Some pastoral counsel: The devil is the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10), cunning and crafty. He would seek to twist what might be a genuine work of God in the soul to purge us of pride (a very good thing), so that we would instead become paralyzed in a pit of condemnation with no way out (a very bad thing). On the other hand, while the Holy Spirit convicts the believer of sin, He never utterly condemns any of Christ’s blood bought sheep. ‘There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Rom. 8:1). This is Holy Spirit revealed truth. The same Holy Spirit who assures of this will also go to work on all vestiges of pride in the believer’s heart. These twin works are not in conflict. However, conviction and condemnation are not the same thing. Not even close! The Holy Spirit convicts of sin; the devil seeks to utterly condemn. We should never allow the devil’s flaming missiles of accusation to condemn us. The God breathed word assures us, ‘Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God’ (John 1:18). With this foundation known and understood, let us proceed, asking the Lord to do a deep work within each of us. – Pastor John Samson

[Man never achieves] a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating Him to scrutinize himself. For we always seem to ourselves righteous and upright and wise and holy – this pride is innate in all of us – unless by clear proofs we stand convinced of our own unrighteousness, foulness, folly, and impurity. Moreover, we are not thus convinced if we look merely to ourselves and not also to the Lord, who is the sole standard by which this judgment must be measured. – John Calvin

Pride manifests itself in so many subtle, but lethal ways… In a hidden desire for the praise and admiration of men, an insistence on being “right,” the desire to be noticed and appreciated, fear of rejection, or just pre-occupation with myself my feelings, my needs, my circumstances, my burdens, my desires, my successes, my failures. These are all fruits of that deadly root of pride. – Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Pride is subtle and shape-shifting. There is more of it at work in our hearts than we know, and more of it pulsing through our busyness than we realize. Pride is the villain with a thousand faces: People-pleasing, Pats on the back, Performance evaluation, Possessions, Proving myself, Pity, Poor planning, Power, Perfectionism, Position, Prestige and Posting. Here’s the bottom line: of all the possible problems contributing to our busyness, it’s a pretty good bet that one of the most pervasive is pride. It’s okay to be busy at times. You can’t love and serve others without giving of your time. So work hard; work long; work often. Just remember it’s not supposed to be about you. Feed people, not your pride. – Kevin DeYoung

Pride is a devastating sin and is complex. Most sins turn us away from God, but pride directly attacks God. It lifts us above and against God, seeking to dethrone Him by enthroning ourselves. – Joel Beeke

As death is the last enemy; so pride the last sin that shall be destroyed in us. – John Boys

We are much more concerned about someone abusing his freedom than we are about his guarding it. We are more afraid of indulging the sinful nature than we are of falling into legalism. Yet legalism does indulge the sinful nature because it fosters self-righteousness and religious pride. It also diverts us from the real issues of the Christian life by focusing on external and sometimes trivial issues. – Jerry Bridges

Pride is self contending with God for preeminence. – Stephen Charnock

Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others, but a humble saint is most jealous of himself. He is as suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart. The spiritually proud person is apt to find fault with other saints…and to be quick to notice their deficiencies. But the eminently humble Christian has so much to do at home, and sees so much evil in his own heart, and is so concerned about it, that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts… Pure Christian humility disposes a person to take notice of everything that is good in others, and to make the most of it, and to diminish their failings, but to give his eye chiefly on those things that are bad in himself. – Jonathan Edwards

Pride is a person having too high an opinion of himself. Pride is the first sin that ever entered into the universe, and the last sin that is rooted out. Pride is the worst sin. It is the most secret of all sins. There is no other matter in which the heart is more deceitful and unsearchable. Alas, how much pride the best have in their hearts! Pride is God’s most stubborn enemy! There is no sin so much like the devil as pride. It is a secret and subtle sin and appears in a great many shapes which are undetected and unsuspected. – Jonathan Edwards

Pride is the worst viper in the heart. It is the first sin that ever entered into the universe. It lies lowest of all in the foundation of the whole building of sin. Of all lusts, it is the most secret, deceitful, and unsearchable in its ways of working. It is ready to mix with everything. Nothing is so hateful to God, contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, or of so dangerous consequence. There is no one sin that does so much to let the devil into the hearts of the saints and expose them to his delusions. – Jonathan Edwards

There is a false boldness for Christ that only comes from pride. A man may rashly expose himself to the world’s dislike and even deliberately provoke its displeasure, and yet do so out of pride… True boldness for Christ transcends all; it is indifferent to the displeasure of either friends or foes. Boldness enables Christians to forsake all rather than Christ, and to prefer to offend all rather than to offend Him. – Jonathan Edwards

Pride is one chief cause of undue anger. It is because men are proud, and exalt themselves in their own hearts, that they are revengeful, and are apt to be excited, and to make great things out of little ones that may be against themselves. Yea, they even treat as vices things that are in themselves virtues, when they think their honor is touched, or when their will is crossed. And it is pride that makes men so unreasonable and rash in their anger, and raises it to such a high degree, and continues it so long, and often keeps it up in the form of habitual malice… If men sought not chiefly their own private and selfish interests, but the glory of God and the common good, then their spirit would be a great deal more stirred up in God’s cause than in their own; and they would not be prone to hasty, rash, inconsiderate, immoderate, and long-continued wrath, with any who might have injured or provoked them; but they would in a great measure forget themselves for God’s sake, and from their zeal for the honor of Christ. The end they would aim at, would be, not making themselves great, or getting their own will, but the glory of God and the good of their fellow-beings. – Jonathan Edwards

Pride is blindness to our faults, sins, and failings. Most importantly, pride is blind to the existence of itself. Therefore, the more proud you are, the more humble you will feel, and the more humble you are, the more proud you will feel. That is because true humility is the opening of the eyes to our personal sin, and one of the first things a humble person becomes aware of is his or her pride. – William Farley

Forms of temptation:

1. Temptation to act – 1 Jn. 2:16.

a. “lust of the eyes” – Personal aspiration.

b. “lust of the flesh” – Personal gratification.

c. “boastful pride of life” – Personal reputation.

2. Temptation to react.

a. Fight – anger, hostility, wrath, resentment, bitterness.

b. Fright – fear, anxiety, worry.

c. Flight – avoidance, apathy, escape, withdrawal.

James Fowler

Various forms of pride:
1. Self-admiration – “Look at me!”
a. Natural – my abilities, talents, assets.
b. Spiritual – my spiritual gifts, my ministry.
2. Self-aggrandizement – “Don’t I look good/great?”
a. Natural – my looks, my importance.
b. Spiritual – my position in the church.
3. Self-attention – “Listen to me!”
a. Natural – my understanding and viewpoint.
b. Spiritual – my Biblical and theological knowledge.
4. Self-justification – “I am right!”
a. Natural – my way is the right way.
b. Spiritual – our doctrine and polity is right.
5. Self-sufficiency – “I can do it!”
a. Natural – my abilities, my leadership.
b. Spiritual – our programs will make it happen.
6. Self-aspiration – “Let me win!”
a. Natural – competitive spirit; one-up-manship.
b. Spiritual – our statistics will prove us successful.
7. Self-seeking – “Give me mine!”
a. Natural – my rights; what I deserve.
b. Spiritual – our political rights and physical edifice.
8. Self-exaltation – “Praise me!”
a. Natural – my credit, glory, commendation.
b. Spiritual – our procedures and success. – James Fowler

Pride isn’t limited to self-righteousness. Our pride can also be self-preoccupation: being overly concerned with what others think of us and strongly desiring that others would think highly of us. Shyness can result from proudly fearing saying something stupid. Thinking extensively of how we look or act in public can come from a deep desire to impress others. Regularly redirecting conversation to ourselves can be prideful self-centeredness. The bottom line is that when we are proud, we think a lot about ourselves. – Karl Graustein

Today, the pressure to fill auditoriums and services has driven many pastors to place the felt needs, or tastes, of the people above their duty to Christ. On every hand we hear of the Gospel being molded into a non-confrontative message intended to meet felt needs and impress the sinful heart. And, by most standards, this new philosophy of church life is working, as more and more auditoriums are filled with people hungry for a message that will affirm that they are actually on fairly good terms with the Almighty. But the biblical message is the message of the cross. It cuts right across the grain of the modern age’s preoccupation with pride, tearing down the façade and exposing the wretchedness of the human heart… Unfortunately, while the modern “un-gospel” may fill seats, it is the true gospel of sin and grace that is “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16). – David Hegg

Pride Is the Root of All Evil (Genesis 3:5; 1 Timothy 3:6; 1 John 2:15-17). 2. God Hates Pride (Proverbs 8:13; 16:5; Isaiah 23:9; Daniel 4:29-37; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). 3. God Loves Humility (Proverbs 11:2, 15:33, 18:12, 29:23; Isaiah 57:15, 66:2; Micah 6:8; Luke 14:11; 1 Peter 5:6). 4. What Pride Is Not: a. Acknowledging and appreciating the gifts and abilities God has given you. b. The presence of godly desire, ambition and purposeful direction in your life (1 Timothy 3:1). c. Acknowledging the work of God within you. d. The pursuit of excellence. e. Defending and proclaiming the truth of Scripture. 5. Pride Is Deceptive (John 8:31-36; Jeremiah 49:16; Proverbs 16:2, 21:2). – Brent Detwiler

1. Ask God to illuminate your heart so you can begin to see the fruits of pride in your life. Ask friends to point out the fruits of pride in your life realizing your heart is exceedingly deceitful. Be self-suspicious. 2. Ask God to convict you point by point (Psalm 139:23-24) and trust that He will. You don’t want or need general condemnation, only specific, godly conviction. 3. Confess your pride to God point by point and ask for His forgiveness. Just as importantly, ask Him to cleanse you of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). 4. Don’t ask God to humble you – the Scripture says to humble yourself (1 Peter 5:6). Humility isn’t an emotion; it’s a decision of the will to think and act differently. 5. Confess your sins of pride to those you have affected and to your friends. They can help to hold you accountable and bring the on-going encouragement and correction you will need. 6. Ask God to give you a holy hatred for pride and its fruits in your life. Be continually on the alert. Don’t allow pride to grow in your heart. 7. Ask God to give you a love for anonymity. Encourage and serve others each and every day. Associate with the lowly. 8. Think much about God and little about yourself. Regularly study the goodness and greatness of God. 9. Live to promote the reputation of God and not your own. Be impressed with God – don’t be impressed with yourself. Find your satisfaction in Him and not in your vain accomplishments. 10. Remember your war against pride is life-long. It is not a battle won in a day. But as you faithfully put pride to death and put on humility, you will experience greater freedom and more importantly greater conformity to image and likeness of Christ. In so doing, God will be glorified in your life! – Brent Detwiler