Poverty of spirit is the abiding awareness that spiritually speaking we are bankrupt. As human beings, we do not have the spiritual resources in ourselves to be pleasing to God. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” and, “Apart from Me you can do nothing,” is Jesus teaching us that our need is to maintain an abiding awareness and confession of our spiritual poverty and a complete dependence on Him
"...There are some weeds that will grow anywhere; and one of them is Pride. Pride will grow on a rock as well as in a garden. Pride will grow in the heart of a shoe-black as well as in the heart of an alderman. Pride will grow in the heart of a servant girl and equally as well in the heart of her mistress. And pride will grow in the pulpit. It is a weed that is dreadfully rampant. It needs cutting down every week, or else we should stand up to our knees in it. This pulpit is a shocking bad soil for pride!
C.H. Spurgeon from “Preach the Gospel”
[The Doctrines of Grace] tell us that God is the one who saves, for His own glory, and freely. And they tell us that He does so only through Christ, only on the basis of His grace, only with the perfection that marks everything the Father, Son, and Spirit do. The doctrines of grace separate the Christian faith from the works-based religions of men. They direct us away from ourselves and solely to God's grace and mercy. They destroy pride, instill humility, and exalt God. And that's why so many invest so much time in the vain attempt to undermine their truth. The religions of men maintain authority over their followers by 1) limiting God's power, 2) exalting man's abilities, and 3) "channeling" God's power through their own structures. A perfect salvation that is freely bestowed by God for His own glory is not a "system" that can be controlled by a religious body or group. And even more importantly, such a system is destructive of any sense of pride in the creature man, and if there is anything man's religions must safeguard, it is man's "self esteem."
James White
If I think I am better than my neighbor, or more moral, and therefore, by extension, somehow more deserving, then I have forgotten that it was mercy alone which saved me and mercy alone which keeps me there. Thus the more grounded we are in this knowledge, the easier it is for us to maintain humility among our neighbors, regardless of how depraved we may be tempted to think they are...."
John Hendryx
If pride is the self-centered disposition to determine one’s own reality, to be god of one’s own life, to say in every act and word, “My will be done,” then humility cannot be merely the ability to forget one's self (that is, to be self-uncentered) or even less the ability to be self-pitying, which is really just pride in reverse; rather, humility is the ability to find one's center in the God whose overwhelming loveliness and glory are able to dethrone us from the usurped lordship of our own darkened hearts. Humility is spiritual sanity. Its constant refrain is, "God is God and I am not."
Monergism.com (Aaron Orendorff)
"True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. "
Tim Keller
The inclination toward self-righteousness is thus not a unique problem to the Pharisees: it is endemic to the human condition
| Title |
Notes |
Studies on Saving Faith  |
A.W. Pink |
No Hope Outside of Christ  |
Paul David Tripp |
Humility: The Message of Philippians (MP3)  |
Mark Dever |
Pride and Humility (.pdf)  |
Charles Bridges, C.H. Spurgeon, Charles Simeon, Edward Fisher, Richard Baxter, |
Quotes on Pride and Humility  |
Grace Gems |
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit  |
A.W. Pink - Matthew 5:3-11 |
Paul’s Definition of a Christian  |
a Biblical Reflection by John Hendryx |
To Cut off the Sinner from All Hope in Himself  |
J.W. Hendryx |
The Poor in Spirit  |
Brian Schwertley |
The Way of the Weak Is the Only Healthy Way  |
J. I. Packer |
Assurance & Humility  |
A.A. Hodge |
What is Humility?  |
John Piper |
Gracious Affections are Attended with Evangelical Humiliation  |
Jonathan Edwards |
The Fruitless Vine  |
Charles Spurgeon |
The Monster Pride!  |
Thomas Reade - from the work "On Humility" |
The Majesty and Humility of Christ - Part 1  |
David Legge - Philippians 2:1-8 |
The Majesty and Humility of Christ - Part 2  |
David Legge - Philippians 2:1-8 |
A Time To Cry  |
David Legge - Psalm 74 |
Thanksgiving for the Lives of Flawed Saints  |
John Piper |
The Humility of Love  |
John Angell James  |
Poor in Spirit  |
Thomas Watson |
A Cure for Self-Centeredness  |
Dan Norcini |
The Sin of Pride  |
Dan Norcini |
Undetected Spiritual Pride  |
Jonathan Edwards - One Cause of Failure in Times of Great Revival |
Pride & Humility  |
Charles Spurgeon |
The Humble Soul the Particular Favourite of Heaven  |
Ebenezer Erskine |
Poor and Contrite Spirits the Objects of Divine Favor  |
Samuel Davies |
Humility  |
William Romaine |
Dangers of Young Men  |
J.C. Ryle |
Greatest in the Kingdom?  |
J.C. Ryle - Matthew 18:1-14 |
The Broken and Contrite Heart  |
Octavius Winslow |
The Disciple Washing Christ's Feet  |
Octavius Winslow |
Contrition and Confession  |
Octavius Winslow |
Judge Not!  |
Mike Ratliff |
Pride - Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology  |
Walter M. Dunnett |
The Wretched Worm of the Earth?  |
Thomas Reade |
The Weaned Child  |
Octavius Winslow |
On Humility  |
Thomas Reade |
On the Christian Character  |
Thomas Reade |
Humility  |
MacDuff |
Practical Directions How to Grow in Grace and Make Progress in Piety  |
Archibald Alexander (1772—1851) |
Vital Godliness: A Treatise on Experimental and Practical Piety  |
William S. Plumer |
Showing How Difficult the Practice of Humility is Made  |
William Law |
What is Humility?  |
John Piper |
Boasting in Man Is Doubly Excluded  |
John Piper |
Justification by Faith is the End of Boasting  |
John Piper |
Boasting Only in the Cross  |
John Piper |
Are You Humble Enough to be Care-Free?  |
John Piper |
Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit Who Mourn  |
John Piper |
Lofty One Whose Name is Holy  |
John Piper |
Let Him Who Boasts Boast in the Lord!  |
John Piper |
How Much Do you Own?  |
John Piper |
Assessing Ourselves With Our God-Assigned Measure of Faith, Part 1  |
John Piper - Romans 12:1-8 |
Assessing Ourselves With Our God-Assigned Measure of Faith, Part 2  |
John Piper - Romans 12:1-8 |
How Not to Be a Mule  |
John Piper |
If the Lord Wills  |
John Piper |
It's My Pleasure!  |
John Piper |
Proud People Don't Say Thanks  |
John Piper |
When I Fall I will Rise  |
John Piper |
The Poor Man's Friend  |
Charles Spurgeon |
Giving Grace Unto the Humble  |
Rev. R. Moore |
The Humble Soul the Particular Favourite of Heaven  |
Ebenezer Erskine |
The “Christian Soldier” and “Humble Servant” Models: A Paradox for Pastors?  |
Robert B. Needham |
The Lord's thoughts  |
J. C. Philpot |
Pride  |
J.C. Philpot |
Psalm 52  |
Henry Law |
Religion-less Spirituality  |
Tim Keller - How do you reach people who think church is the problem, not the answer? |
On Glorying Only in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ  |
John Calvin |
The Vain Self-Flatteries of the Sinner  |
Jonathan Edwards - "Wicked men generally flatter themselves with hopes of escaping punishment, till it actually comes upon them." |
A Sermon on Isaiah 57:15  |
Geerhardus Vos - Kerux Journal |
Broken Heartedness Equals Wholeness  |
Oshea Davis |
The Pride of Babel and the Praise of Christ  |
John Piper - Genesis 11:1-9 |
Pride & Humility  |
J.C. Ryle |
Using God  |
Kim Riddlebarger |
That Incredible Christian  |
A. W. Tozer |
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread  |
J.W. Hendryx |
Receive with Meekness the Implanted Word  |
John Piper |
Pride & Humility  |
Robert S. Rayburn |
Hebrews 2:5-9 - The Humility of the Second Adam  |
J. Ligon Duncan, III |
The Hallmark of Humility  |
Pastor David Lee Kennard - On Philippians 2:5-8 |
The Advent of Humility  |
Tim Keller |
Echoes of Babel: Our New National Sin  |
Trevin Wax |
When Humility Meets Grace - Ruth 2:4-17 (MP3)  |
Arturo Azurdia - Third Millennium Ministries |
Does the Shoe Fit? (.pdf)  |
David Powlison discusses the nature of criticism |
Approachability: The Passport to Real Ministry and Leadership  |
Ken Sande |
Sin as Self-Righteousness (MP3)  |
Tim Keller |
Gospel Humiliation  |
Ralph Erskine (1686-1752) |
Self-Righteousness  |
J. C. Ryle |
Defensive People Are Prideful (youTube)  |
Mack Tomlinson |
On Spiritual Pride  |
Jonathan Edwards |
Grace Through the Humble To the Humble (YouTube)  |
MacDonald and Mahaney |
Who made you to differ?  |
Charles Spurgeon |
If God left us!  |
Thomas Watson |
How can I flaunt myself proudly?  |
A Puritan Prayer |
Pride cannot live beneath the cross!  |
Charles Spurgeon |
Pope Self  |
J. C. Ryle |
Marks of a True Apostle: Humility  |
John MacArthur |
Joseph’s Humility  |
Ligonier Devotional |
The Great Sin (.pdf)  |
C.S. Lewis |
What is Costs to be a true Christian  |
J. C. Ryle |
Ordinary is the New Cool  |
Ed Welch |
The Acceptable Sacrifice or The Excellency of a Broken Heart (.pdf)  |
John Bunyan |