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Re: Daily Bread
I figured I would post this in here, as I think I will keep it fairly short.
I was just finishing up John Chapter 9, and was drawn to one verse, the last verse of the chapter actually.
The Pharisees had just asked Jesus if they were blind (spiritually). His answer occurs here.
John 9:41 Jesus said unto them, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
You know, what strikes me is in a sense there's a lot of patience and mercy in that statement to those who are blind. The reason I say that is Jesus Himself said, if ye were blind, ye should have no sin. Does that mean that they never do anything wrong, or never do anything that is against God's commandments and direction in their life? No, it does not. But when one is truly blind spiritually and has no knowledge of God's Word or His law, then God does not hold that person accountable for those "sins". So many arguments made against Christianity are people saying that a person who never got the opportunity to hear about Jesus still would go to hell according to Christianity or the bible. But here we have Jesus Himself saying if you are blind then you are not held accountable for those sins.
We must remember this when it comes to the temptation to maybe judge people of other faiths or to answer critics. It is not "unbelief" that would send someone to hell. It is sin that is not confessed or repented of that sends one to hell. For that to happen, one must be aware of the sin and the truth in the first place.
Praise God for His love and patience to those who are blind. But that doesn't mean that we should want them to remain that way, because He certainly does not want them to. He wants them to know the truth, so that they can hopefully believe and have a relationship with Him, and be blessed by Him.
Jason
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