Spiritual Blindness
All of us have to deal with spiritually blind people at times. These people are very sincere, but they are not able to see spiritual reality clearly. They may realize their blindness, or they may think that they are normal. It is a serious condition that has two causes.
The first cause is that the person has not come to know Christ as Lord and Savior, so he or she is spiritually dead. (Ephesians 2:1-10) The non-believer can't receive spiritual things because they are spiritually discerned by the Holy Spirit who lives within believers. (I Corinthians 2:14) The Holy Spirit does convict them of sin, righteousness, and judgment, but until they trust Christ, there is no real spiritual sight. (John 16:8-11)
The second case is a spiritually blind believer. We might not think this is possible, but it is very possible, and it happens all of the time. We read about the cause in II Peter 1:5-11. If a believer is not growing in the Christian virtues, he or she becomes "shortsighted, even to blindness." This creates a situation in which a believer does not really have any more spiritual insight than a non-believer. This can be confusing when other believers encounter such a person, because they do not understand why he or she is unable to grasp even simple spiritual concepts. This even prevents them from living by faith in what God is showing them, because they are unable to see, until they begin to trust God and begin to grow in their faith.
It is very difficult to deal with spiritually blind believers. They oppose spiritual initiatives in the church, and they think they are correct in doing so. They lead others to do the wrong things and create dissension. It is a serious situation that can only be rectified by much prayer and sharing of the truth, so that they come to see the need for being growing disciples who trust the Lord for everything, not just salvation from sins.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Song of Solomon 4-5 and Galatians 3.
The first cause is that the person has not come to know Christ as Lord and Savior, so he or she is spiritually dead. (Ephesians 2:1-10) The non-believer can't receive spiritual things because they are spiritually discerned by the Holy Spirit who lives within believers. (I Corinthians 2:14) The Holy Spirit does convict them of sin, righteousness, and judgment, but until they trust Christ, there is no real spiritual sight. (John 16:8-11)
The second case is a spiritually blind believer. We might not think this is possible, but it is very possible, and it happens all of the time. We read about the cause in II Peter 1:5-11. If a believer is not growing in the Christian virtues, he or she becomes "shortsighted, even to blindness." This creates a situation in which a believer does not really have any more spiritual insight than a non-believer. This can be confusing when other believers encounter such a person, because they do not understand why he or she is unable to grasp even simple spiritual concepts. This even prevents them from living by faith in what God is showing them, because they are unable to see, until they begin to trust God and begin to grow in their faith.
It is very difficult to deal with spiritually blind believers. They oppose spiritual initiatives in the church, and they think they are correct in doing so. They lead others to do the wrong things and create dissension. It is a serious situation that can only be rectified by much prayer and sharing of the truth, so that they come to see the need for being growing disciples who trust the Lord for everything, not just salvation from sins.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Song of Solomon 4-5 and Galatians 3.