Pride and Humility

Be Transformed by Christ’s Example “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” —1 Peter 5:5 A battle rages within every one of us every day. It’s the clash between our sense of stubborn self-sufficiency and God’s call to recognize that we’re really nothing without Him. It’s pride versus humility. And it’s a fight we can’t win without looking repeatedly to Christ and the cross. C. J. Mahaney raises a battle cry to daily, diligently, and deliberately weaken our greatest enemy (pride) and cultivate our greatest friend (humility). His thorough examination clarifies misconceptions, revealing the truth about why God detests pride and turns His active attention to the humble. Because pride is never passive, defeating it demands an intentional attack. The blessing that follows is God’s abundant favour. “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit.” —Isaiah 66:2, ESV C. J. Mahaney paints a striking picture of the daily battle quietly raging within every Christian and asks whether you will passively accommodate the enemy of your soul, pride, or actively cultivate your best friend, humility. When you acknowledge the deception of pride and intentionally humble yourself, you become free to savour abundant mercies and unlikely graces. You will find a new life is yours—a life God richly favours. A God-glorifying life you don’t want to miss. “C. J. Mahaney is not humble. At least, that’s what he’ll tell you. And that’s one reason he’s so well qualified to write this book.” -Mark E. Dever, Senior pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Author, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church “A much-needed wake-up call on this important subject. I highly recommend this book.” -Jerry Bridges, Author of The Pursuit of Holiness “This is the right book from the right man at the right time.” -R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary / Story Behind the Book “Given pride’s pervasive presence in my life, I come to this book in holy fear, yet inspired by God’s promises to be humble and sobered by his warnings to the proud (Isaiah 66:2b, 1 Peter 5:5b). Scripture reveals to us that, while pride was the first and most serious sin, God is decisively drawn to humility and is specifically supportive of the humble. Only Christ has fully obeyed Isaiah 66:2b (“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word”), yet He did so as our representative! How marvellous that in our daily battle against pride we can rely on God’s grace, through the gospel, and thus bring honour and glory to God.” —C. J. Mahaney