sin into the human race
God made Adam and Eve perfect, just as He did the angels. Our original parents did not fall by any defect of creation. There was perfect harmony in the Garden of Eden prior to the Fall between God and the first couple. Their relationship with Him was delightful and comely. Adam and Eve were deceived by the devil who contradicted God’s command and lured them into disobedience by tempting them with self advancement. He attracted them with a greatness that wasn’t to be theirs and that actually didn’t even exist— a promotion to godhood (Genesis 3:5). Sadly, the self interest of Adam and Eve eclipsed their interest in revering God’s Word above anything personal. From that foolish disobedience, came an unfathomable blight on the human race that leaves souls naturally proud and hostile to God. If it wasn’t for the Spirit of God penetrating our hard and alienated hearts, no man would ever be inclined to surrender to God (John 6:44; 15:16; Romans 2:4). Mankind seeks for self advancement but, truly, the greatest act of self-advancement is to surrender oneself to Christ (Mark 8:34-36). He promised exaltation to the person who humbles himself (Luke 14:11). Receiving eternal life and the promise of eternal joy with Christ in heaven is the most positive thing to our being. It is Good News because, without it, we are lost forever.
Sin brought separation from God.
By casting off the restraint of God’s Word, Adam and Eve broke their relationship with God. They literally became morally independent of God, which is the worst possible state for any person. At the price of universal condemnation, Adam and Eve won for the human race a de facto moral independence from God that each person since has naturally embodied from birth. It is usually referred to as the sin nature. This independence, not granted in the original creation of our race, is what each person must fully surrender to God. Man resists this action fervently because it is against his fallen nature and, therefore, poses a huge hurdle to overcome. Surrender also presents a sizable fear of how different life may be going forward. It can be terrifying to a sinner to imagine living his life in submission to God. It may seem like a kind of death itself. And, in a way, it is (Romans 6:1-13). We die to sin and become new creatures in Christ (2Corinthians 5:17). But at the point of conversion, when the sinner senses that a huge difference in lifestyle lies ahead, it is impossible for him to realize how good that difference will be (John 10:10). He must proceed and submit to God solely on the grounds that it is the right thing for him to do. The Gospel comes largely to souls who do not want it and is only received after fierce opposition to it. But surrender brings joy and relief like nothing else— a relief powerfully founded on a newfound righteousness.
Religious pride
Even though man’s nature is religious, he wants his religion his own way. It’s an expression of his fallen desire for continued independence from God. He wants restored relationship with God without full surrender. He thinks God should accept whatever he is willing to offer, like Cain, the father of false religion in the name of God (Genesis 4:3-7). That kind of religion is actually rebellious and has pride as its root. It is idolatry even if the name of the true God is attached to it. The “worshipper” is willing to recognize God but not fully submit to Him in absolute allegiance to His Word, as His Person deserves.
False religion and partial truth are a haven for this kind of pride. They offer people what they want along with an assurance that they are saved, leaving them complacent and in proud opposition to further truth. John the Baptist pointed out this flaw to the Jews of his day (Matthew 3:9). Religious pride was certainly the biggest impediment to the Jews receiving Christ. He fulfilled their many Messianic Scriptures to a tee and went about doing good, but they still did not receive Him (John 1:11) Their rejection of Christ shows that it can be harder for religious people to accept the truth than pagans. Christianity was received by the Gentiles more so, and more readily, than it was by the Jews. Religious people must be wary of religious pride, which impairs souls, in addition to natural pride. Of the two kinds of pride, religious is the most difficult to overcome. No wonder religion is the most hotly disputed subject there is. People tend to be more emotionally attached to their religious beliefs, whether they are sound or not, than to anything else.
Conclusion
Humility is, of course, pride’s opposite. Christ was humble even though He was God in the flesh (Matthew 11:29). He submitted Himself to baptism, which many Jews in His day considered to be beneath them, even though He had no sin. His crucifixion was His supreme act of humility (Philippians 2:8-9). He is our perfect example of humility.
Solomon warned that pride precedes a fall (Proverbs 16:18-19). In Job 40:11-12, God describes Himself as one with the daily task of humbling those who are proud. It is no doubt to minimize their evil state in an effort to help them be better people and avoid a fall. Read about Nebuchadnezzar’s experience (Daniel 4, especially verse 37). Has God ever improved your character by chastising your pride?
Humility is a beautiful quality. Truly great people tend to be humble. They know we are all equal in God’s sight and there is nothing inherently superior about themselves. Whatever gifts and capacities they may possess, it is not of their own doing (Matthew 10:8b; 1Corinthians 4:7). God is the sole giver of all good gifts and, thankfully, He will continue His benevolence to us (James 1:17).
We will look at the second aspect of spiritual vulnerability next time.