What does the Bible say about pride? This is one of the most important topics that most churches know very little about, and very few preachers ever address. You only need to do a quick YouTube search — a platform where there should be hundreds of videos on this subject.
Yet it’s surprisingly difficult to find a good sermon exploring what the Bible truly says about pride. Why is that? It seems very likely that Satan, who set this entire tragic chain of events in motion, has blinded the eyes of most people to the real root cause of it all: pride. So can a Christian be proud and still go to heaven? Let’s examine what the Bible says.
Why Is Pride Wrong?
Why is pride wrong? Because it amounts to stealing from God and lying to both God and others about one’s true condition. Pride is, at its core, an illusion. No one has anything, or is anything, apart from what God has given them. Yet a person can believe this in theory while still, deep down, believing they accomplish things on their own, apart from God — and the moment they succeed at something, they credit themselves entirely.
1 Corinthians 4:6–7 — “Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”
Let’s look at a few more passages on this. Jesus says plainly that we can do nothing apart from Him. So can a Christian be proud and go to heaven, if they still believe — even subconsciously — that they can accomplish things on their own, taking the glory for themselves when the Bible calls this a form of lying to God?
John 15:5–6 — “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
This passage gives us important insight here. Even something as basic as breathing comes from God — the autonomic nervous system functions automatically through His sustaining power. In the same way, God works through us in everything, and we cannot take credit for any success that ultimately comes from Him.
It is deeply offensive to God when someone claims credit for what God has actually accomplished through them. When this happened in one striking biblical account, God’s judgment fell immediately.
Acts 12:21–23 — “So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’ Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.”
The sins that flow from pride include both lying and a form of theft. Only God deserves the glory for what He accomplishes — to be proud is to rob God of glory that rightfully belongs to Him. It is, in essence, lying to claim credit for something God actually did.
Proverbs 16:18 — “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Leviticus 26:19 — “I will break the pride of your power; I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.”
God can bring judgment upon individuals or nations consumed by pride, since the very purpose of His creation is for people to reflect His character. God is truth, and those who act contrary to this purpose are, in effect, rebelling against God and His government.
Can a Christian Be Proud and Still Be a Christian?
This is something we see far too often in many churches — people who claim to be Christians and followers of Jesus, carrying the name “Christian,” yet whose actions contradict that profession. Their behavior reveals that, in practice, they are still serving the enemy. This is one of the great, recurring problems throughout history. It has been central to Jesus’ message throughout the Gospels and the entire Bible, yet it remains a message rarely preached or taught. What truly matters isn’t the label someone claims — it’s their character. Often, non-Christians display better fruit than those who identify as Christians.
Does God accept the label, or does He look at who the person truly is? We live in a world where people often judge based on someone’s profession or reputation — sometimes even basing their judgment of someone’s character on what others say about them. What we will ultimately bring into heaven is who we are, far more than what we do. Yet many Christians spend most of their energy simply trying to avoid certain behaviors, rather than becoming who God truly desires them to be through righteousness by faith.
So, can a Christian be proud and go to heaven? Scripture makes clear that we need to understand what sin truly is. Rather than being limited to outward actions alone, sin is fundamentally about who we are at our core. Are we selfish, arrogant, unloving, unkind, dishonest, or proud? If so, these traits cannot enter heaven. Jesus is meek and humble — no one whose character stands in contrast to His can enter heaven. We either resemble Jesus, or we resemble Satan. There is no middle ground.
Matthew 5:5 — “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.”
Only the humble can enter heaven. It is not the label or profession of being a “Christian” that matters — it is becoming like Jesus.
Matthew 11:28–30 — “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
How can we know for certain that the proud will not enter heaven? Let’s look at more striking passages.
Malachi 4:1–3 — “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this,” Says the Lord of hosts.
The Proud and the Wicked
It’s interesting to note that the word “proud” is often used right alongside the word “wicked” throughout Scripture. This is a striking observation, since most people view “wicked” individuals as clearly bad, while viewing “proud” individuals as relatively harmless. The Bible disagrees — a proud person, in God’s eyes, is essentially a wicked person; they are one and the same. The entire purpose of life is to give glory to God. The angels spend their existence doing exactly this. Scripture makes clear that doing anything other than giving God the glory ultimately places someone in service to sin and to Satan.
Satan’s entire system is built on self-worship, which is, at its core, wickedness — and many other sins naturally follow from pride. When someone seeks to glorify themselves, they inevitably become selfish and fail to love others. They will lie to benefit themselves, and often won’t stop there — they may even take from others, since all benefit and glory are directed toward themselves. So many sins trace back to pride.
Pride never travels alone. We see a striking example in Scripture where Saul’s pride made him so selfish and offended at losing recognition that he sought to eliminate David entirely. Selfishness and pride can lead that far — and it’s remarkable that this message isn’t more widely taught throughout churches and the world. Pride is the root of all sin. When someone is proud, they will also struggle to be honest — and once honesty is compromised, the very foundation of Christianity, which rests on honesty and humility, begins to crumble.
2 Chronicles 32:26 — “Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.”
God can withhold His judgment when people recognize the offense of worshipping themselves instead of Him. Scripture is clear — there is only one God.
Job 40:12 — “Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place.”
No one in heaven will be proud or self-worshipping, since everything we have comes from God.
Proverbs 21:4 — “A haughty look, a proud heart, And the ploughing of the wicked are sin.”
The proud and the wicked form the same group, ultimately unable to enter heaven, because they never came to realize that everything they have comes from God — much like an ungrateful child who never thanks their parents, believing instead that they deserve everything they have simply because of their own looks or personality. In reality, everything comes from God.
Pride, Righteousness by Faith, and Legalism
Isaiah 13:11 — “I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”
This verse almost serves as a summary of sin itself. God names two groups together: the wicked and the proud.
Malachi 3:15 — “So now we call the proud blessed, For those who do wickedness are raised up; They even tempt God and go free.”
This verse describes our world today remarkably well — both inside and outside the church. Many people simply don’t understand what sin truly is. Churches often teach that sin is limited to outward actions, completely missing that sin is fundamentally about who we are — something we carry within ourselves. Here we see another expression of this: legalism. Many religious people believe themselves to be good — and this belief is itself a form of pride. No one is inherently good, and the moment someone believes otherwise, they become spiritually lost and offend God.
In this case too, people fail to recognize their own true condition. They remain blind to who they really are, focusing selectively on their good deeds while remaining unaware of the many character flaws that will keep them from heaven unless God transforms their hearts. Legalism is, at its core, believing oneself to be good — and as long as someone holds this belief, they remain lost, not truly converted. Sadly, this describes the condition of much of the Christian world today.
Psalm 10:2 — “The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.”
The wicked person and the proud person are, again, one and the same. A proud person will do whatever it takes to benefit themselves — lying, acting selfishly. And selfishness, in turn, goes hand in hand with a lack of love, along with deception and dishonesty used to get one’s own way.
Psalm 59:12 — “For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be taken in their pride, And for the cursing and lying which they speak.”
Psalm 75:5 — “Therefore pride serves as their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment.”
All kinds of sin trace back to pride. The humble person, by contrast, recognizes that there is nothing inherently good within them, and understands that apart from asking God for His righteousness, no good intention can truly originate from their own heart.
Proverbs 8:13 — “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.”
What sins are grouped together in this verse? Pride, evil, and arrogance. Interestingly, the Bible goes further here, telling us that a proud person is, in essence, also an evil person. Quite a striking study of Scripture, wouldn’t you say?
Proverbs 11:2 — “When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.”
Typically, when proud people speak, we don’t gain much wisdom from it. The humble, on the other hand, are often given wisdom from God, and we learn a great deal when they speak.
Proverbs 13:10 — “By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.”
Nearly all conflict and strife originate when one person, or one nation, believes themselves superior to another and begins to mistreat that person or group, viewing them as lesser. In reality, Scripture never establishes any hierarchy regarding who deserves respect and who doesn’t. We can also conclude that a proud person is, by definition, not spiritually minded — since this kind of hierarchy stems from artificial social rules and worldly standards, not from God.
Proverbs 29:23 — “A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.”
The proud are often celebrated and exalted by society, since pride is frequently what gets praised, and such a person may rise to success more quickly. Yet, in the long run, God will humble that person, since their success came at the cost of dishonesty and stealing glory that belonged to Him. It’s sad to see so many people admire the proud simply because of what they claim about themselves, rather than recognizing that all glory belongs to God.
Have you accepted Jesus into your heart? Repeat after me: “Father God, forgive my sins, come into my heart. Give me Your righteousness. Heal and prosper me, please, in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
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