|
HUMILITY BIBLE STUDY
CHRISTIANITY OASIS
HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH THIS HUMILITY BIBLE STUDY. THIS
HUMILITY BIBLE STUDY LOOKS AT HUMILITY IN THE BIBLE AND
ASKS WHAT IS HUMILITY, WHY DO WE NEED HUMILITY, HOW CAN WE
OBTAIN HUMILITY AND HOW DOES HUMILITY AFFECT THE CHRISTIAN
WALK? HUMILITY ... THE BIBLE HAS MUCH TO SAY ABOUT
HUMILITY AND HOW
IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE HUMILITY.
LET US SEEK AND FIND THE TRUTH OF HUMILITY IN THE BIBLE TOGETHER IN THIS
HUMILITY BIBLE STUDY, SHALL WE?
HUMILITY
WHY DO CHRISTIANS
NEED HUMILITY?
What is
humility? It is the manner or characteristic of being
humble. Are you a humble person? Why would humility be a
trait that one would want to possess?
Well, most
importantly, because it is Christ-like and as Christians, we
put on Christ - or in other words, we strive to conform our
lifestyle, our mannerisms, our conversation (to use a
Biblical term), to be in the image of Jesus Christ and to
live the kind of godly life that He lived. If we wish to
claim that He lives through us ... humility must be part of
our being.
HUMILITY
IS THE OPPOSITE OF PRIDE
There are a
lot of teachings in the Proverbs of Solomon, concerning
humility, most having the same general admonition:
Do you know
the difference between humiliation and humility?
Humiliation
is shame. Humility is meekness, not out of shame, but out of
righteousness.
|
Proverbs 15:33
The
fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and
before honour is humility. |
|
Proverbs 16:18-19
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty
spirit before a fall.
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly,
than to divide the spoil with the proud. |
|
Proverbs 18:12
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,
and before honour is humility. |
|
Proverbs 22:4
By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches,
and honour, and life. |
|
Proverbs 29:23
A
man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall
uphold the humble in spirit. |
Have you
seen pride cause humiliation to someone you know, or even in
your own experience?
PRIDE IS
FOR GROWNUPS
So, you
want to be more humble, do you? What's the first step? Where
do you begin? Let's take a look at what Jesus taught the
disciples:
|
Matthew 18:1-4
At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus,
saying, Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?
And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him
in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you,
Except ye be converted, and become as little children,
ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this
little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of
Heaven. |
What
does that MEAN ... to humble yourself as a little child?
There’s a big difference between being childish and being as
a child. Being childish is being ignorant, or without TRUTH,
however, being as a child
is being innocent and readily
accepting of the TRUTH with an open heart. Take a moment to
think back to when you were a child. Dig deep into your
subconscious mind and remember how effortless it was to be
obedient to your parents and how it was a genuine desire in
your heart to please God. If you're thinking back to when
you were about 10 ... you're not going back far enough. By
the time we're 10, our soft mushy little innocent minds have
already been trespassed upon by the filth of the world, and
we are CONvinced that the ways of the world may be right.
Then that monster called pride introduces itself to us and
seems to freely take residence within us. When it come to
the decisions that we face in our lives from that point on,
pride defeats humility just about every time, hands down. We
begin to believe that we should question THE WAY of our God
and the Word that He gave us through Jesus Christ, the Holy
Spirit and the Bible, and most are CONverted to the way of
the world, though just about everyone at least gives worldly
ways some CONsideration. Even temporary credence of the
world's teachings gradually steal away the innocence ... the
blind Faith ... the humility that we had as children, and
without even knowing it, more and more people are finding
themselves further and further from ... Heaven.
ACTS OF
HUMILITY
Now that
you know the first step, to humble yourself as a little
child, what do you do next? As you learned, our Lord was
humble, and to fashion our lives after His life would be the
best way to exhibit humility.
When you
think of a humble person, you don't think of someone who
readily basks in praise for their accomplishments. We know
as Christians, that any achievements we make, are only
possible because our Lord is working through us by way of
the Holy Spirit and all credit belongs to our Father.
|
1 Peter 4:11
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God;
if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability
which God giveth: that God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen. |
When you're
complimented by someone for a good work that you've done,
does your Father see you polishing your fingernails on your
shoulder, or is your hand lifted up to Him ... the source of
the good in your work. Ask yourself, Who is it that really
deserves the recognition? Are you here to gain glory for
yourself or to glorify God? It is a humble act to make it
clear, that any gift you may have, comes from above, and is
not of your doing. (By the way, isn't your treasure, your
reward, your recognition all laid up and waiting in Heaven
for you, anyway?)
Humility
isn't something that the common person practices. It takes
someone extraordinary to be humble. Jesus explains some
other ways in which we should strive to humble ourselves:
|
Matthew 5:38-48
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That
ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on
thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away
thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever
shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would
borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that
it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and
hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your
Father which is in Heaven: for He maketh his sun to
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on
the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which
love you, what reward have ye? do not even the
publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren
only, what do ye more than others? do not even the
publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in Heaven is perfect. |
Go the
extra mile, turn the other cheek, give, forgive, treat all
as your own ... These are all humble acts ... They're the
way Jesus lived every single day of His life ... Not just
when He was in the mood, or when He could afford it, or when
He had the time, or when it was convenient ... He lived in
humility, EVERY - SINGLE - DAY.
Why do you
suppose Jesus told His disciples these things? Because He
knew they were things that for most people are NOT their
first reaction. An eye for an eye is the gut reaction of
most people. There's a term that people use for how most
people react to things ... they call it human nature. That,
my friend, is a lie. I think they've come up with that term
because they think it's a more gentle description than the
real term - Original Sin. Go back to when you were a child
again. If you saw someone in trouble, or in need, you
wouldn't have thought twice about helping them, but once the
world gets its ideas embedded into your mind, then you have
to stop and think before you act out of kindness and decide
if it's practical, financially wise, or socially acceptable
to act in a humble manner. What a crying shame.
HUMBLE
ON EARTH - FAMOUS IN HEAVEN
Y'know ...
People love to be right about things. People will throw
humility out the door so they can be right. Maybe you've
seen it, or done it yourself, when you've thought that there
was no possible way that you could be wrong, and you stood
tooth and nail against anyone who opposed you, but then ...
oops ... you were wrong. If you find yourself scrambling for
excuses of WHY you thought you were right, you're stuck in
Prideville, but if you concede to TRUTH and say simply, I
WAS WRONG, that, my friend, is humility.
This is a
good story to reflect on that explains what I mean ... The
storyteller is Jesus:
|
Luke 18:9-14
And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted
in themselves that they were righteous, and despised
others: Two men went up into the Temple to pray; the
one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee,
that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in
the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the
publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much
as his eyes unto Heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you,
this man went down to his house justified rather than
the other:
for every one that exalteth himself shall
be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be
exalted. |
In many
situations, you'll find that Christians forget that humility
is an important vestment to wear when they put on their
virtues each morning and go out to publicly REPRESENT the
Lord Jesus Christ. When we criticize others, how do we
forget so easily that we have our own iniquities as well,
and we are all sinners? It doesn't matter how old you are,
or how long you've been a Christian, because of "human
nature" we are never cured of sin. We will all
sin again ... and again ... and again. Knowing this TRUTH
should be enough to keep us humble and keep us away from
criticizing others who fall. Be careful that you don't
become like the Pharisees that got their priorities all
mixed up. Because of their pride and lack of humility, they
didn't even recognize the Messiah, though He was right there
amongst them ... they even crucified Him.
|
Matthew 23:1-12
Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His
disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit
in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you
observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after
their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind
heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them
on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move
them with one of their fingers. But all their works
they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their
phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their
garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and
the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in
the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master,
even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man
your father upon the Earth: for one is your Father,
which is in Heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for
one is your Master, even Christ.
But he that is greatest among you shall be your
servant.
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and
he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. |
HUMILITY: THE CATALYST FOR GRACE
Humility
has wonderful effects on a person. I'd love to give you a
whole list of the rewards, but I think you get the picture
of how this virtue is detrimental to your Christian life.
It's the key ingredient to forgiveness ... the gift that we
all cherish and that enables us to be one with Christ.
Humility is the activator of Grace. If you don't humble
yourself to God ... Well, James can tell you better than I
can:
|
James 4:6-10
... God resisteth the proud, but giveth Grace unto the
humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God,
and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye
sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be
afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be
turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift
you up. |
Wait just a
minute ... does this mean that God wants us to be sad? Not
at all, but rather, to repent. There is a sort of grief that
we should feel when we have submitted to sin. When we don't
feel it, our hearts are stony with pride ... in the Old
Testament, the Lord referred to pride as being hard hearted
or stiff-necked. It causes God to resist us, and that means
distance between us and our Father. When humility breaks
through, we feel repentance, sorrow, grief, for the sin that
we've committed against our God that we love above
everything, and when in sincerity you feel this mourning,
God pours out His Grace and releases you from that
heaviness. When you surrender to the Holy Spirit through
humility, you can once again enter into the joy of His
presence within you and the softening of your heart.
|
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall
humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from
Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
their land. |
When you
close this window, no matter where you go, whether it be to
the chat room, to spend time with your loved ones, to work,
to school, to church, or anywhere in the world ... let
humility be something that you take with you wherever it is
that you go.
And
remember ...
If you're
ever offered a slice of humble pie ... devour it while it's
fresh ... then you can enjoy the real dessert of Grace.
|
Colossians 3:12-13
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and
beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of
mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another,
and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel
against any: even as Christ
forgave you, so also do ye.
|
Take
care and have a SON-derful day.
|
 |
C-O-O-L
CLICKS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C HECK
OUT THESE C-O-O-L CHRISTIAN STUDIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C-O-O-L PROGRAMS |
|
|
|
CHILD OF GOD
This program was specially designed for our
Christian Members, their children and guests
and will help you find out what the Bible
says about being a Child of God.
|
|
CONFIDENTIAL
CHRISTIAN COUNSELING
This FREE Christian Counseling program was
created to help lost souls and troubled
Christians find the Truth as to bring
understanding and to restore peace within. |
|
CHRISTIAN
TEEN COUNSELING
Specifically designed for our Teen
Members, this awesome Christian Teen
Counseling program will change you from
within.
|
|
DAILY BREAD
Our Daily Bread Devotional is an in-depth look into the
Inspirational Word of God known as the Bible. This Bible
Bread will fill you Spiritually. |
|
END TIMES
Our End Times programs are a great way to be aware
and prepare for what may occur at any hour. |
|
FEAR OF DEATH
Our
Fear of Death program is a guide to help you understand what
happens when a person dies. This study will bring peace to
those souls who have this fear of death. |
|
HEAVENLY
HOPE
This program was created as to share the
Biblical recipe for obtaining and
maintaining the HOPE that we need to
overcome the trials and tribulations that we
encounter and endure, as we sojourn down the
Christian Walk. |
|
LEFT BEHIND
This program explains why God has chosen to
keep some Christians on Earth during the End
Times and a step by step biblical account of
what will happen to these left behind
Christians. |
|
MANY CALLED FEW CHOSEN
This program will help you in discovering if
you have been Called, and if so, we will
share with you what you should do about it. |
|
MY BROTHER'S KEEPER
This is a program for our Teen members.
This program will help you find out if
you are called to join the Christian
cause in a more effective manner than
you are at this time. |
|
SELF
HARM SELF INJURY
This program was created by a self harm or
self injury victim who escaped the darkness
that so many self harm or self injury
victims are in and wants to share the map to
the way out of the darkness. |
|
SOUL MATE
SEARCHERS
This Soul Mate Searchers Program is to help
singles find their soul mate ... The ONE
person that God created just to be your soul
mate. |
|
SPIRIT OF
TRUTH
This program is a guide to help you
establish a relationship with the Spirit
of Truth, who is the Holy Spirit of God. |
|
TELL ME THE STORY OF JESUS
This program walks through the Life, Death,
Resurrection, Ascension and Return of our
Lord Jesus Christ. |
|
TIL DEATH DO US
PART
This program shares the Truth of Marriage
according to God's Word, with single,
divorced, unhappily married, and happily
married souls. |
|
VIRTUOUS WOMAN
This program is for our female members and
will help you find out more about what it
means to be a Virtuous Woman according to
the Bible. |
|
|
|
WANT TO BECOME A
MEMBER OF THE MOST AWESOME CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY ON THE INTERNET? |
|
|
|
|
