One of the big issues we face in recovery, once they connect with the Lord they grow some but at some point overwhelmed by the world and facing on going difficulties they begin to deal with life on their own strength and often get caught in outrageous secular lifestyles that they are side tracked in their faith. Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Any other way of living is false and destructive. CS Lewis came to faith in an era when faith was heavily criticized by the academics. Human sin and its disdain for the Gospel never overrules God’s way even when the world is screaming from the roof tops how evil Christianity is. They shouted this at the Crucifixion and every point in the last 2,000 plus years. We will suffer for our faith. Sin is always sin. Evil is always seeking to control us even when we believe in Jesus. The church today rather than being and inclusive place has often become a bastion of secular ideas and programs and not a place where Jesus leads. Praise the Lord for His love and direction for our life. Praise the Lord for He is great and mighty, King of the Universe.
1. Confront Pride with God’s Wisdom – 1 Corinthians 1:18–19 – “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’”
The smug heart stumbles over the Cross because it contradicts the world’s obsession with power, prestige, and intellect. God’s wisdom dismantles every tower man builds to exalt himself. The Cross reveals that salvation is not discovered by cleverness but received through surrender. The wise of this age mock it, but the Spirit opens blind eyes to see its glory.
We must not dress up the Gospel to make it more respectable to worldly wisdom. The Cross offends precisely because it declares that man’s greatest efforts are useless before God. When we preach Christ crucified, human arrogance is exposed as fragile, and God’s wisdom is revealed as eternal.
Prayer:
Lord, I confess that too often I am tempted to rely on my own understanding, to impress others with my intellect, or to soften the offense of the Cross. Break my pride, O God, and remind me that Your wisdom begins where mine ends. Teach me to glory only in the Cross of Christ.
Father, when I encounter those who seem too proud to listen, give me courage to proclaim Jesus crucified without apology. I trust that Your Spirit can do what my arguments cannot—tear down strongholds and open hearts. Use me as a vessel of truth in a world intoxicated with its own wisdom.
2. Show the Reality of Sin – Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Sin is the common disease of humanity. The smug man may believe his morality or intellect sets him apart, but the Word declares all equally guilty before the holy God. Sin is not merely failing a standard; it is falling short of His glory. This truth strips away every excuse and shows our desperate need for grace.
To share the Gospel, we must confront the smug with the uncomfortable reality that they, too, stand condemned. It is not cruelty but mercy to expose sin, for only then will the heart sense its need for a Savior. Without conviction, there can be no conversion.
Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for the times I minimize my own sin or hesitate to speak of it to others. Help me remember that the Gospel is good news only because it answers the bad news of our guilt. Keep me from pride, and let me see myself and others in light of Your holiness.
Father, use me to hold up the mirror of Your Word to those who think themselves righteous. Let them see the cracks in their own hearts, and may the awareness of sin drive them not to despair but to the Savior who forgives freely.
3. Appeal to the Conscience – Romans 2:15 – “They show that the work of the Law is written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”
Even those without Scripture carry within them the imprint of God’s moral law. The conscience is His courtroom in the human soul. A smug man may mock the Bible, but he cannot silence the voice within that accuses him of guilt. That inner witness is fertile ground for the Spirit to work.
Our task is to press the truth of God’s Word to where conscience stirs. When truth is spoken, the Spirit awakens conviction that no argument can suppress. In evangelism, we do not appeal merely to reason but to the God-given conscience that testifies to right and wrong.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You that You have written Your law upon the human heart. Remind me that even those who reject the Bible are not without witness. Help me to speak in such a way that truth resonates with the conscience You have placed within them.
Holy Spirit, awaken sleeping consciences. Let the smug man feel the weight of guilt he tries to ignore. Pierce through his defenses and show him the seriousness of sin. Use my words as tools in Your hand to stir conviction that leads to Christ.
4. Exalt the Authority of Christ – John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
The proud want options, but Jesus leaves none. He is not one path among many; He is the only way to the Father. The authority of Christ silences human arrogance, for He does not debate—He declares. His words demand surrender, not negotiation.
In evangelism, we must hold up the exclusive claims of Christ. To soften His authority is to rob the Gospel of its truth. The smug must be confronted not with ideas but with the living Christ, whose very presence demands obedience.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I confess that at times I fear the offense of Your exclusivity. Give me boldness to declare that You are the only way to God. Strip me of timidity, and fill me with the courage of conviction.
Father, let the authority of Christ confront those who trust in their own wisdom. Show them that no man comes to You except through Your Son. May their pride collapse under the weight of His lordship, and may they find life in Him.
5. Display God’s Patience and Judgment – 2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.”
The smug mock God’s delay, assuming He will never act. But patience is not weakness—it is mercy. Every breath is borrowed time, a chance to repent before judgment falls. God’s patience highlights His heart: He desires salvation, not destruction.
Yet His patience will not last forever. The day of judgment is set. The same patience that now gives opportunity will one day give way to accountability. The smug must be told that mercy’s door will not remain open indefinitely.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for Your patience toward me. How many times have I resisted, and yet You waited with mercy. Teach me to see delay as grace, not neglect. And let me live with urgency, knowing that patience has its limits.
Father, awaken in the smug heart the realization that time is short. Let them tremble at judgment, yet marvel at Your patience. May Your mercy melt their pride before it is too late, and may repentance flow from their hearts.
6. Call Them to Repentance – Acts 17:30–31 – “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere are to repent, because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Repentance is not optional—it is commanded. God has appointed a day of judgment, and Christ will sit as Judge. The resurrection is God’s irrefutable proof that the One who died is the One who will judge.
To the smug, repentance feels like humiliation. But in truth, it is liberation. To repent is to turn from the lie of self-sufficiency and embrace the life that only Christ gives. Without repentance, pride keeps the soul chained for judgment.
Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for the times I’ve thought repentance was only for others. Keep my heart tender, quick to confess, and eager to turn from sin. Let me never grow smug in my own walk.
Father, when I call others to repent, let it not be with harshness but with tears. Remind me that repentance is the doorway to life. Break the pride of those who resist, and draw them with the cords of Your love.
7. Unveil the Cross as God’s Answer – Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The smug believe they are lovable in themselves, but the Cross tells a different story. God’s love shines not because we were worthy, but because He loved us when we were unworthy. Christ died for sinners, not saints.
This is the scandal of grace: God saves not those who prove themselves but those who admit their helplessness. The Cross silences pride and magnifies divine mercy. It is God’s answer to the smug heart—love given at our worst.
Prayer:
Lord, I am undone by Your love. You loved me when I had nothing to offer, when I was running from You. Thank You for demonstrating love at the Cross. Keep me near that place where pride dies and gratitude lives.
Father, let the smug heart see the Cross for what it is—a declaration of love stronger than sin. May the proud be humbled and the arrogant silenced by the sheer wonder of Christ crucified.
8. Declare the Power of the Gospel – Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
The Gospel is not persuasion but power. Arguments may win debates, but only the Gospel saves souls. It is divine dynamite, breaking chains and raising the dead. It requires boldness, not shame.
To those who think they know more than God, we declare the simple message of Christ crucified and risen. In its simplicity lies its strength, for God has chosen what seems weak to shame the strong.
Prayer:
Lord, forgive me when I shrink back in fear, ashamed of the very message that saved me. Fill me with holy boldness to proclaim the Gospel without compromise. Remind me that Your power, not my eloquence, brings salvation.
Father, use my words, weak as they are, to unleash Your power. Let smug hearts encounter the Gospel’s might. May they be shaken from their self-confidence and brought to faith in Christ.
9. Testify of Changed Lives – 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
The arrogant can argue with doctrine but not with transformation. A life changed by Christ is an unanswerable testimony. The addict set free, the liar made truthful, the selfish turned servant—all shout that Jesus lives.
Our own testimony is a weapon against pride. When we live as new creations, we become living proof that Christ changes lives. Even the smug must reckon with evidence they cannot dismiss.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for making me new in Christ. Remind me daily that the old is gone and the new has come. Let my life shine as testimony, not to myself but to the transforming power of Jesus.
Father, let those who mock see in me what they cannot deny: a life changed by grace. May my testimony unsettle their arrogance and stir their curiosity. Use my story to point them to the Savior who saves.
10. Trust in the Spirit’s Conviction – John 16:8 – “And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment.”
We cannot argue a proud man into heaven. Only the Spirit convicts hearts of sin and opens eyes to truth. This reality frees us from despair: our task is proclamation, His task is conviction.
The Spirit pierces where reason cannot reach. He exposes sin, reveals righteousness, and warns of judgment. We rest not in our cleverness but in His power to draw sinners to Christ.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, forgive me when I try to do Your work in my own strength. Teach me to rest in Your power. As I proclaim Christ, let me lean on You, trusting that only You can open blind eyes.
Father, let Your Spirit move in the hearts of the smug. Break their pride, awaken their conscience, and lead them to repentance. Use me faithfully, but let all the glory belong to You alone.
How Do We Change and Return to Jesus?
- Admit our pride – “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
- Confess our sin – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
- Repent sincerely – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)
- Seek Christ above all – “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)
- Surrender our will – “Not my will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)
- Receive His forgiveness – “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)
- Walk in new obedience – “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)
- Live by the Spirit – “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)
- Testify to others – “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you.” (Mark 5:19)
- Abide in Christ daily – “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4)