Vincent goes on:
God deliberately designed the gospel in such a way as to strip me of pride and leave me without any grounds for boasting in myself whatever.[1] This is actually a wonderful mercy of God, for pride is at the root of all my sin. Pride produced the first sin in the Garden,[2] and pride always precedes every stumbling in my life.[3] Therefore, if I am to experience deliverance from sin, I must be delivered from the pride that produces it.
Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of God, the gravity of my sin, and the crucifixion of God’s Son in my place. Also, the gracious love of God, lavished on me because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the Hell that I deserve.
Pride wilts in the atmosphere of the gospel; and the more pride is mortified in me, the less frequent are my moments of sinful contention with God and others. Conversely, humility grows lushly in the atmosphere of the gospel, and the more humility flourishes in me, the more I experience God’s grace[4] along the strengthening that grace provides.[5]
[1] Ephesians 2:8,9 “…that no one can boast…” 1 Cor. 1:27-29
[2] Gen. 3:4,5
[3] Proverbs 16:18 “Prides goes before destruction…”
[4] James 4:6
[5] Hebrews 13:9
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