THE FOLLY OF SELF-CONFIDENCE

PROVERBS 28:2

A. "HE THAT TRUSTETH IN HIS OWN HEART IS A FOOL"
  1. The object of our trust and confidence must necessarily be of the greatest importance:
    1. It is the very foundation of our life.
    2. For when man loses confidence, he has nothing to hold on to.
  2. Trust or confidence:
    1. Is the ground into which the anchor of the mariner is cast, and on which the safety of the vessel depends.
    2. Being so confessedly important, we must make sure that our trust or confidence is anchored to the word of God.
B. THE FOLLY OF SELF-CONFIDENCE
  1. "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool":
    1. When we trust in our own heart, we reveal our ignorance of the true condition of the heart.
    2. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." - Jer. 17:9
  2. Trusting in our own heart includes:
    1. Reliance upon our own wisdom - 1 Cor. 1:19-21
    2. Reliance upon the Lord is a condition to safety and true happiness.
  3. Trusting in our own heart simply means that we rely upon our own scheme instead of upon the counsel of the Lord:
    1. That was one of the first sins after the flood - Gen. 11:1-9
    2. This is one of the main doors to the corruption that characterizes our present age - 2 Tim. 3:1-8; Rom. 1:21-25
    3. That will be Satan's final triumph over the world, which has rejected the wisdom of God and desired to be guided by the wisdom of sinful men.
    4. Take a look into this present world and see how the imagination of human beings has become the idol of the masses - science, social science, physical science, medical science is sought as a shield against the forces of destruction.
    5. This is a sign of the very end of time.
  4. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool:
    1. Think of so-called "Christian Science", a cult called "Unity", and other theories which seek to glorify the human ego, or "the inner self."
    2. All this in spite of the testimony of the Bible that our hearts are unsound and undependable - Rom. 7:14-24
    3. The heart has deceived many, many individuals -
      1. It deceived Abraham - Gen. 12:13-19
      2. It deceived Moses - Ex. 2:12; Num. 20:10, 11
      3. It deceived David on a number of occasions.
      4. It deceived Peter in a marked way - Mark 14:71
      5. But it will be well to think of our experience with our own heart.
  5. We appeal to the word of God to show how undependable the human heart is:
    1. "Be not wise in your own conceit." - Rom. 11:25
    2. "Be not high minded." - Rom. 11:20
    3. "Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord." Prov. 16:5
C. IN WHOM SHOULD WE PLACE OUR TRUST AT ALL TIMES?
  1. The Bible says:
    1. "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." Ps. 20:7
    2. "The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate." Ps. 34:22
    3. "But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead." 2 Cor. 1:9
  2. Examples of persons who trusted in the Lord:
    1. Job - Job 13:15
    2. The Hebrews - Dan. 3:16, 17
    3. David - 1 Sam. 17:45-50
  3. In whom do we place our trust? 1 Tim. 4:10; 2 Tim. 3:15- 17


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