Arrogance has its roots in the pride family. It inflates the ego. We can trace its path of destruction all the way back to the original sin. Moses came to know, in a very personal way, the consequences of arrogance, for when he desired the glory for causing water to come forth from the rock, God gave vent to His hatred for arrogance by denying Moses entry into the promised land. What a price to pay! Again God demonstrated His contempt for arrogance when Herod accepted the praise of men, as if he were a god, God struck him dead. What a vivid lesson! Herod should have known better, and men of our day should be able to profit from these two stories. May God grant us the readiness of heart to profit from the lessons of Moses and Herod.

Arrogance is pernicious. It rears its ugly head in the most unexpected places, but for the purpose of this article, I would like to focus on one particular area, and that is the area of the promotions of men. Jesus, the Christed one, is the promotion of the Bible, but the Pharisees, Bible scholars though they were, missed the entire point. They had heads full of knowledge and hearts empty of Jesus. They were "sidetracked" by other promotions. They knew book, chapter and verse, but they could not see the Big Picture. Do you suppose that we could possibly fall into that same trap today? Do you suppose that we, of the enlightened age of massive cathedrals and learned theologians, could fall victim to grand promotions which deny Jesus the center stage He deserves? Do you suppose that we could be obscuring the Big Picture with our promotions?

Let us consider a few promotions which may not, necessarily, be wrong in themselves, but which obstruct the Big Picture. Consider the, not so harmless, practice of snake handling. A good brother and Bible scholar, not so long ago, concluded from Scripture that snake handling should be a visible expression of saving faith. No snake handling = no faith = no salvation. A while ago a learned brother concluded from Scripture that, while instituting the Lord's Supper, Jesus drank from a cup with handles. He and his followers concluded that proper observance of the Lord's Supper demands cups with handles and cups without handles = no faith = no salvation. And not so long ago another scholar concluded from the Bible that all assemblies of the saints should be held in an upper chamber, and that such assembling is a necessary expression of saving faith. No upper floor = no faith = no salvation. In another instance, a devout scholar concluded that one must have a proper understanding of the millennium (his understanding) in order to properly believe in Jesus. No understanding of the millennium = no faith = no salvation. A diligent student of the Bible, not so long ago, concluded from Scripture that to use instruments of music, in praise to God, is tantamount to denying the faith. Instruments of music = no faith = no salvation. And, even a shorter while ago, a scholarly brother concluded, from the Bible, that it is a sin for the church to support orphanages and/or Gospel broadcasts which are not under their control. Giving to outside institutions = no faith = no salvation.

Only these five examples are referenced to illustrate the point. There are others. But, where does arrogance apply to them? The horrible truth is that arrogance is the father of all man-derived conclusions which exclude brethren. Satan's sequential path of apostasy is: conclusion, tradition, law, and then exclusion. When man presumes to elevate his conclusions, in non-essentials, to Gospel status he is elevating himself to Godhood. He is elevating himself to a legislative (lawmaking) position. This is arrogance. He becomes a pretender to the throne of God, and our God will tolerate no pretenders. They will all be brought down. God hates arrogance.

We must be very careful that we don't let our promotions, whether they be snake handling, cups, chambers, the millennium, instruments, Joseph Smith, the virgin Mary, the Roman Catholic Church, the Baptist Church, the Church of Christ, or even the home church movement share center stage with Jesus in our hearts. If our focus is on the home church movement, we may as well be promoting Reverend Moon or any of the others listed above. One of the greatest displays of arrogance, I suppose, is for a member of a denominated religious organization to claim that his schism is the New Testament church of Christ and exclude from salvation everyone who does not agree with him. To exalt oneself to such a legislative position is judgemental arrogance of the rankest.

Jesus is essential. He is the only worthy pattern. Our salvation is wrapped up and sealed in the Person of Jesus. Jesus and Him crucified is the promotion of all Scripture. Jesus is the Big Picture. He wants our hearts. He deserves our entire focus. If we miss the point on this we have missed it all. May the God of wisdom remove the glaze from our sectarian eyes that we may see, and the wax of tradition from our ears that we may hear and receive the Engrafted Word. May He remove our arrogance and instill in us pure hearts. And then, let us crown Jesus as our King, our focal point, and our All in All. Blessed be the Name of Jesus!

Please think on these things. I believe them to be true to the Word.

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