Humility: True Greatness (Hardcover)

by C. J. Mahaney (Author), Joshua Harris (Foreword) "WRITING ABOUT HUMILITY is a humbling experience..." (more)
Key Phrases: cultivate humility, divine perspective, John Stott, John Owen, Jesus Christ (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Be Transformed by Christ’s Example

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” —1 Peter 5:5

A battle rages within every one of us every day. It’s the clash between our sense of stubborn self-sufficiency and God’s call to recognize that we’re really nothing without Him. It’s pride versus humility. And it’s a fight we can’t win without looking repeatedly to Christ and the cross. C. J. Mahaney raises a battle cry to daily, diligently, and deliberately weaken our greatest enemy (pride) and cultivate our greatest friend (humility). His thorough examination clarifies misconceptions, revealing the truth about why God detests pride and turns His active attention to the humble. Because pride is never passive, defeating it demands an intentional attack. The blessing that follows is God’s abundant favor.

“This is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit.”

—Isaiah 66:2, esv

God clearly states that He is drawn to the humble. He’s also clear that He opposes the proud. These two, humility and pride, cannot coexist. Where one is fostered, the other is defeated.

Which will you pursue?

C. J. Mahaney paints a striking picture of the daily battle quietly raging within every Christian and asks whether you will passively accommodate the enemy of your soul, pride, or actively cultivate your best friend, humility. When you acknowledge the deception of pride and intentionally humble yourself, you become free to savor abundant mercies and unlikely graces. You will find a new life is yours—a life God richly favors. A God-glorifying life you don’t want to miss.

“C. J. Mahaney is not humble. At least, that’s what he’ll tell you. And that’s one reason he’s so well qualified to write this book.”

Mark E. Dever

Senior pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Author, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church

“A much-needed wake-up call on this important subject. I highly recommend this book.”

Jerry Bridges

Author of The Pursuit of Holiness

“This is the right book from the right man at the right time.”

R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Story Behind the Book

“Given pride’s pervasive presence in my life, I come to this book in holy fear, yet inspired by God’s promises to be humble and sobered by his warnings to the proud (Isaiah 66:2b, 1 Peter 5:5b). Scripture reveals to us that, while pride was the first and most serious sin, God is decisively drawn to humility and is specifically supportive of the humble. Only Christ has fully obeyed Isaiah 66:2b (“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word”), yet He did so as our representative! How marvelous that in our daily battle against pride we can rely on God’s grace, through the gospel, and thus bring honor and glory to God.” —C. J. Mahaney

About the Author
C. J. Mahaney leads Sovereign Grace Ministries in its mission to establish and support local churches. He served as pastor of Covenant Life Church in a Maryland suburb of Washington , D.C. , for twenty-seven years and is author of The Cross- Centered Life, Christ Our Mediator, and Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God: What Every Christian Husband Needs to Know. C. J. and his wife, Carolyn, have three married daughters and one son. They make their home in Gaithersburg , Maryland .

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (September 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590523261
• ISBN-13: 978-1590523261
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,110 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for Christians, November 22, 2005

By	John Botkin (Bay City, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

C. J. Mahaney has done it again. He has written three other books that have all hit the mark in terms of insightful teaching that is characterized by fidelity to the Bible and practical application to life today (his others are: The Cross-Centered Life; Christ, Our Mediator; Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God). Humility: True Greatness is no different. Here he brings to light the Scripture's teaching on the damning sinfulness of pride, and the glorious attractiveness of humility. The book contains the following chapters:

Part 1: Our Greatest Friend, Our Greatest Enemy
- The Promise of Humility
- The Perils of Pride

Part 2: The Great Reversal
- Greatness Redefined
- Greatness Demonstrated

Part 3: Our Great Pursuit
- As Each Day Begins
- As Each Day Ends
- For Special Focus
- Identifying Evidences of Grace
- Encouraging Others
- Inviting and Pursuing Correction
- Responding Humbly to Trials
- A Legacy of Greatness
- A Final Word
- How to Weaken Pride and Cultivate Humility: A List of Suggestions

This book should be required reading for every Christian. Sadly today, our churches and larger denominational ministries foster a sense of pride and achievement. We must recover an understanding of true greatness if we want to see victory in the Christian life and true revival in our generation.

Although, he would certainly deny it (as is clear, if you have ever had the privilege of hearing him speak) Mahaney himself is truly a humble man, and I believe that is one of the reasons he has been so mightily used by God. Buy the book, and get started learning humility.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps Mahaney's Best So Far, October 25, 2005

By	Tim Challies (Oakville, Ontario) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There is a certain irony in the pursuit of humility. We see a glimpse of that in the title of this book, Humility: True Greatness. Humility is true greatness. The pursuit of humility and the pursuit of greatness are one and the same, provided that we seek greatness as defined by the Creator. I have never met C.J. Mahaney (though hope to some day), but from all accounts he is well-qualified to write a book on such a difficult subject. And this is a difficult topic. After all, how can a person write a book on humility without sounding like he feels he is most qualified? The truth is he can, provided he uses the Scripture as the foundation for his teaching. And that is exactly what Mahaney does.

The book is divided into three sections. Part one deals with the battle of humility versus pride, part two with our Savior and the secret of true greatness and part three with the practice of true humility.

In the first part, Mahaney defines humility and shows how true humility is nothing less than a battle against the pride that lives deep within every heart. "Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in the light of God's holiness and our sinfulness." These two realities must be the foundation of any definition of humility: our sinfulness and God's holiness. This is precisely why true greatness can only be achieved by followers of Jesus Christ, for only they have had their eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to see the depth of their own depravity and the overwhelming holiness of God.

Mahaney teaches, rightly I believe, that God hates the sin of pride above all other sin. This is a sin that plagues all humans, though it manifests itself in different ways. So the issue facing the believer is he examines his life is not if pride is present, but where it is present. For most of us it is deeply ingrained in our lives and only a great amount of Spirit-guided self-examination can draw it to the surface.

In the second part, Mahaney defines greatness as Jesus did, showing that being great means being a servant to everyone. Just as Jesus came to serve, so must we serve with our lives. Christ lived as the perfect example of humble service. As in all his books, Mahaney leads the reader to the cross, stating that apart from Christ's sacrifice, there is no serving. We can only attain true greatness by emulating Christ's example - the example that led him to the cross where He made the greatest sacrifice.

In the third and final part of the book Mahaney builds on the foundation he has built through Scripture to provide advice on the practice of humility. This is far more than a bullet list of do's and don'ts. It is far more than a false, monastic humility that is really no humility at all. Instead, he examines several different areas of life and shows how humility can be applied to all of them. From the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep (and even while we are asleep) we can practice humility. Whether we experience joy or pain, whether we are correcting or being corrected, we all have opportunities to practice humility every day.

Humility: True Greatness is a truly great book. I do not know of a person who shows no pride in his life, and thus I do not know of a person who would not benefit from reading it. I highly and unreservedly recommend this book. I pray that it will be widely-read, that humility may be widely-practiced.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another home run by Mahaney!, January 3, 2006

By	Christian Book Previews.com "Christian Book P... - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

C.J. Mahaney's latest book, Humility: True Greatness, is an amazing challenge to believers to think seriously about how much weight God has placed on humility. The challenge of this book springboards from Isaiah 66:2, "This is the one whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." As the title hints at, Mahaney has put together a concise and practical book that calls us to seek humility, which is how God defines true greatness.

The author has a clear, yet personable writing style and Humility is a prime example. He tackles such topics as defining biblical humility ("Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness." p. 22) and pride ("Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him." p. 31).

Mahaney also does a wonderful job giving practical encouragements of how to foster humility in our daily lives: through prayer, acting in grace toward others, and opening oneself up for correction. There is even a checklist summary of practical things we can do to strive after humility at the end of the book.

Of course, a lot more could have been written, but an exhaustive manifesto on humility does not seem to be Mahaney's ambition. Rather, this excellent book is a crisp, if not humble, approach to a hugely important topic in the life of a Christ-follower.

All in all, Mahaney has hit another home run. I can't imagine any believer not being challenge by this convicting and gracious book. He has such an accessible style that many readers will be able to devour Humility in one sitting. I would recommend that you go at a slower pace and let these powerful challenges transform your life. In fact, I've already bought several copies that I have been doling out to my coworkers. Thanks C.J. - please keep books like this coming! - Todd Burgett, Christian Book Previews.com