Question: What is spiritual blindness?

By simon brown

Many people are blind. How can that be? Perhaps the Bible can give us some answers. Consider this verse; 2 Corinthians 4:4, “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.” And the bible says that the god of this age is Satan. 2 Corinthians 3:14, “But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read a veil covers their hearts, but whenever anyone turns to the Lord the veil is taken away.” The Bible is telling us that we are blinded from the truth until we accept Jesus. Matthew 23:24, “You blind guides. You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” Jesus here is saying that people will believe in something with little to support it, but will reject something with much more evidence. It would seem the devil really does have the power to blind us. The simple truth is, accept Jesus and He will remove the veil!
Matthew 15:14, “Leave them. They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man both will fall into a pit.” This is what is going on. Most people are following the blind. John 12:40, He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can never see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts, nor turn and I would heal them.”  The theme of people being blinded from the truth continues throughout the
Bible.          

                                            

Most people in the world will not make it to the kingdom of heaven.  Sorry, I didn’t say it, Jesus did; and yet all you have to do is accept and follow Him. What have you to lose? If you are right you will enter heaven and be with God your Father. You won’t find odds like that at your local turf accountant! The instructions are pretty simple too. Accept Jesus and follow Him.
Matthew 7:13, “ Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many may enter through it, but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” God loves you and will forgive whatever sins you have committed. Ask and you may have everlasting life.
John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Also, John 3:16, “ For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only son. This is the verdict. Light has come into the world but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” And again, Proverbs 3 V 5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” So do not trust in the blind, but trust in God who cannot lie.
The Bible can be viewed as a manual for living if you like. If you buy a kettle or a toaster, you will also receive an operating manual. The purpose of this is to help you get the very best from the product and to avoid dangerous practises. The Bible does just the same in teaching you how to get the best from your life and even after it. All the answers are there if you look. Jesus says, Matthew 7 v 7, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.” Foolish people, when they buy their toaster or kettle, just throw the instruction manual in the bin. Later the product has a problem. The toaster only toasts on one side. What do we do about it? Where shall we take it for repair? Oh dear, now we know what the manual was for. Fortunately most of us are more sensible and place the manual somewhere safe, where we can find it when things go wrong. What about the Bible? Have you thrown that in the bin or put it somewhere where you can refer to it when something goes wrong with your life. After all, your life is hopefully much longer and more important than a domestic appliance and the faults often a lot more serious. At the end of life the door closes. Too late to look for the manual. It didn’t come with you and there’s no-one to ask. Luke 13 V 28,”there will be weeping there and gnashing of teeth.” Souls will be weeping because they would not listen or give the Bible a chance while they had it, and they will be gnashing their teeth because they realise there is no way back and it’s all too late.
God gave us all free will. It would have been easy to force us all to obey Him but that is not His way. He expects you to find Him just as, if you were adopted, you would try to find your natural parents. He is waiting to open the door to you, no matter what you have done wrong. What a truly merciful God. Jesus said, John 5 V 24, “I tell you the truth. Whoever hears my word and believes in Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed over from death to life.” So you can enter through the gate to eternal life and be with God the Creator whom Jesus calls our Father. Be a part of God’s family. Christ was nailed to the cross for our sins. He rose from his tomb after three days and is alive today. He wants to make himself known to us all, to forgive us and cleanse us and bring us to eternal life. Revelations 3 V 20, “Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”

SOMETHING YOU MUST DO.

Accept Jesus Christ into your life to be your Lord and Saviour, your friend and guide, and be with you. So many miss this very important last step, therefore not making it to life and never opening the door to Jesus, as he will not force his way into your life. You must invite him in. The handle to the door on the outside is missing. Only you can open it on the inside, so find a quiet place on your own in a room, close the door behind you, and remember God loved you so much that He watched His only son being mocked, spat on, punched, whipped and nailed on a cross with a spear in his side. Could you do the same to your daughter or son? This shows how much God loves us, so when you have thought of the amazing true courage that Jesus displayed, say a prayer. You must repent and believe in Jesus Christ, so pray sincerely with this prayer:
THE SINNER’S PRAYER

Dear GOD the Father, I admit that i have been living in rebellion to you. I now believe that you sent your begotten son Jesus  who died so that i might be forgiven all my sin. please forgive me now. please come into my life by your holy spirit and help me to live in a way that pleases you. I asked you to be my GOD and Father and  saviour, and Jesus to be my saviour, my master and my dearest friend all the days of my life………..amen.

1 John 1 V 9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Therefore if you have prayed sincerely, you can know that God has forgiven you. You have his word on it. Do not rely on your feelings. You may not tell any difference at the moment. Trust His sure promises. John 6 V 47, “I tell you the truth. He who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life.”

THE WAY FORWARD

You have begun the journey into life and are now at the start of a new life. You have in Jesus Christ, an all powerful and ever present friend and captain, but in Satan, a cunning and strong enemy. You need to grow strong as a Christian. You need food, air and exercise.
Food.
The bible is the Christian’s food. It is a living book and through it, God will speak to you. Read it every day.
Air.
Prayer is the Christian’s air. Talk to GOD as your Father, through Jesus as your best friend, yet respectfully, remembering who they are. Spend time alone with GOD and Jesus daily.
Exercise.