Plan for: Thanksgiving | Advent | Christmas
To explore the deep truths about being born blind, the power of belief in Jesus, and living out faith in action.
Good morning, Church family. Today we're going to dive headfirst into a riveting passage from the book of John, chapter 8, verses 31-59. We're going to talk about some deep truths: being born blind, the power of belief in Jesus, and how we can live out our faith in action. To kick things off, let's consider this quote from a respected Christian author, A.W. Tozer: "True faith rests upon the character of God and asks no further proof than the moral perfections of the One who cannot lie." This is the cornerstone of our faith: resting in the unchanging, perfect character of our God.
The concept of being born blind is a powerful metaphor that Jesus uses in the scriptures to illustrate our spiritual condition before we come to know Him. In the physical realm, a person born blind has never seen light, colors, or shapes. They navigate the world through their other senses, but they lack the full experience of sight. Similarly, in the spiritual realm, before we come to know Jesus, we are born blind. We may navigate the world using our other senses, but we lack the full experience of spiritual sight. We are unable to see the truth about God, about ourselves, and about the world around us.
A. This spiritual blindness is a result of sin. As Jesus says in John 8:34, "everyone who sins is a slave to sin." Sin blinds us to the truth. It distorts our perception of reality. It makes us believe lies about God, about ourselves, and about the world. We may think we are free, but in reality, we are slaves to sin. We are born into this condition of spiritual blindness, and we cannot free ourselves from it.
B. But the good news is that Jesus came to give sight to the spiritually blind. He came to reveal the truth about God, about ourselves, and about the world. He came to set us free from the slavery of sin. As He says in John 8:32, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." When we come to know Jesus, our spiritual eyes are opened. We begin to see the truth. We begin to experience the freedom that comes from knowing the truth.
C. This spiritual sight is not something we can achieve on our own. It is a gift from God. It is a result of His grace. As the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." We cannot earn our spiritual sight. We cannot work our way out of spiritual blindness. It is a gift that God gives us when we put our faith in Jesus.
D. This faith is not a blind faith. It is a faith based on the truth. It is a faith that rests upon the character of God, as A.W. Tozer said. It is a faith that believes in the One who cannot lie. It is a faith that trusts in the promises of God, even when we cannot see them with our physical eyes. It is a faith that looks beyond the physical realm and sees the spiritual reality.
Belief in Jesus is not merely an intellectual assent to the fact of His existence or even His divinity ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO