Youthful pride that continues through life
makes you unteachable, unapproachable,
unloving, unkind.
Death to "self" is essential.
From Lucifer/Satan until now, pride is the great destroyer. When pride begins in a child and goes unchecked and continues throughout life the person sees himself as being above all others and becomes resistant to legitimate authority. When pride takes over then sef orientation, hard heartedness, mean spiritedness rise up in the name of "righteousness." Youthful pride has longer to permeate a person and gets a tighter grip as the years pass. They resist and reject parental authority, pastoral leadership, submission to the body and ultimately they set themselves against God. The "great" tyrants (religious or otherwise) throughout history fit this description,
The only answer is DEATH.
Death on the cross.
Death with Christ.
Death to the Old Man (the Self).
Death to a mind that is molded after the world rather than after Christ.
This death is part of God's work of grace referred to as Entire Sanctification (total purging away of the sinful nature) or the Fulness of the Holy Spirit. Pride is not controllable. It must be destroyed or it will destroy its host. Entire Sanctification takes a deep searching of the Spirit of God, an honest awareness and acceptance of the carnal Christian, and a complete surrender and trust in the consuming power of God. Then it takes a daily walk of humility and Christlikeness. This is true holiness: holiness of HEART as well as life.
(it is one thing to be born of the Spirit, is another to be crucified with Christ)
Philippians 2:5-8
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Romans 6:6-7
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Galatians 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Galatians 5:24-26
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 6:14
14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
(these two passages are a more comprehensive view of the work of sanctification in the believer)
Ephesians 4:22-32
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place to the devil.
28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Colossians 3:5-14
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
