How the Sin of Pride Inhibits the Preaching of The Gospel of The Grace of God

To preach the gospel of the grace of God in accordance with God’s terms, requires the combined preaching of both total forgiveness of sins, and eternal salvation through our faith and belief of the gospel of the grace of God. The simplicity of the gospel is that we obtain both forgiveness of all our sins and eternal salvation through belief that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and that He rose on the third day.

Our Apostle Paul explains the simplicity of the gospel of the grace of God in I Corinthians 15:1-4.

Paul warned believers against being corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Paul writes in II Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

Paul emphasized that the core message of the gospel is simple and centered on Jesus Christ and his crucifixion, rather than complex human wisdom. He explicitly stated in 1 Corinthians 1:17 “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”

Just as belief of the gospel of the grace of God saved those in the churches that Paul established, it is also God’s plan of salvation for us today. Scripture explicitly defines the gospel as “the power of God unto salvation” for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). If we know the simplicity of the gospel, and we understand that we are saved by believing the gospel, then “how on earth” have we gotten to the point of there being so many “man-made” plans of salvation that deviate from the true gospel?

To completely understand how the sin of pride has inhibited the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God, we need only to understand human nature. In this topic, we will explore how man’s pride has shifted the focus away from Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Pride is the root sin—the elevation of self (or one’s group) above God and others. Scripture repeatedly states that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). It was pride that turned Lucifer into Satan, led Adam and Eve to grasp for godlike knowledge, and fueled the Pharisees’ rejection of Jesus. Pride is inherently anti-grace because grace requires acknowledging total helplessness and dependence on God.

When pride attaches itself to denominational identity, it manifests in several corrupting ways:

1 Pride Breeds Division and Sectarianism
Pride turns “my denomination’s distinctive doctrines” into the litmus test of true Christianity. This echoes the Corinthian church’s prideful slogans: “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas” (1 Corinthians 1:12). Paul rebuked this as carnality that fragments the body of Christ. Instead of preaching “believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose from the grave (I Corinthians 15:1-4), pride leads to preaching “believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and adopt our view of water baptism / church governance / spiritual gifts / end-times / sacraments, etc.” The gospel of grace becomes secondary to denominational loyalty.

2 Pride Replaces Grace with Legalism
Pride loves to boast. Since pure grace removes all grounds for boasting (Ephesians 2:8-9), pride instinctively adds conditions: “You must also… keep our traditions, submit to our authority, embrace our distinctive teachings, or prove your faith by our standards.” This is exactly what the Judaizers did in Galatia—adding circumcision and law-keeping to grace. Paul called it “not another gospel,” but a perversion of the gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6-9). Many denominational systems today do something similar by making secondary doctrines functionally essential for acceptance or assurance of salvation.

3 It Makes People Unteachable and Defensive
Pride resists correction. When a denomination’s cherished doctrine is challenged by clearer biblical teaching on grace, pride responds with “We’ve always taught it this way,” or “Our founders / confessions / distinctive heritage cannot be wrong.” This stifles the very humility required to keep the gospel pure across generations. Religious pride (like that of the Pharisees) prioritizes protecting the system over submitting to the simplicity of being in Christ, and the simplicity of the gospel of the grace of God.

4 It Fosters Spiritual Superiority and Exclusivity
Pride whispers, “Our group understands grace better / is more faithful / has the purest doctrine.” This leads to looking down on other believers, limiting fellowship, and directing evangelism toward “converting people to our denomination” rather than to teaching of one’s salvation through belief of the gospel. The gospel of grace is radically inclusive in its offer (whosoever believes), but pride makes it tribal.

5 It Turns the Preacher’s Focus Inward
Instead of glorying in the cross as our Apostle Paul did (Galatians 6:14), the prideful preacher glories in his theological pedigree, the size or “soundness” of his denomination, or his ability to defend the doctrines of his denomination. The message subtly shifts from “Look to Christ” to “Look at how right we are.”

In II Timothy 3:1-9 Paul is warning Timothy about the character of people who will be prominent “in the last days.”

In verses 1-4 Paul writes concerning the sins of those throughout the entire world.

In verses 5-9 Paul is specifically writing about the sins of those associated with the professing earthly church.

In verse 5 Paul writes about those who have a form of godliness but that they deny the power thereof. Paul tells Timothy not to be associated with them.

Outward appearance: They look religious. They may attend church, use Christian language, claim to be believers or spiritual leaders, teach or preach, and present themselves as godly.

Denying the power: There is no real inward transformation by the Holy Spirit. Their lives are unchanged by the gospel. They may teach a version of Christianity that lacks the true power of God for salvation, sanctification, or holy living. This can include:

• Teaching false doctrine that distorts or adds to the gospel (e.g., works-based salvation that denies the power of grace, or teachings that minimize sin, the cross, or the need for biblical repentance (a change of mind and heart).
• Opposing or resisting sound biblical truth while maintaining a religious façade.
• Living in open sin or promoting lifestyles contrary to godliness, all while claiming to represent God.

Thank God, we have a choice. Many may choose to be like those that Paul mentioned in II Timothy 3:1-9. However, we can wisely choose to follow the biblical pattern that God gave to the world though our Apostle Paul.

Paul instructs us “three times” to be followers of him. In I Corinthians 11:1 Paul wrote, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” Then, in I Corinthians 4:16 Paul writes, “Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.” Again, in Philippians 3:17 Paul instructs us, “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.”

Thank God, we have a choice to follow our Apostle Paul and believe the gospel of the grace of God that he preached (I Corinthians 15:1-4), be spiritually baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:13; Romans 12:5), after which we are given the titles of “children of God,” “heirs of God”, and “joint-heirs with Christ,” (Romans 8:16-17).