God Opposes the Proud but Gives Grace to the Humble

Sermon Transcript

Did you know that there is a type of person that God opposes? It’s true. There is a type of person whom God actively gets in their way and keeps their life from clicking. Think about that. I don’t want to be the kind of person that is opposed by Almighty God. On the other hand, did you know that there is a type of person that God delights to help? There is a type of person that God, as it were, rejoices to stoop down, lift up, encourage, and help along so that there life can really click. Who are these two types of people? Proverbs calls them the proud, or the scorners, and the humble; the proud and the humble. Proverbs 3:34 says, “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.” In two different places, the New Testament authors quote the Greek translation of this OT proverb. Greek is the language that the NT was originally written in. The New Testament quotes this verse two different times because it succinctly captures the message of Proverbs on pride and humility. First, James 4:6 – But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Second, in 1 Peter 5:5 – Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” There is a type of person that God opposes, he gets in their way, and there is a type of person that God loves to raise up and help. That brings us to the big idea of Proverbs on pride and humility: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Now, if that’s true, and it is, then our remaining pride is our biggest problem and our growing humility is our greatest friend. On pride, Pastor Josh Squires writes, “Pride is a prison that perpetuates anger, hurt, and foolishness while keeping at bay the restorative effects of conviction, humility, and reconciliation.” Pride is our enemy. On humility, Ray Ortlund writes, “How can we grow in wisdom unless we are teachable?…That radical openness is humility, and he promises to honor that humility.” God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. So, we are going to learn to take hold of humility by allowing Proverbs to answer three key questions: 1. What is humility? 2. Why does humility matter? 3. How do we grow in humility?

 

WHAT IS HUMILITY?

 

According to Proverbs, being humble is essentially the same thing as fearing the Lord. Humility is fearing the Lord. Consider two Proverbs that marry the fear of the Lord and humility as essentially the same thing. First, Proverbs 15:33 – The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom and humility comes before honor. Second, Proverbs 22:4 – The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life. The fear of the Lord and humility are essentially the same because both refer to a heart-posture of relating rightly to God as the King, Ruler, Creator of the universe, and our Redeemer. Humility is self-forgetful awe of God, intimacy with God, a full-throated commitment to please Him, and gladness in his superiority over us. That’s different than we might naturally think. Humility isn’t the same as self-hatred, self-loathing, self-deprecating, or self-esteem because all of those are far too self-oriented for biblical humility. Biblical humility is God-oriented; fearing the Lord. Humility isn’t looking down on yourself, it’s looking up to the Lord. 

 

Think of it this way: Humility is far more like looking through a window than looking at a mirror. Perhaps no one has helped me more than the teacher and theologian John Piper to see that humility is more like looking through a window than looking in a mirror. In a sermon he preached in 2022 entitled The Uncommon Virtue of Humility he said, “Christian humility flourishes in the human soul when we are standing in front of a window that looks onto the Himalayas of Christ’s grandeur. And Christian humility vanishes when we close the window and stand in front of a mirror, trying to see the authenticity of our humility. It flourishes when we are looking away from it, to Christ, and it hides when we are looking directly at it…The uncommon virtue of humility is the disposition of the heart to be pleased with the infinite superiority of Christ over ourselves in every way. It’s the heart’s gladness that Jesus is infinitely greater than we are, mingled in this life with the groaning that self-exaltation still competes for our affections.” Humility isn’t low self-esteem or high self-esteem, it’s Christ esteem. Imagine you’re staying at a grand hotel at the foot of the Himalayas. You get up in the morning, perhaps you take a look in the mirror because that’s what you do. But then you pull back the curtains…For the moment you forget about yourself because you’re caught up in gazing at something far more beautiful, grand, powerful, and awesome than your reflection in the mirror. That’s biblical humility; the disposition of the heart to be pleased with the infinite superiority of Christ over ourselves in every way. It’s like looking through a window, not looking in a mirror.

 

Someone who exemplifies this beautiful humility is John the Baptist. Do you remember John the Baptist? He was a big deal. He was like a religious rockstar. Crowds flocked to him, he baptized people in droves and he even had his own band of disciples as he prepared the way for Christ. But then Jesus Christ’s public ministry began. More people started flocking to Jesus than John, and John’s disciples came to John jealous and worried about Jesus overtaking their guy. I love John’s calm response. John 3:30 – “He must increase, but I must decrease.” The proud person says, “can’t all boats rise?! Jesus, you increase, and bring me right along with you.” It can’t work that way. He must increase, and I must decrease. That’s humility. Don’t you want that glad, unshakeable greatness called humility? As Piper says, “It’s the heart’s gladness that Jesus is infinitely greater than we are.” That’s humility. Is that how you think of it? Is that what you’re after? It’s so much better than looking in a mirror. Second question…

 

WHY DOES HUMILITY MATTER?

 

According to Proverbs, humility matters because it leads to life; temporally and eternally. Humility matters because it leads to abundant life now, and forever. Three Proverbs in particular help us see that humility leads to life; temporally and eternally. The first two we’ve already seen, but they’re so important that they bear repeating. Proverbs 22:4 – The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life. Proverbs 15:33 – The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom and humility comes before honor.The third is new. Proverbs 28:14 – Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. 

 

Humility matters because it leads to abundant life now and forever. In his commentary on Proverbs 28:14, Ray Ortlund Jr. beautifully makes sense of how humility leads to life temporally and eternally. It’s worth quoting at length. The Hebrew word for “fears” in this proverb is different from the word in “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” This word in 28:14 is more intense. It means to tremble, to shiver, to shake. And the B-line shows us that fearing the Lord is the opposite of a hard heart. It is the opposite of a flippant, blasé, unserious heart. But the irony here is the word “blessed,” which is a happy word. It basically means “Congratulations!” The word “blessed” is a Biblical high-five. Do you see the surprise? The surprise is that meltdown before God is like a dam breaking with overflowing happiness. Emotional meltdown before God, when we see him as he really is and ourselves as we really are, sweeps away our internal barriers, the defensiveness that keeps God at a manageable distance and makes us so sad. But then the gospel breaks through and floods us in divine forgiveness. Getting past our image-management and trembling before God brings us deep happiness. Humility matters because it leads to life. When I think of humility leading to life it makes me think of Caleb Kirk, my high school gymnastics teammate who led me to faith in Christ. I’ve seldom met someone more alive than Caleb. When we were in high school and I ridiculed him for his faith, he never once lost his joy or his temper. He loved learning, sports, serving, church, adventure, and people with such vigor because received all of life as an undeserved gift from the Lord. He didn’t give up sharing Jesus with me when I resisted because he didn’t think about himself enough to stay discouraged for long. I’ve met few people in my life more alive than Caleb. He was truly humble. And that’s why humility matters; it leads to forgetting yourself and coming alive to God. It’s the grace that God gives to the humble.

 

But humility matters not only because it leads to abundant life now, but because it leads to eternal life. Proverbs 15:33 – The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom and humility comes before honor. Humility is foundational to a right relationship with God. To have a right relationship with God we have to humbly admit that we are poor in spirit. We have to humbly admit that we are spiritually bankrupt and in infinite debt, with nothing to offer God but our sin and then humbly receive and rest in Jesus Christ who died to pay our sin-debt and rose to give us the riches of eternal life by grace. Humility leads to the eternal glory and life that we long for. Romans 8:30 – And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Humility matters because it leads to life; now and forever. 

 

Of course, the opposite is also true. God opposes the proud. Those who ignore God die a thousand little deaths in this life, and then die eternally. Remember Proverbs 28:14 – Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:14 reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar. Remember him from the OT book of Daniel? Nebuchadnezzar was the King of the great nation of Babylon around 600 B.C. He was a picture of pride. In Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar built a massive gold statue of himself and ordered people to bow down to him. You don’t build literal statues, but when you think about your money, your sexuality, your family, your career and your time primarily in reference to yourself, you’re basically building a statue. We’re a lot like Nebuchadnezzar minus the resources. And God opposed him and brought him down. In Daniel 4:32-33, the Lord said to Nebuchadnezzar, “and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” [33] Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.” That’s why humility matters; humility leads to abundant life now and forever, like Caleb. But pride leads to death now and forever. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Now that we know what humility is and why it matters, we’re ready for our final question.

 

HOW DO WE GROW IN HUMILITY?

 

Let’s look at four ways from Proverbs directly, and one from outside of Proverbs.

 

First, revere God’s word. Proverbs 13:13 – Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. What does it mean to revere something? Some of you revere the Philadelphia Eagles. You love the Eagles, you watch every game, between games you listen to podcasts and read articles about the Eagles, and your general mood is affected by how well or poorly the Eagles are doing. Humility grows as we give that kind of reverence to God’s word. Humility grows as we order our days around reading the Bible and our weekends around hearing it preached. Humility grows as we take Institute classes or listen to sound podcasts that help us understand the Bible and its teaching better. And humility ultimately grows as we allow the Bible to correct us, change the direction of our lives, and fill us with love for and joy in our Savior Jesus Christ. What’s the connection between revering God’s word and growing in humility? When you revere God’s word, you put yourself under it. You let what God says, rather than what you think, determine how you feel, what you believe about everything, and how you live before God and others. That’s the essence of growing humility. What’s your next step?

 

Second, serve the interests of others. Proverbs 25:27 – It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory. Seeking your own glory is like gorging yourself on dessert; feels great in the moment, but never turns out glorious. Alternatively, a great way to get traction in humility is to serve the interests of others. You can do this with your words. I have a friend named Shane who goes out of his way to use his words to tell me where he sees God’s grace in my life. Rather than using his words to draw attention to himself, he uses his words to build me and serve me. A simple text or conversation can make a big difference for someone else and grow your humility. You can do this with your money. Very little will humble you and help you grow your gladness in Christ’s greatness over you like giving your money away to advance his kingdom and stewarding the money you keep for his glory. Of course, you can do this with your time. When you use your time to disciple another person, when you sacrifice your time to serve on a Sunday team, when you open your home to host a Citygroup or cultivate fellowship with another family, you grow your humility by actively putting the interests of others above your own. What’s your next step?

 

Third, invite and listen to life-giving reproof. Pride and isolation are partners. Alternatively, spiritual friendships cultivate and reinforce humility. Proverbs 18:1 – Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. Alternatively, Proverbs 9:9 – Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. Humility grows as we intentionally cultivate spiritual friendships with godly people in our church. In spiritual friendship, we open up both our character and our life decisions to one another. We ask each other for advice about our decisions; financial decisions, family decisions, career decisions; spiritual decisions. We confess our sins to each other and invite correction because godly friends will give you life-giving reproof. Who can you invite beyond the shallows and into the deep waters life-giving reproof. 

 

Fourth, confess specific sins specifically. Proverbs 28:13 – Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Glad submission to the superiority of Christ is the result of regularly confessing our sins, getting clean again, and then forsaking them. As we confess specific sins specifically, we come low before the Lord Jesus Christ, which is where freedom and gladness and lightness is found. When was the last time you confessed specific sins specifically to your Savior? Psalm 51 can provide you with a wonderful guide for confessing specific sins specifically. Let’s pan out from Proverbs now:

Fifth, revel in your union with Christ. When you receive and rest in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you’re spiritually united to Him. Through union with Christ, His example of humility also becomes His power for humility in you. We see this most beautifully in Philippians 2:1-11 – So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, [2] complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. [3] Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. [4] Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. [5] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, [6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. [9] Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, [10] so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.