Some believers are spiritually blind by choice. The truth is that you can be a faithful churchgoer, read your Bible regularly, and still choose to see your way as the right way. You can be a preacher and see clearly what the Scriptures are saying about a particular subject and yet choose to present something different as the truth.
Those who do that are in effect rejecting the Word of God as the truth. One thing I learned in seminary was the importance of drawing the meaning out of the text as opposed to imposing a meaning on the text.
A main objective of the Scriptures is to present truth to us so we can know the truth and in turn see things correctly. When we don’t or can’t see things in accordance with the Scriptures, we are spiritually blind. Here is what Jesus said about that:
“I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
John 9:39, NASB
When the Pharisees heard these words of Jesus, they responded, “Are we blind also?” (verse 40, KJV).
Now we know that throughout Jesus’ public ministry, He and the Pharisees did not see eye to eye. To the Pharisees, only two ways existed—their way and the wrong way. They accused Jesus of casting out devils by way of the devil. They even tried to stone Him in the temple.
The dislike was mutual. During His public ministry, Jesus repeatedly called the Pharisees hypocrites. So, now the Pharisees are asking Him if they were blind also.
Jesus responded, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (verse 41, NASB).
In effect, Jesus was saying, I will let you be the judge as to whether or not you are blind. He says, if you say you WERE blind—past tense–then you can now see. But if you maintain that you see things as you have, then you are still blind.
Overcoming Spiritual Blindness through the Truth
Let me give you an example of what Jesus means. Let’s say that you are a new church member. When you begin attending church, you have numberous beliefs and views about life that don’t agree with the Bible. Fellow church members talk with you to meet you as the new church member. As they talk with you, they realize that you embrace doctrinal error that needs to be corrected through the Scriptures.
Now let’s fast forward one year. The question is, what is your status one year later? Well, it’s according to how you assess your state at that point. If after a year of attending church and hearing and reading the Word you say, “Man was I blind; I had it all wrong.” Then Jesus says, that means now you can see.
On the other hand, if you maintain that none of your views have changed from a year ago, Jesus says that means your blindness remains. That’s what He means when He says, “I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
Our vision in life is right only when we see things the way God sees them. That means you can have excellent natural vision and be spiritually blind at the same time. I believe that’s the status of many people today.
Jesus came to give sight to the spiritually blind through the truths of His teachings. He said, “If you continue in MY word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32, NASB).
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.