The Seven Deadly Sins: Pride

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

The seven deadly sins are often thought of as Roman Catholic. When people hear the phrase, “Seven Deadly Sins,” they picture something medieval — something foreign to us. But let us be clear: the seven deadly sins are not distinctly Roman Catholic. They are thoroughly Biblical. They simply summarize patterns of sinful desire that Holy Scripture repeatedly condemns.

And so, this Lent, we will examine them together. The seven deadly sins are: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust.

Now, keep this in mind. These are not merely outward behaviors. They are not just the visible sins that others can see and measure. Instead, they tend to describe the corrupt motives of the sinful heart. They identify the inward impulses from which sinful actions flow.

And from a Lutheran perspective, this fits naturally with the doctrine of original sin. That is to say; we are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. That is correct, the problem with humanity is deeper than behavior. The problem is the heart which is curved inward on itself. Instead of fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things, the heart bends inward. It seeks itself. It trusts itself. It justifies itself. And this is the key to understanding the seven deadly sins. They show us how the heart bends inward. They describe the motives behind our breaking of the Ten Commandments.

Take the Seventh Commandment: 

“You shall not steal.” 

We may steal because of greed—we want more. 

We may steal because of sloth—we are too lazy to work an honest wage. 

We may steal because of envy—we resent what our neighbor has, and so we take it.

And so, while stealing is obviously a sin – it breaks the 7th Commandment, the motive for why we steal is different, even though the motive typically comes back to serving ourselves.  

Or take the Third Commandment: we may despise the preaching of God’s Word and neglect going to church because of sloth—we are too lazy to get out of bed. Or we may despise the preaching of God’s Word because of pride—we think we already have everything figured out. We do not want to hear that we are wrong.

Again, as you can see, the seven deadly sins are not an alternative moral code. They are a diagnostic tool. They expose the root corruption that leads to the breaking of the Commandments.

And so tonight, we begin with the father of all sins: pride.

* * *

So, what is pride?  

Pride is nothing more than dangerous selfishness.

Our world calls pride narcissism. And while that is partially true, we humans are much worse than simply being narcissistic. To be narcissistic is to put ourselves first, to crave validation, to have an inflated sense of self-importance. But pride goes further.

Pride is self-focus and self-exaltation that replaces God with the ourselves.

Yes, you heard that correctly. Pride says, 

“I am sufficient. I do not need forgiveness. I do not need wisdom. I do not need correction. I will be like God.”

Pride is the opposite of humility.

* * *

Let’s flesh this out a bit more.  

Consider Genesis 3.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, we often call it “the Fall.” And while this is indeed true, we must clarify that their fall was not merely a downward plunge. More specifically, it was a rebellion. Adam and Eve’s sin was an upward grasping.

Remember the serpent’s words: 

“You will not surely die… you will be like God, knowing good and evil”?

There was a line drawn over Adam and Eve. God was God. Adam and Eve were creatures. There was a realm above Adam and Eve that did not belong to them — the authority to define good and evil. Adam and Eve were not to step into that realm.

But the devil tempted them. 

“God is holding out on you. Step over the line. Rise above. You will not die. You will be like God.”

And so, the step was taken.

Adam and Eve rose up in pride. They attempted to invade the realm of God. It was not simply a fall downward. It was an upward rebellion, a insurrection, or could we say… an uprising of mortal men. 

Lord, have mercy.

This is why pride can be called demonic. Pride is the desire to rise above God’s order. Pride is the heart’s refusal to fear, love, and trust in God. Instead, pride fears, loves, and trusts in itself.  Stated simply, the Old Adam does not run on faith but runs on pride.  

And this is why pride hates the church.

Please hear me out on this – we need to be very clear on this point! 

Pride hates the Law and the Gospel.

Your pride does not like to hear God’s rules because pride prefers its own rules. Pride does not like to be told what to do.

But pride also does not like the Gospel. Because the Gospel says salvation has been accomplished entirely by Someone else. Pride does not want to be saved. Pride wants to save itself.

Pride hates confession. It does not want to say, 

“I am wrong. I am a poor miserable sinner.” 

Pride does not like absolution either. Because absolution means the solution comes from outside of you.

Pride hates reverence. It does not want to bow. It does not want to kneel. It does not want to submit to the liturgy. Pride prefers casual familiarity—something less humbling, something where pride can be in control and not be placed under God.

Pride hates listening. It would rather talk. It would rather control. To sit and be taught? To receive instruction? No!  Pride prefers to be the teacher.

Pride even hates history. It dismisses the wisdom of those who came before. It tears down the past to elevate itself in the present.

Let’s not stop there; pride hates the Sacraments.

Pride despises the notion that Baptism is something God does to us. Pride would rather make Baptism into something we do for God—a declaration of our will, our decision, our commitment.

And at the altar? Pride does not want to kneel as a beggar. Pride does not want to receive Christ’s body and blood. Instead pride says, 

“I can worship on my own. I do not need a church. I do not need a pastor.”

Are you getting the picture?

Pride wants us to be gods.  

* * *

So, what needs to happen?

Quite frankly, our pride needs to pop.

It needs to be crucified. 

It needs to die.

Dear friends, we must recognize that we are not God. We need to be honest that when we try to be God, nothing good comes of it. 

Instead, pride elevates us into a fog of delusion, where we imagine ourselves wise and powerful. Meanwhile, we are mortal. We are dying. The grave awaits us, and there is nothing we can do to stop it.

Listen up!  Pride must be brought low. Pride must pop.  It must be crucified.  It must die in all of us.  

Baptized Saints, tonight we confess the sin of pride: we confess our self-sufficiency, our self-importance, our desire to be in control, our refusal to listen, and our resistance to kneel – we confess it all as foolish rebellion.  We confess it as demonic ambitions of our old Adam.  

And as we confess, we must not be left with the despair of pride but we must hear the Gospel from outside ourselves:

Your pride has been crucified with Christ.

You no longer live, but Christ lives in you.

The life you now live, you live not by pride, but by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for you.

Indeed, hear this right now.  Let it comfort you:

Because Jesus humbly went to the cross, you are humbled out of your pride.

Because Jesus loved you on the cross, you are loved out of your need to prove yourself.

Because Jesus died, you are taken from death to life.

Because Jesus was glad to die for you, you are freed from the exhausting burden of being your own god.

Baptized Saints – there is an alternative to pride – it is Jesus.  

Jesus, completely obedient to the Father, has done everything for your salvation. You need not ascend. You need not try to control. You need not justify yourself. You do not need to seek self-importance.  You have Christ and Christ has you.

Because Christ is your King, you may bow.

Because Christ redeemed you, you may kneel.

Because Christ speaks truth, you may listen.

Because Christ came not to be served but to serve you, you may receive.

Because of Christ, you may be still and know that He is God.

In Christ – pride finds its end.  In Christ, you find the gift of humility, and with humility, you have certainty, assurance, identity, and confidence in this vale of tears and even in death itself.  

In the name of Jesus. Amen.