PRIDE

In an article from Answers in Genesis entitled "The First Sin," Troy Lacey correctly points out that Adam's was not the first sin, but only the first by mankind (Rom. 5:12). I am not exactly sure when Satan sinned, but it is described in Ezekiel 28:14-15 and Isaiah 14:12-15). It is clear that Satan had already turned from God when he tempted Adam through Eve (Gen. 3:1-6). And while Christianity has chosen to call Satan's sin and Adam's sin "their fall," a much better description of it would be "their rebellion." When we call it "a fall," we make the same mistake Lacey did when he wrote of "the Devil's fall from grace." It is impossible to fall from grace if one has never sinned, because grace does not apply until one actually needs it. A perfect angel or a perfect man already is righteous, and therefore, has no need of grace or mercy. Remember, grace is unmerited favor given to a sinner by a merciful God.

For years, I have been taught that Satan's major malfunction was his pride. Webster defines pride as "an exaggerated self-esteem, arrogance, a false sense of superiority, etc." But the two references to Satan's sin seem to be the opposite of Webster's definition; Satan saw himself as inferior to God and wanted to be equal to Him. Today, we would not describe someone as prideful if they aspired to be "number one." In fact, we applaud athletes who work long hours to win the gold medal. It seems to me that Satan's sin was covetousness rather than pride. Satan wanted what God had.

The same can be said for Adam. He wanted to be like God (Gen. 3:6). One of the main teachings of the Mormon religion is that the God of the Bible was once a man, and He rose through the ranks of the angels until at last He became a god. Mormons are taught that if they are faithful, they too will become gods. Without going into the obvious reasons why their belief is blasphemy, I will just say that the God of the Bible is Eternal; He has always existed as God (Deut. 33:27; Rom. 1:20; Eph. 3:11; 1 Tim. 1:17; Heb. 9:14).

The Bible does teach about the sin of pride, and if one really thinks about the verses, they seem to line up more with Webster's definition. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18). "When pride comes, then comes shame: but with the lowly is wisdom" (Prov. 11:2). "Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility" (Prov. 18:12). "...God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (Jam. 4:6). A person who deceives himself into believing he is good enough to get into heaven, does not seek God's mercy and grace. But the humble person who realizes he is undeserving, accepts God's offer of salvation. We are cautioned not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Rom. 12:3). Pride is nothing more than delusions of grandeur!