… 'God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble' (James 4:6, 1Pt 5:5).
A proud Christian cannot receive grace because they are being resisted by God. God is against them. But I thought that God is always for us. Isn't that what (Romans 8:31) says? How can God be against us if He is for us? When God can not give the believer grace because of pride, that believer is being resisted by God and will not be able to grow on continue in the faith until God has dealt with the pride that is in the heart. What some believers do, instead of humbling themselves and receive grace, is find another way to serve God that is acceptable to others. Usually this form of service is one that they have lifted themselves up into, to be seen and patronized by others, but because they are being resisted by God they have no fruit.
They use all the right words and ethics, they will make you feel good and may have some marginal success through the interest of others, but they are striving in the flesh to make something happen. They get bored and discouraged when things are not happening or when things do not go their way. They will either blame others or find some excuse why God did not bless it. Later on they have to try something new, something different to stimulate their flesh. This becomes a cycle in their life that can go on for years. All their endeavors are forms of sublimation of doing good, in the name of God, without the power of God's grace. This can even happen right on the mission field.
Another indication of pride being in the heart is when they hear a message from God's word that truly convicts them, they resist it by being negative or rationalize it away by saying it was for someone else and not them. What they have done is refuse the very message that God had sent to get them to humble themselves so that He could give them grace and get them back on track to bless them. Now, by refusing God's conviction, they have compounded trouble in their soul. Satan, who is seeking whom he may devour (1Pt 5:8) sees the trouble that the believer is having in their soul. He sees the believer being resisted by God because of pride, and takes advantage by developing a strategy to sift that believer (Lk 22:31).
He knows the believer needs doctrine so he gives them some of his doctrine (1Tim 4:1). It's good doctrine, it's reasonable, it's comforting, it's easy and very stimulating for the flesh because it requires no cross. It does not require faith or any effort and it makes you feel right at home with yourself. He does it this way to make it easy for them to give place to it (Eph 4:27). Now he has gotten little leaven into the soul (Gal 5:8,9, Mt 16:11,12, John 8:44) and it won't be long before the whole lump is leavened. What does that leaven look like? It looks like a form of godliness that denies the power of God's grace (2Tim 3:5). They are not necessarily immoral or living in any outward form of sin. They are still outwardly good people and proclaim a love for God but pride is on the throne of their heart and they have given place to doctrines of devils that minister righteousness that is not from God (2Cor 11:14,15) but has a form of God which is idolatry (1Cor 10:12-14).