:yawn: Non causae ut causae (claiming victory despite defeat)
[Personal Pride Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries] "The prideful arrogance of self-righteousness and self-sufficiency is a great hindrance to recognizing the need for a Savior. Personal pride also blinds men from their sin. They think as long as they are better than most, God will grade them on a curve instead of by the cross. The growing popularity of the gospel of self-esteem is producing a foolish dependence on one's own righteousness. This counterfeit gospel appeals to man's ego and his desire to be master of his own destiny. Victims of another gospel do not know about the perfect righteousness that God's righteousness requires for entrance into heaven. Instead, they seek to establish their own righteousness (Rom. 10:3). This is why every ungodly religion teaches that man can gain a right standing before God by his own good works and religious rituals. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Catholic Church where Catholics rely on the sacraments, penance, the Mass and indulgences to merit the graces for eternal life. Ask Catholics how they hope to get to heaven and many will pull out their resume and talk about their good works. If they mention the name of Jesus, it is only because He made their salvation possible.
All religions, apart from Christianity, teach that salvation is dependent upon what man does for God instead of what God has done for man through His only begotten Son. This is why the Gospel is offensive to those who are offensive to God. It strips man of all his "good works" and his feeble efforts to gain salvation, while calling those works filthy rags in the sight of God (Isa. 64:6). Man deceives himself into believing he is good enough when he is not (Gal. 6:3; Rom. 3:23).
We must encourage others to humble themselves under the sovereign hand of almighty God because He hates pride and arrogance (Prov. 8:13). Every proud person must be brought down. "The proud look of man will be abased, and the loftiness of man will be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty" (Isaiah 2:11-12). God will not endure anyone "who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart" (Psalm 101:5)..." Full text:
Personal Pride Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries
"The arrogance of your heart has deceived you." (Obadiah 1:3)
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