Gospel
Spiritually Blind
By Patricia Backora, author of the book
Tough Love in Christ's Millennium
Which you can order online from : http://www.publishamerica.com
A dear lady I know goes to fortune tellers to seek advice on problems and big decisions in her life. I have done my best to warn "Lisa" that fortune tellers and psychics are not of the Lord and He considers it a grave sin to consult them. Lisa thinks I am making a mountain out of a molehill and wonders why I consider the Bible to be the final authority on all matters, since there are supposedly thousands of other paths a person can follow to truth and self-realization.
This person has been a dear friend to us in ways too numerous to mention in this short space. Others think Lisa will be severely judged by God even if I faithfully pray for her. But this person, like the Roman centurion Cornelius, has done many works of kindness and tries to be a blessing to her fellow human being.
Even Jesus prayed from the Cross for His enemies, who whipped and tortured Him and drove the nails through His hands and feet: "Father, forgive them, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO (emphasis mine). The words "They know not what they do" show that Christ's enemies were spiritually blind. Now if Christ could be merciful toward the hostile, foul-mouthed brutes who tortured Him, what makes anyone think He would be swift to judge a spiritually blind woman Who has been kind to His own children countless times?
Saul of Tarsus was the Christians' worst nightmare before he got converted. Saul would authorize raids on the homes of believers and haul both men and women to jail. He would do his worst to try to get those imprisoned for their faith to renounce Christ. Saul hounded the believers till they fled the country. He gave his blessing when the martyr Stephen was stoned to death. You would think that he'd be in hell today for doing all those dirty deeds. But Saul was spiritually blind at the time. It wasn't enough that the city where he lived was full of Christians proclaiming that Christ and Him crucified was the only Way to salvation. The light of Christ shone through those believers, but it took a personal encounter with the Risen Christ on the Damascus Road to heal Saul's spiritual blindness. It was then that Saul was put on the right road by the Lord himself. Saul the persecutor was converted and became Paul the apostle. It was largely because of him that we Gentiles were able to have our own spiritual vision restored from the blindness inherited from fallen Adam. Paul himself says in I Tim.1:16 that he obtained mercy because he "did it ignorantly in unbelief". Jesus forgave that man "because he knew not what he did". Despite the fact Paul must have already overheard the preaching of Christians spreading the Gospel message.
I will believe God to be merciful to this kind person who has erred. If satan has spiritually blinded a person to dangers of the occult or any other sin, then all your preaching and reasoning won't make one iota of difference, apart from the power of God. Just try to describe a beautiful butterfly or the colors of the rainbow to a person born without natural sight. At most you could possibly describe the color "orange" as the visual counterpart of the bright, pleasant taste of the fruit itself, or liken it to the warmth of the sun falling upon the skin. You can preach about red, orange, blue and green all day long, but that isn't enough to restore sight to a blind person, or make somebody born blind understand what color itself is.
Christ commanded His disciples to be merciful toward fellow believers, even to the extent of forgiving them seventy times seven (Matt.18:22). Why would He not listen to your intercessions on behalf of a non-religious friend who is involved in a sin or fault, but honestly doesn't know any better?
God is faced with a challenge, but He is not afraid of challenges. Spiritual darkness is deepening in the earth. It used to be taken for granted that Western Society was automatically a "Christian" society and if you spoke to an unbeliever about matters of right and wrong and appealed to the authority of Scripture that one just might listen. But increasingly, Europe is a post-Christian society and even American Christendom is infiltrated by apostasy. God must move in power to make the scales fall off people's eyes to awaken them to the eternal truth of His Word, the Holy Bible.
The enemy has introduced a big Babel of religious confusion, not just in the world but even within the sphere of so-called Christendom. Today's Christianity has strayed far from the childlike simplicity of "repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). There's the chaos caused by the so-called Prosperity Gospel, the excesses of the Toronto Blessing, and weird legalistic sects of all sorts which overemphasize personal suffering and works. They divert the eye of the believer away from Christ and His finished work on the Cross on our behalf.
If believers can lose their way wandering in the religious marketplace, how much more can backsliders and unbelievers stumble over the tangled mess which makes up today's religious world? It behooves each of us to faithfully pray, especially for those who aren't shaking their fist in God's face out of deliberate malice, but who have been blinded by powers of darkness and need to be set free through the Blood of Jesus and the miracle power of the Holy Ghost.
* * * * *
I do not subscribe to the Private Messenger Service. I can be contacted at:
[email protected]
http://kingdomage.tripod.com
http://boogerbucks.tripod.com
http://banpreachergreed.tripod.com
http://toughlovebook.tripod.com
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 741 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Patricia Backora or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 741 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.
The heart of the King; touching lepers!
They announced "Unclean, unclean."
The religious replied, "amen, amen."
Jesus said, "Come to me..."