The Garment of Humility
Notes
Transcript
1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Our key verse is found at the end of verse five -
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
What if elders and pastors served and fed the flock of God with an attitude of arrogance?
What if every act of service you did was not done with humility but with a prideful attitude?
You lead a Bible study because you love the exhilaration and the notoriety.
You help people in the community because it gives a sense of accomplishment.
You sing louder than everyone around you because you want people to hear how good your voice is.
When someone points out that you're in error you get angry because you don't like to be wrong.
When it comes to what motivates us, there are I imagine endless reasons.
But, these reasons all have one thing in common - they involve pride!
But, our text says that, God resists the proud!
What does this imply?
I. God stands in opposition to pride.
I. God stands in opposition to pride.
So this begs the question:
Does our prideful service accomplish anything?
The answer is found in the word resist.
ἀντι-τάσσω, Att. -τάττω, f. -τάξω, to set opposite to, range in battle against, τινά τινι Hdt., Aesch., etc.; τι πρός τι Aeschin.:—so in Med., Thuc.
II. Med. also to set oneself against, meet face to face, meet in battle, Eur., etc.; τινι Dem.:—Pass. to be drawn out against, τινι Hdt., Xen.; πρός τινα Hdt., Xen.; κατά τινα Xen.
Contrasted to hupo-tasso the word for submit which means to place under.
God does not stand down or move aside, but stands against, as in a battle formation face to face with an enemy. The enemy here being the proud one!
A. Pride is sin.
A. Pride is sin.
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.
2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.
18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
B. Pride is not ignored.
B. Pride is not ignored.
15 Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the Lord has spoken. 16 Give glory to the Lord your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness. 17 But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.
Now, do we imagine that because of our Christian relationship we get a pass on this?
Do we think that we have caught God in some technical loophole where He cannot judge or punish us because we are in Christ?
Actually Peter says in
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
Therefore, our prideful service, even that which is in the church, no matter how lofty it may be, will render no reward in Heaven, and amount to nothing here on earth! Those works will be burned up!
So let me ask you:
Is there pride in your life, and are you prepared to just go on allowing it to rob you of the blessings in Christ?
We cannot afford to allow pride to dominate our service or our relationships.
II. God gives grace to the humble.
II. God gives grace to the humble.
As much as pride will set God against us, humility will bring Him to our side!
Can you imagine the witness and power that comes through a person filled with humility?
Listen carefully to this passage from Deuteronomy that you may be familiar with:
1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) 4 Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. 5 Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6 Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. 7 Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. 8 I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant Moses?”
Now surely God was gracious to Moses!
It is humility that God loves to bless with abundance of grace!
A. Grace is the reward for humility.
A. Grace is the reward for humility.
It is the humble person that bows the knee to Christ and receives the grace of God in salvation.It is the humble Christian that is graced by God's blessings.
B. Humility is the ornament of Christ and those who follow Him.
B. Humility is the ornament of Christ and those who follow Him.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
1 Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.
Conclusion:
Pride is an ugly thing.
It seeks the high places of the praise of men, but receives disdain from God.
As the beloved in Christ, and as members of His body, we are compelled to live as He lives.
And that means choosing the lowly position in all matters, which is true humility.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.