Edom's False Hopes: Pride

God begins in Obadiah v. 3 to fortell how all the hopes of Edom will be destroyed. They are pride, the supposed safety of their situation, the strength and assurances of their allies and friends, worldly wisdom, and Edom's own strength. This sermon begins to explain these by dealing first with pride.

Pride (or self-esteem) is the destruction of all virtue, for by it men become their own flatterers and think more highly of themselves than they should.

Pride is a swelling of the heart and is of the world (1 John 2:16).
Pride will attend church when other vices will not.
Any gift of God left unsanctified can become a source of pride, including riches, honor, power, and education.
Thus it is in the proud that their pride takes the place belonging to faith. It causes men to think themselves worthy of the gracious gifts of God.

Humility, then, is a necessary Christian grace. A humble person does not flatter himself with vain hopes, as the Edomites did.
We must keep a watch on our hearts. Consider patient Job.
Humility keeps us from injecting ourselves into the credit for performing Christian duites, like the Pharisee of Luke 18:9ff.

Pride is the 'fly in the apothecary' of every other sweet smelling Christian virtue.

For other audio from the worship service in which this sermon was preached see the Order of Worship at the outside/external link below.