James 4:6-7 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: ?God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.? Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
This passage tells us that submission to God produces humility. There is more than one way to submit to God, and obeying His Word is one of them. Surprisingly, this produces problems with Christians who hold to an unscriptural set of values.
Disciples of Saint Augustine will face verses like "The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men" by saying that it only applies to some men.
When I taught Christian school, the teachers (including me) fouled ourselves up by rejecting Galatians 5:19-21, which clearly showed that many of these parents we were having trouble with were unsaved. The same passage also shows that Peter Ruckman was not a born-again Christian, but some genuine Christians ignore it.
As HAC students, we were trained to ignore entire chapters of Scripture telling us how to use our spiritual gifts.
And we were taught to reject the Biblical doctrine that man-made rules do not improve our flesh, but only build pride in our flesh.