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You are here: Home / Bible Study God's Way / Spiritual Blindness: God-inflicted? Self-inflicted? Or Both?

Spiritual Blindness: God-inflicted? Self-inflicted? Or Both?

June 27, 2025 by Larry Jaques Leave a Comment

In the 11th chapter of the Apostle John’s Gospel we find that Jesus has raised from death to life a man named Lazarus, a friend of His, after being in a tomb for four days. Word of the miracle spread rapidly. That incredible and public miracle, along with the other wonders He had performed, had made the carpenter from Nazareth quite famous throughout that region of the Middle East. Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, lived in Bethany, a town not far from Jerusalem. Six days before the celebration of Passover Jesus and His disciples came to their home town where they were treated to a feast put together by the sisters. When word got out that He was there, Jews from all over the area came to see Him and Lazarus (12:9). Everyone wanted to see the miracle worker and the man He had raised from the dead.

The feast of Passover was (and continues to be) one of the Lord’s commanded annual celebrations which commemorates the death angel’s visit to the Jewish slaves being held captive in Egypt many generations earlier. Those Jews who obeyed Moses’ instructions were “passed over” by the death angel. Those who failed to obey God’s instructions lost their eldest child to the angel of death. Thus the name “Passover” came to be applied to the event. Obviously, the Egyptians failed to comply with God’s instructions relative to the meal that was prepared specifically for the celebration, as well as instructions on how to prepare it and eat it. Following the death of the Egyptians eldest child, the Jews were told to leave immediately.

Knowing that Jesus would celebrate Passover in Jerusalem, masses of people spread palm branches on the road leading to the city. When He arrived riding on the colt of a donkey the people followed Him shouting “Hosanna; Blessed is the King of Israel Who comes in the name of the Lord.” By the time they arrived in Jerusalem His following had grown into a large contingent who wanted to pay homage to the miracle worker (12:12-15,18). Question: Where were all those people 50 days later when those who embraced Jesus met in an upper room in Jerusalem and, with a visit from the Holy Spirit, became the Church of God? Scripture tells us that there were only 120 present at that meeting. Where were the multitudes of people He had healed, delivered of evil spirits and fed? Where were those who wanted to make him their king?

The minutely few people at that meeting was a portend for what is coming. Jesus warned that only a few will still be with Him when He returns at the end of the world to establish His Father’s earthly kingdom in the Promised Land (Mat. 7:13,14; 22:14). Many, He tells us, will have been called to join Him but few will be chosen for having answered His call. Let us all strive to be among the chosen few by obeying His Law, thereby keeping sin out of our lives. Read First John 3:4.

Upon His arrival in Jerusalem Jesus was met by a group of Jews who, though He had performed many miracles among in their presence, did not believe that He was Who He said He was. Jesus told them to believe and walk in His light (message), for if they did not, SPIRITUAL DARKNESS WOULD COME UPON THEM, blinding them from knowing which way they were going spiritually. If they walked in His light they would become God’s children and His spiritual brethren. Though He had done many miracles before them, they did not believe He was the Son of God, just as the Prophet Isaiah had prophesied (vss 34-38) many generations earlier. In verses 39 and 40 we find a quote from Isaiah that would become the basis for this teaching. He wrote about both a past and a future time : “Therefore they COULD NOT BELIEVE BECAUSE HE (GOD) HAD SPIRITUALLY BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HARDENED THEIR HEARTS (MINDS) SO THAT THEY COULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND BELIEVE WITH THEIR HEARTS AND BE CONVERTED.” Isaiah, in writing about the nation of Israel in his day, tells us what will become of the modern nations of Israel–the so-called “Christian nations”–in the future. The future he was referring to has arrived.

In 12:42 and 43 John described the spiritual downfall of many of the people whom Jesus touched with His Words and actions. He wrote: “Nevertheless, among the chief rulers and many others were those who believed in Him. But because of their fear of the Pharisees (powerful, upper echelon religious leaders among the Jews), they would not confess their belief in Him for FEAR THAT THEY WOULD BE PUT OUT OF THE SYNAGOGUE, FOR THEY LOVED THE PRAISE OF MEN MORE THAN THE PRAISE OF GOD.” Sound familiar? I face it continually from those who fear the rejection of family and friends more than they fear displeasing God. Why do they not fear God and obey Him? Because they are told repeatedly that they are saved and born again; that the fix is in so they can sin without fear of the God they reject. I wrote a little ditty that describes the church’s lack of fear of God. It goes like this: “Sin and grin my friend, for in the end, you still win. Pie in the sky, sin till you die, for in the sweet bye and bye, you’ll still get to fly.” If the world’s church people could hear that, they would all shout: “AMEN,” causing Satan to grin.

Recall in verses 40 and 41 what Isaiah said that God did to those of his (Isaiah’s) day who knew the Truth but refused to believe it–“HE BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HARDENED THEIR HEARTS SO THAT THEY COULD NOT BE CONVERTED.” The Almighty is doing the same things to those who are part of the apostasy (falling away from God) taking place in these modern times. Listening to what is being preached and seeing who is filling church pews tells us where on the apostasy scale we are now. Now we will turn to the Book of Romans where the Apostle Paul describes in detail what God did to those who were part of the church’s apostasy (falling away from God) early on. Both church and secular history reveals that the movement has gradually grown in size and power over the centuries.

In Romans 1:16 and 17 the apostle reminds us that the Word of God is the POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE AND OBEY IT. THOSE WHO MANIFEST THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD BY OBEYING WHAT THEY STUDY GROW IN FAITH UNTIL THEY “COME TO THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST” (EPH. 4:13). THESE SAINTS WILL RISE TO MEET HIM IN THE CLOUDS UPON HIS RETURN. Jesus of Nazareth was a man like all other men and was tempted as are all other men, “YET WITHOUT SIN” (Heb. 4:15). Unlike all other men, He exhibited the righteousness of God by obeying His Words. Contrary to popular opinion, He could have sinned, otherwise why did Satan tempt Him to do so? JESUS HAD NO ADVANTAGE OVER US, therefore He can legitimately require us to follow in His spiritual footsteps in order to live with Him forever. Read Jesus of Nazareth: God, Man or God-man? key word–God-man.

Beginning in verse 18 and continuing throughout the chapter Paul teaches us a history lesson concerning those who once knew God (vs 21) and knew His Truth (vs 18) but refused to believe and obey Him. The following verses tell of what they became because of their lack of obedience. Read those verses.

In closing I want to draw your attention to several key phrases that address the title of this teaching. In verse 21 Paul tells us that those who rejected the ways of God in the past “BECAME VAIN” in their imaginations and their foolish hearts “WERE DARKENED.” As a result of their rejection of God, He “GAVE THEM UP TO” homosexuality and lesbianism (vss 24,26) first, then many more types of sins later. In verse 28 Paul says that God “GAVE THEM OVER TO” reprobate minds. The expressions “gave them up to and over to” shows that, like the five foolish virgins of Matthew 25, those church people wanted to do what God “gave them up and over to” do–THEY WANTED TO SIN. Just as Adam and Eve wanted to eat of the forbidden fruit, those about whom Paul was writing wanted to do what they knew God hated. In both cases, Satan convinced them that they could do what they wanted to do and “…not surely die.” In other words, they were too important to God for Him to punish them. After all, “ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED.” Which is true. However, salvation will not be available until Christ returns to earth. Read Born Again. Key word–Born.

We see the end result of Satan’s “You can do what you want and get away with it because God loves you too much to punish you” theology in today’s Laodicean Church. The modern-day Laodicean Church is described by Jesus in Revelation 3:14-20. Notice what kind of people comprise “the church” and you can see the end result of Satan’s orchestrated church apostasy. The only way for a Truth seeker to escape the curse god has placed on the end-time church is to obey God’s command found in Second Corinthians 6:14:17–LEAVE IT.

The answer to the question raised in the title of this teaching is “BOTH.” Both the believer and the Lord play their parts to play in the believer’s downfall. Satan cannot force us to do what we do not want to do. When a believer sins he does so because he wants to. If, when he is tempted, he bows before God and honestly seeks His help in his effort to resist the temptation, GOD WILL HELP HIM. However, if he isn’t totally sold out to the Lord, the Almighty will “give him up, or over” to do that which he actually wants to do–sin. Why does he want to sin? Because he has been told that he can do so and get away with it. This is what the Lord refers to as SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS–HE DOES NOT KNOW WHICH WAY HE IS GOING. When a believer wants to sin and continues to do so, his blindness to the ways of God is a two-way affair–1) HE DESIRES TO SIN AND 2) GOD GIVES HIM UP TO FULFILL HIS DESIRE. He becomes blind to the ways of God by choice. When that happens God simply allows him to have his way while believing his false prophets whose only requirements for salvation is that he BELIEVE IN JESUS AND REPENT FOR EACH SIN. And Satan smiles. L.J.

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