Religious Blindness

Religious Blindness
Words of Faith 11-28-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 9
[39] Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
[40] Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"
[41] Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

Jesus had just led the man born blind to saving faith in Him as the Messiah. The man had received not only physical sight but Spiritual Light and Life as well!
Some of the religious people who had opposed Jesus were still around as Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." The religious folks assumed that they could "see" without the intervention of Jesus. They asked in resentment, "Are we blind too?"
Jesus' reply shows that if they had acknowledged their blindness, they could be freed from sin. But since they asserted that they could see when they were really blind, there was really no remedy for them. The journey to Life and freedom always begins at this singular point when we acknowledge our spiritual poverty.
Jesus spoke elsewhere of how deliberate rejection of Light means "the light within ... is darkness". Matthew records that Jesus said, “But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness (Matthew 6:23)!
Jesus did not come to condemn the world (John 3:17) yet His very presence pronounces a decision on the ungodly. Light pronounces a judgment on the darkness by its very presence. Life pronounces a judgment on death by its arrival. Jesus certainly had the right to judge by His presence. “The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). “He has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man” (John 5:27).
But here Jesus is saying that these “blind guides” (Matt. 23) have declared judgment upon themselves! The blind who come to sight are those who, admitting their helplessness and spiritual poverty, trust Jesus for salvation. Those who “see” and become blind are those who’s self-trust and pride blinds them to the Truth of Jesus. He does not condemn them by making them blind. They blind themselves by rejecting Him.
Paul tells us that Satan contributes to that blinding as well. He wrote to the Corinthian believers that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4).
Have you come to Jesus realizing your utter spiritual poverty? Have you come to Him knowing that He is the only Light that can shine in the darkness? Have you come to Him setting aside all claims to self-illumination and pride? This is where we find sight and life.

Lord, I come to You knowing that there is no light in me apart from You. I rejoice to know that You have come to give me Life and Light. Flood me with both. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.