The Dangers of Pride

I’m reading Humility by Andrew Murray. In it he reprints a passage from William Law’s Spirit of Prayer, Pt.II. Great stuff…

All this is to make it known through the region of eternity that pride can degrade the highest angels into devils, and humility raise fallen flesh and blood to the thrones of angels. Thus, this is the great end of God raising a new creation out of a fallen kingdom of angels: for this end it stands in its state of war betwixt the fire and pride of fallen angels, and the humility of the Lamb of God, that the last trumpet may sound the great truth through the depths of eternity, that evil can have no beginning but from pride, and no end but from humility.

The truth is this: Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you. Under the banner of the truth, give yourself up to the meek and humble spirit of the holy Jesus. Humility must sow seed, or there can be no reaping in Heaven.

Look not at pride only as an unbecoming temper, nor at humility only as a decent virtue: for the one is death, and the other is life; the one is all hell, the other is all heaven.

So much as you have of pride within you, you have of the fallen angel alive in you; so much as you have of true humility, so much you have of the Lamb of God within you. Could you see what every stirring of pride does to your soul, you would beg of everything you meet to tear the viper from you, though with the loss of a hand or an eye. Could you see what a sweet, divine, transforming power there is in humility, how it expels the poison of your nature, and makes room for the Spirit of God to live in you, you would rather wish to be the footstool of all the world than want the smallest degree of it.

Add comment April 19th, 2007

Don’t Follow Me As I Follow Christ

So I get an email from my buddy John the other day. Apparently, something his friend Brant said (who names their kid Brant?) got him thinking about what it is for him that makes those of us that go to home church different from traditional churchgoers. In his words, “What is the doctrinal difference that prevents us from fellowshipping in the normal manner many of us were raised in?”

The following post is his attempt at answering that question. His hope is you all will edit, improve, clarify and correct this first draft. He gives up all rights to it (I don’t however so if you turn this into a book- I want in).

Continue Reading 3 comments October 19th, 2006

Imitation of Christ

I recently discovered the book Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. It’s “one of the most widely read Christian spiritual books in existence,” which made me wonder how come, despite my largely Christian education, I had not learned of this book before. In the coming weeks I’ll try to post a few exerpts and what I think about them.

Continue Reading Add comment March 12th, 2006