The Kingdom of satan and Its Overthrow (continued)
The Nature of Sin
Let us look at its source. "Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty" (Ezekiel 28:17). Oh, then, pride is the essence of sin. It is out of pride that sin springs. No wonder the language about pride is so strong! "Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord" (Proverbs 16:5). "Because of thy beauty"; then self-esteem was the cause; and the accompaniment of pride is always rebellion. Did you ever know a proud person satisfied? Bring along somebody else who looks equally well-dressed, well-supplied; see the reaction of the proud person - 'I will go one better!' Pride, you see, gives birth to rivalries at once, and produces this spirit of rebellion, of discontent with even the best position. Pride is never satisfied; it must always get higher, have more, go better than another. It is rebellion; and rebellion in act led to perversity in nature.
In the Old Testament there are two words which mainly cover the ground of sin - transgression and iniquity. They are the two English words for two Hebrew words which mean respectively rebellion (transgression) and perversity (iniquity). Rebellion in an act produced perversity in a nature. We, in Adam, were caught in the act of his rebellion. Adam rebelled, prompted by a spirit of pride - pride provoked by this suggestion: "Hath God said ..." ... God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, they your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God" (Genesis 3:1-5). Pride flared up, with desire to have and to be something that God never intended - and certainly never intended in that way, along that line.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 19)
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