What other scriptures warn against boasting and pride? Setting the Stage: Paul’s Warning in 2 Corinthians 11:18 “Since many are boasting according to the flesh, I too will boast.” Paul’s irony highlights how empty human self-promotion is. Scripture consistently echoes this concern. Old Testament Echoes against Pride • Proverbs 6:16-17 — “There are six things that the LORD hates… haughty eyes…” • Proverbs 16:18 — “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” • Proverbs 27:2 — “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips.” • Psalm 75:4-5 — “I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast’…‘Do not lift up your horn against heaven…’” • Isaiah 2:11-12 — “The proud look of man will be humbled… the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.” • Jeremiah 9:23-24 — “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom… but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me…” • Daniel 4:37 — “…He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” • Obadiah 1:3-4 — “The pride of your heart has deceived you… even from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.” New Testament Reinforcement • Luke 18:14 — “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” • Romans 12:3 — “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought…” • 1 Corinthians 4:7 — “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” • Galatians 6:14 — “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ…” • Ephesians 2:8-9 — “…not by works, so that no one can boast.” • James 4:6 — “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” • James 4:10 — “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.” • 1 Peter 5:5-6 — “Humble yourselves… so that in due time He may exalt you.” • Revelation 3:17 — “You say, ‘I am rich…’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” Why God Confronts Boasting • Pride steals honor that belongs to Him alone. • It blinds us to our dependence on grace. • It sets us up for judgment and downfall, as Nebuchadnezzar and Edom discovered. The Better Boast Scripture never forbids all boasting—it redirects it. The only safe place to glory is “in the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24; 1 Corinthians 1:31). When hearts stay anchored there, humility replaces pride, and God receives the honor due His name. |
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