"Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble," JAM 4:5-6.

Pride is the king serpent, which feeds upon our fallen nature. Our text asks, "Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?" It is that ugly monster "pride" that not only resists God and the authority of His Word, but also opens wide the heart for lust and envy!

God's Word says "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." JAM 4:7. How shall we ever resist the devil until we submit to God? To submit yourself unto God, you must begin with a complete renewal of attitude toward God and His perfect will. "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness," EPH 4:22-24. God Any resistance of God's perfect will is none other than wretched pride!

Our text says, "God resisteth the proud." Why? Because pride resisteth Him and His will! The essence of pride is self-sufficiency, which brought about the fall. The serpent said unto the woman, "God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil," see GEN 3:4-6.

In a spiritual sense, pride is that awful disdaining of admitting we need help from another, being confident we can manage well enough alone as we see in JOB 21:13-15. "They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?"

Our text says, "Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." True humility is synonymous with submission unto God. See what we read of our Saviour, and how He submitted Himself unto God. "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross," PHI 2:6-8.

There are three ingredients that are indispensable to any formula to overcome pride, which possesses every heart by reason of the fall. They are humility, submission unto God, and grace. These three are inseparable—you cannot have victory over the devil and all his devises without them.

Satan is a proud spirit who fell from his first estate, and he desires to see us fall into, and live in rebellious pride. Israel was delivered out of Egypt; afterward they were destroyed because of unbelief i.e., rebellious disobedience, JUD 1:5-6. They refused to submit themselves unto God, and fell in the devil's snare.

JAM 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." This word "submit" means to place yourself under the authority of God. He wants submission in our whole person unto His whole law of love!

When a lawyer asked our Saviour, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," MAT 22:36-40.

These two tables of the law of love emphasizes the principles of our text—How could you ever claim your heart is humble if you do not submit yourself to the perfect law of love? It is that ugly monster "pride" that fosters a heart filled with bitterness against our fellow man, but God gives His grace to submit unto Him, by being renewed in the spirit of our mind.

ROM 12:2-3 establishes this principle so well. "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Amen.