Loving a Snapping Turtle - Part 3 & Conclusion

Dr. Michael Richardson - Isa. 2:17

Part III- 4 Fallacies of Pride
A. God is not involved in our lives

• It is amazing what we can talk ourselves into
• This teaching is called deism
• Deism is an attempt to make God irrelevant
• God is involved in every aspect of our lives
• The Bible bares out how God was involved in every aspect of the lives of his people
• He still is.

B. Prideful people think that they can survive without God

• We are mistaken if we believe that we can survive the wrath of God because of American resolve.
• Prideful people think they can insult God, burn his Bibles and God will still take them to heaven because of their “supposed goodness”

C. Prideful people think that no one else is hurt by their actions

• They hold the view that what is done in the privacy of their own homes affects no one else
• Well, our sins affect our relationship with God. Our sins separate us from our relationship with God Isa. 59:2
• What happens in private often becomes public. God word says, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” Numbers 32:23
• When your private sins become public its affects other people. For no man lives unto himself or dies unto himself is taught in Rom. 147
• Oh, the untold damage done to the church by prideful snapping turtle Christians

D. Prideful people think that they can make things “fair”

• “But it’s not fair” is the refrain of today
• However, that phrase is a propaganda technique known as “Victory by Definition”
• Odd, how “fair” is always what their view of fair is.
• This was basically the argument of the older son in the Parable of the Prodigal son
• It is an arrogant assumption that people think they can bring about a “fair” society with being based on God’s word.
• Only God is fair and only God can bring about “fairness”

     
Closing:
A. We live in a society where prideful people worship themselves
B. These prideful people worship power whether it be military, intellectual, economic, or scientific.
C. If you disagree at all with prideful people, they will insultingly “snap your head off”
D. God does not work with prideful people.
E. Instead, God builds his kingdom on humble people who have confidence in Him. 
F. In the hands of God our humble weakness can become tools of great effectiveness
​G. Like real snapping turtles, prideful Christians drive people away.