Belief Brings Sight

Tom Shrader walks through the entirety of John 9, examining the healing of a man born blind as both a physical miracle and a theological picture of how God opens spiritually blind eyes. He traces the formerly blind man's escalating confession—from calling Jesus a man, to a prophet, to the Son of God—as a model of genuine conversion, while contrasting the man's growing boldness with the Pharisees' hardening unbelief. Throughout, Shrader applies the passage to the believer's calling to become a living display case of God's transforming work, sharing his own testimony of coming to faith at age thirty.

“All of us come into the world blind to spiritual things, and then one day God opens our eyes — and our testimony at its very basic foundation is this: we were blind and now we see.”

— Tom Shrader

Series: John: The Essence of Life (2005)

Recorded: 2005 at East Valley Bible Church

Duration: 57 min

Themes: faith, healing, blindness, testimony, conversion, unbelief, miracles, boldness, new believer, seeking faith, struggling with doubt, sharing testimony, resistant to gospel, adult conversion, questioning god's purpose, spiritually searching

Scripture: John 9:1-41, John 20:30-31, Luke 2, Luke 4:43, Luke 19, Matthew 5, Romans 3:11, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 2:14, Philippians 2, John 5

Theological Themes: soteriology, spiritual blindness, regeneration, new birth, sovereign grace, progressive faith, hardening of heart, signs of christ

Full Transcript

Introduction: Why John Wrote His Gospel

Turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 9. We are going to look at this entire chapter. Remember why John is writing. In fact, when you get to John chapter 9, mark that and then turn to the back of this gospel, the twentieth chapter and the thirtieth verse. John tells us why he is writing this book. John chapter 20, verse 30: "Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples that are not written in this book." John chapter 20, verse 31: "But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name."

John says that Jesus did many, many other signs and miracles. John records seven or eight of them. He said he chose these for a twofold reason. First, that you might intellectually and factually understand that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah. And second, that once you understand that intellectually, you would then respond in active faith and belief.

You would take that intellectual belief and allow it to move from your head to your heart. There would be that moment of repentance, that moment of trusting Jesus Christ for who He is, who He says He is, and who He says you are. There would be that moment you would move from sinner to saint, and God would save you.

John said there are lots of other things that Jesus did, but he hand-selected these, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for this purpose: that as you look at them, read them, and study them, you would believe that Jesus is indeed God come in the flesh, and that believing that, you would place your faith and trust in Him. You would be saved. You would have eternal life — and not just eternal life in terms of that sweet by and by, because eternal life begins today.

Your life would be transformed. It is not to say that problems do not come, that you will not still sin, or that there are no difficulties. It is to say that you have a power in you — the power of the Holy Spirit — and life becomes totally different than anything you could have ever imagined. That is what we are going to see as we turn back to John's Gospel.

A Man Blind From Birth

Chapter 9, verse 1: "As Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?"

One thing we are going to see as we look through John chapter 9 is that God cannot be frustrated by man. James Boice says it this way: man's hatred cannot frustrate God, man's sin cannot frustrate God. Rather, God accomplishes His purpose sovereignly, saving by grace those whom He chooses to call to Himself.

What we are seeing here is the sovereign plan of God. There is a man who is blind — blind from birth. Jesus and the disciples are passing by. Every indication is that this man is sitting somewhere in a prominent place in the city, perhaps by the gate of the temple or near the synagogue. He would not have been an unusual sight, because he had been there day after day, month after month, year after year.

We see later in this passage that he is a beggar — not just a beggar for food or money, but for assistance. He would have loved healing. My suspicion is that if you could sit and chat with him and ask him what one wish he would want granted, he would say he wished he could see. He had probably been the object of jokes, humiliation, and ridicule. His condition prompts the disciples to ask a question, and that question represents a point of view — that there must be some connection between sin and this man's blindness, and perhaps more broadly between the difficulties, hardships, and pain we see in our own lives and something we have done.

The Intriguing Detail in the Disciples' Question

Look at verse 2 carefully, because there is something in it that is easy to miss. "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?" This man was born blind. So what is the intriguing detail? The question implies that he could have sinned before he was born. Did he do something in a previous life?

Ray Stedman suggests that the disciples were probably thinking of the Jewish rabbinical teaching that it is possible for an embryo to sin. It is a fascinating thought — the idea of some preexistent sin. When we talk about reincarnation, it may seem like a fringe idea, but the latest polls suggest that somewhere between 33 and 40 percent of the American public believe in reincarnation.

If you are not familiar with what reincarnation is, here is a definition: if at first you do not succeed, die, die again. You die, come back, die, come back, go around again, face judgment, and then spin off into perfection. What I have noticed over the years is an increasing number of people who say they are Christians and yet also believe in reincarnation. Those two things are incompatible. The Bible teaches that it is appointed to man once to die.

The Question of Sin and Suffering

To die and then judgment. Reincarnation and resurrection, as the Bible teaches it, are contrary. So is it possible that this man sinned? Or on the other hand, perhaps it was his parents who sinned and he is simply reaping the result of their sin. We do see that — we see where other people's actions have an effect on us.

Susan and I, for a long time, took in babies who had just been born — day two or three old — who were being put up for adoption. We would care for them during the time between when they were released from the hospital and when they were adopted, typically a week to four weeks at most. The last baby we had was brought to us crying. This baby just cried and cried — twenty hours a day. After three or four days I called and said, "We're going nuts here. What is the deal?" They told us the mother had been on crack, and it was just working its way through the baby. We had that baby for a month, and I finally called and said, "You're going to have to come get this baby." They told me they had an adoption placement ready. How sad that was.

Even looking at all the pictures of devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi that week, the things that touched my heart most were those older people in wheelchairs, and those pictures of moms or dads just holding their babies who looked lifeless. So it is a fascinating question: did this man sin in some preexistent way, or did his parents sin? What is it?

In our lives, we understand that periodically we experience physical hardships or pain as a result of our own sin — even death, as with Ananias and Sapphira. But we must be careful here as we grapple with this, because we are not about to say that all the suffering and pain in your life is a result of your sin. In some broad, general way we could say all pain is a result of Adam's sin, but that is not the question before us.

Jesus Corrects Their Thinking

What we see is that Jesus corrects their thinking. He says, in effect, let us be specific here. "Jesus answered and said, it was neither the man that sinned, nor his parents that sinned, but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

Jesus says it is neither that this man sinned nor that his parents sinned — that he is blind for this specific reason, for this specific moment. This moment is about to take place, and he is about to be healed. He is to be a display case for the works of God.

When I think of a display case, I think of a jewelry case where a beautiful item is placed strategically, with the light arranged so that the item looks as beautiful as it possibly can. The second thing that comes to mind is the cosmetics departments in department stores. Susan and I had our date Monday and went to the mall for an hour or two, and I say the same thing every time. We came in through the back of Dillard's, and at the main entrance off the mall — what I would think is the most valuable space in the entire store — is the cosmetics counter. That tells me there may be some profit in cosmetics.

There is always a department there, and always the same ladies — white or black jacket, hair pulled tightly back. The light is just perfect, and they always have someone there they are touching up, like a little human makeover. The light is perfect, and you think, "Oh, I'll have a thousand dollars' worth of that." Then you step out into real light and think, "Oh man, that's brutal." That is what I think of when I think of a display case — jewelry, cosmetics, all of it.

Was this man a display case, and was the mission accomplished? I think so. Here we are two thousand years later in Gilbert, Arizona, talking about this man.

Becoming a Display Case

Now, if I can pause for a moment — this is also the desire God has for your life, that you might become a display case for the mighty works He has done in you. Most of the time, those mighty works are associated with suffering, pain, and hardship, and periodically with success. They are the things that come at you in life that you would never ask for. Typically, at the end of them, you would say, "I would never want to do that again, and I would never have asked for it — but I would not trade it for the world, because I have seen God work." And the people around you have seen God work as well. You become a display case.

I remember not long after becoming a Christian, someone used that somewhat corny little phrase: you may be the only Bible some people ever read. Before you cast that away, think it through a little, because there is truth in it. When you say you are a follower of Christ, people begin to watch and scrutinize you. When you say, "Jesus is my Lord, Jesus is my Savior — come to church with me, join our Bible study" — if you do not act according to how God would expect you to act, there is a disconnect for them. They cannot put it together. The word they use, by the way, is a word that everyone hates when it is identified with

A Living Display Case

The word "hypocrite" literally means a play actor. People are always watching, and your life becomes a display case for the work of God. It is a mighty thing. We love these miracles, we look at them and get excited, and people get energized by them.

But there are miracles all over. I could ask you to stand, and the majority of people in this room would stand as a testimony to the display case of God's work in their lives — that there was a time when you were lost, and you are now in a personal relationship with the Creator God of the universe. And it is not just in suffering and pain; it is also in good times and successes. People are watching, and they never stop.

I know they watch us. I had explained to my daughter Sarah that this is just the way it is — everybody watches everything, and that is what God expects. She came in one day with a cute little cartoon: a lady on the back porch holding open the door, letting the dog out, and the caption read, "Remember, you're the pastor's dog." But it is not just me. It is all of us.

Transformed, Not Conformed

Here is what Paul writes in Romans chapter 12: "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Listen to how Eugene Peterson paraphrases this in The Message: "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you. Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going to work, walking around — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you and quickly respond to it."

Don't be conformed to this world. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Peterson puts it plainly: don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. There is a distinctiveness about the way we live, and you become that display case for the work of God.

The Urgency in Jesus' Life

There is also, looking at verse four, some sense of urgency in Jesus' life. The very first words recorded in the Gospels from the lips of Jesus are worth at least some consideration. They are found in Luke chapter two. Mary and Joseph had taken Jesus to Jerusalem, then left — and one can imagine there was a little pressure, because they had lost the Messiah. It is one thing when you misplace your child, but when your child is the Messiah, that is a serious problem. They return and find Jesus, and here is what He said: "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house?"

In Luke chapter four, verse 43, Jesus says, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose." And in Luke chapter 19, Jesus is speaking to Zacchaeus and says, "Today I must stay at your house." Then, in the passage before us, verse four reads, "We must work the works of Him." There is an intensity here. There is an urgency here.

Jesus says, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." But when He leaves this world, what does He say in Matthew five? You are the light of the world. People begin to look at you and evaluate your Father. You know this humanly — there are people who have never met you, but they have a distinct impression of you because they have met your children. When you drop your kids off in a third-grade or second-grade class and sign them in, and come back to pick them up, those teachers have forged an impression of you. Whether it is fair or not is irrelevant; they are judging you by how your children behave.

That is exactly what is being said here. Jesus said, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world," but He says to you and me, "You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world." People are looking at you. People are judging Him by how you respond, and that does not relieve them of their own responsibility.

The Blind Man and the Clay

So that is the backdrop. The man is blind. There he is. Jesus says this is not about sin in this man's life — this is about this moment.

Verse nine: "When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.' So he went away and washed, and came back seeing."

I have often tried, in these stories, to immerse myself in the environment — and I know that is extra-biblical, so we need to be careful. But here is this man who is blind. My assumption is that the disciples and Jesus were within his ability to hear the dialogue. They ask, "Who sinned, this man or his parents?" I imagine there is some tension at that moment, and then Jesus responds.

The Miracle Described

John is stingy in his use of words to describe the miracle. He's thrifty here. He simply says go wash, and he came back. Verse 7 reads: "He went away and washed, he came back and he could see." No big deal, not a lot of words wasted. He doesn't give you a new formula to run out and put together your healing ministry.

The Neighbors React

From verse 8, and in my Bible it's about three columns, the dialogue begins — between the neighbors, between the Pharisees, Jesus, and the blind man. The neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" Some were saying, "This is he," and others were saying, "No, but he is like him." So some are saying this is him, others are saying they don't think so, and somebody else is saying this looks like him — and all the time, look at verse 9, the man is saying, "I'm the one, I'm the one, I'm the one." You can see this almost comedic circus taking place.

They said to him, "How then were your eyes opened?" He answered and said, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes and said to me, go and wash, so I went and washed and I received my sight." They said to him, "Where is he?" And he said, "I don't know."

What It Means to Be a Witness

One of the things I love all the way through this is that, though the man begins to build — you'll see his boldness begin to increase — he is simply telling what he knows. That's what it means to be a witness: to tell what you know, and in this case, what has happened to you. Some of you have seen your lives transformed by the risen Christ, and your privilege is to share what has happened in your life.

If you know enough to believe the gospel, you know enough to share the gospel. Over a period of time that knowledge is going to increase, and that experience is going to deepen, and you'll perhaps be more agile and adept at answering questions. But you never shy away from the conversation.

Before the Pharisees

Verse 13: they brought to the Pharisees him who was formerly blind. Why the Pharisees? Because it was on the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. We've seen this before — Jesus healing on the Sabbath. The healing on the Sabbath in and of itself isn't the problem. The problem is usually what's attached to it by way of activities, and usually those works are a violation of rabbinic law.

When Jesus healed the paralytic, it wasn't that He healed on the Sabbath — it was that He said, "Arise and take up your pallet." Now there's walking, now there's work, now the Sabbath has been violated. That's what has happened here as well. When Jesus made the clay to put in the eyes, that action violated the Sabbath. So it's not really a medical question at this point. It's more of a religious, legal question. They hauled this man before the Pharisees.

Verse 15: again therefore the Pharisees were asking how he received his sight, and he said, "He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see."

The Pharisees Are Divided

Now the Pharisees are divided. Some were saying, "This man is not from God because he doesn't keep the Sabbath," but others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" There is a great division among them. Some are saying Jesus violated the Sabbath — He made this spittle, He kneaded this clay, it is a violation of the law. Others are saying, wait a minute, clearly He is from God.

We looked at it last week — the Messianic prophecies about when the Messiah would come, the blind would see. This is something extraordinary, and they are saying how can a sinful man perform these signs. So there are opposing views.

They said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a prophet."

The Parents Are Questioned

The Jews therefore did not believe it of him that he had been blind and received his sight. They were saying they didn't buy this — it was a scam, an inside job, the man was part of the scheme. They needed further witnesses. So they called his parents, the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and questioned them with two questions: is this your son who you say was born blind, and how does he now see?

The parents here are under great stress. Look at verse 20: the parents were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus as the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue — excommunicated. That wasn't just a religious effect. It would have total effect on the family: all fellowship, business, every sort of transaction and interaction would be affected. The stakes are high.

The Parents Cop Out

To be candid, the parents cop out rather badly. Here is what they say in verse 20. One: we know this is our son. Two: we know he was born blind. But to the second question — how does he now see — they say, "How he now sees, we don't know. Who opened his eyes, we don't know." There is something interesting in that answer, by the way — they say "who has done this," which suggests they may have had at least some instinct about how this happened. Perhaps they had heard about it. But then they said, "He is of age" — he is thirteen, which is the minimum —

The Testimony of the Formerly Blind Man

For a second time, the Pharisees called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give glory to God." What they were asking him to do, in a sense, was to take an oath, to swear to God. They declared, "We know that this man is a sinner." The formerly blind man answered in verse 25: "Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know, I was blind and now I see." He was saying, listen, I am not really in a position to talk about pedigree. You are the religious experts trying to figure out if He is a sinner or not, but I will tell you this — I was blind and now I see.

That is the same testimony that you and I and all followers of Christ share. We were blind and now we see. There was a moment in time when we did not understand the things of God — we may have thought we did, or we may have even been in a place where we said we did not care. But God comes along, God opens our eyes, and the very basic foundation of our testimony is this: we were blind and now we see.

They pressed him again in verse 26: "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" Verse 27 is worth noting, because our man here is getting a little attitude. He answers, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become his disciples too, do you?" What he is really saying is: guys, I was blind, but apparently you are deaf. We have been through this. You asked the question, I gave you the answer, and nothing has changed. In its very simplest form, he put clay on my eyes, I washed, and now I see. All I can tell you is I was blind and now I see.

Notice that word "too" — also, like me. The word disciple simply means learner or follower. We immediately associate it with being a follower of Christ, but that is not necessarily what is meant here. I do not think this man has yet converted at this point in the story.

The Religious Leaders Reveal Their Blindness

The Pharisees revile him and say, "You are his disciple. We are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from." They immediately play a trump card. What they are essentially saying is: when you have your degree and you are a spiritual giant like us, come back and talk to us. You are following this man? You do not even know where He is from. We follow Moses.

The man answered in verse 30: "Well, here is an amazing thing. You do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes." Do you see the force of that argument? You are the religious leaders who are supposed to know all about the prophets, and you cannot even tell me where He is from? He continues: "We know that God does not hear sinners, and if anyone is God-fearing and does the will of God, He hears them. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." You are the religious authorities, our connection in a sense with God, and you cannot figure this out? He is obviously a man of God. If you do not know about Him, then something is very wrong.

He has them, does he not? And what do you do when you are caught in a discussion like that? You attack personally. "You were born entirely in sin, and you are teaching us?" Anything, anything to divert attention from the facts. When the facts are not on your side, you shout louder and you attack the person.

A Digression on Shouting Louder

This is a slight digression, but I was watching an interview on C-SPAN the other night with David McCullough. It is one of the most fascinating interviews I have seen. You should go to c-span.org, find the Q&A section, go to archives, and watch the interview from August 7th with David McCullough. At the end of it, I realized I had just watched a sixty-minute interview with nobody yelling at one another. We have become so anesthetized to television that is simply screaming and yelling back and forth. When the facts are not on your side, the move is to attack the other person. That is exactly what the Pharisees do here — and they put him out. They excommunicate him.

Jesus Finds the Man He Healed

Now, Jesus had already had a version of this discussion with the Pharisees. Back in John chapter 5, He said to them, "Do not think that I accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" So this ground had already been covered. And now they put the man out.

I want you to see something in verse 35. Jesus heard that they had put him out, and what does the Hound of Heaven do? He finds him. He says to him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" That is a question for us to ponder as well — do you believe in the Son of Man?

What We Think We Want Versus What We Truly Need

Consider this: if you had caught this man early in the day and asked him, "If you had one wish, one thing you could change about your life, what would it be?" I think he would have said, "I want to be able to see." But now he can see, and he is beginning to understand that there is something else missing.

We go through life saying, "If I just had that. If I could just get that." But honestly, how much time this week was spent in the pursuit of God, and how much time was spent in the pursuit of the things of this world? And yet we all say amen when Jesus said, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?"

Belief Brings Sight

This week we see people who have lost everything, and we say, "Well, that just reminds us of what's really important." I understand it reminds us. I'm not interested in a reminder here. I'm interested in something that changes your life. Has your life been changed by that?

This man can now see. This is what he wanted most. And Jesus said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" And he said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" And Jesus said, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one you're talking to." And the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshipped Him.

A Personal Testimony of Blindness and Sight

I connect with this story in my own life. For 30 years, I was blind — not physically. Remember, we say whenever we see a picture like this, it is a physical picture of a spiritual truth. For 30 years, I was lost. For 30 years, I was mired in my own sin and selfishness, and my whole life was consumed with me. Any person that came in contact with me, anybody in my orbit, was there in my mind for me to use, suck dry, get what I wanted, and be done with. That was all I was concerned about.

Then one day — not because anyone reached out to me, not because anyone invited me — the Creator God of the universe literally moved me out of my office, across the street, and into a Bible study. I heard for the very first time the gospel. I sat in a room with 30 or 40 guys, and it was an amazing experience. It was as though the man teaching, Larry Wright, and I were the only two people in the room, and he started talking about the gospel and Jesus.

Now I had heard about Jesus, and I had heard that Jesus died for my sin. That was part of my religious tradition. But that was always something He did, and now you need to do something — He did this, and now you respond, now you live this life. All of a sudden, I heard that the gospel was a free gift from God.

I went back to my office and called Larry. That was a Thursday. The following Tuesday we had breakfast. I asked him all sorts of questions — do you really believe in Adam and Eve, do you really believe the Bible is the word of God. I asked him all sorts of things, and he said, "You need to read the Bible." I went home and read the Gospel of John. I did not understand one word that I read.

The next morning I was at McCormick Ranch waiting for a client, and I literally cried out, "God, here is what I do know: that I am a sinner — that is indisputable, we have empirical data for that, we can call witnesses. And I do know that Your Son Jesus came, and I do understand that He died. And if I put my faith and trust in Him — though I am a little uncertain exactly what that means at this point — He will save me. God, I have had this life for 30 years, and it is not worth much, and it is Yours now. Good luck. I am done." I really was that. I waited for thunder and lightning, and I did not hear it, but my life changed that day.

I came in the next day, and in the room we were in there was a piano, and Larry was standing by the piano. I came over and said, "Larry, yesterday I was saved." And he hugged me. I could just remember him putting his arms around me and hugging me. And I remember thinking, what have I gotten myself into? They are a bunch of huggers. I was not a big hugger. There was a lot of hugging going on.

Several years later, at one of the Bible studies, a woman came up and gave me a hug and said, "When I hug you, you feel like a tree that is being sprayed with pesticide." I have come to understand, maybe only lately, how important that physical touch is. But here is what I can tell you: I was blind, and now I can see, and it was entirely a work of God.

The Progression of the Blind Man's Faith

Look at the progression in this man's thought. We are still in John chapter 9. In verse 11, he speaks of Jesus and says, "the man who is called Jesus." In verse 17, he says He is a prophet — and what he likely has in mind there is that Jesus is a man from God, a man of God, a godly man. In verse 27, he identifies himself as a disciple of Jesus, though not yet in the saving terms we might use. In verse 33, he says, "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." He has moved — he is now declaring that Jesus is from God.

Then Jesus says, "Do you believe in the Son of Man? Do you believe in the Son of God?" And the man says, in effect, I want to — I do not know, what do I need to do? Jesus says, "Believe in Him." The man asks, "Who is He?" Jesus answers, "You have seen Him. You are talking with Him." And the man believes.

In verse 38, here is how you know the conversion is taking place: he worships Him. He falls down and begins to worship Him. I am not sure that we do not do a little bit of a disservice when we identify a building as a worship center, and then we have a worship leader, and worship, and then teaching. I am not sure that we do not contribute to a misunderstanding — that somehow worship happens in a specific place at a specific time. All of our life is an act of worship. This man worships the person of Christ right here, in this moment. But when this man leaves Jesus' presence, he still worships Him. "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice" — that is what Paul is saying. This is a magnificent picture of what happens to each and every person who is converted.

Conversion Is a Work of God, Not of Man

What I love is that this man is not out looking for God. It could not be more plain. He is not trying to figure out who God is. He is not even mulling this over at this point. Paul is a great example of this as well. Paul is on the road to Damascus — he is not searching for God, is he? He is convinced he already knows God. He is convinced he is already in union with Him. He is convinced he is one of God's soldiers and warriors. But in spite of Paul — not because of Paul — and that is what he writes in Philippians 2: in spite of Paul, God works.

The Spiritual Truth Behind Physical Blindness

God saved him. In spite of you, God saved you. It is a physical picture of a spiritual truth. The spiritual truth is this: all of us come into the world blind to spiritual things. 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that the natural man does not understand and cannot comprehend spiritual things. Romans 3:11 states that no one seeks after God — and we look around and say, "Is that really true?"

There are people all around searching, crossing borders, buying stacks of books, going away on retreats, trying to find God. Yet God says in His Word that no, they are not seeking Him. They are trying to find their god — a god they like. There was an interesting discussion this week about the hurricane and all of its effects. Here is what we know: God either caused it or allowed it. So if you are sitting with somebody who says, "My god would never do that," it is fair to raise the question — why didn't your god stop it then?

What people love to do is create gods in their own image. We do not want your god or my god — we want the God of Scripture. I do not want a God I fully comprehend and understand in the sense that if God is not bigger and beyond me, the bar is not quite high enough for His deity.

A Magnificent Picture of What Eternal Life Requires

This is a magnificent chapter and a magnificent picture of what must happen to a person for them to experience eternal life. That is why John wrote it — that you might believe Jesus is who He said He was, and that you might have eternal life. And eternal life begins today.

That does not mean life will be easy. This will not be the last problem in the formerly blind man's life. But he understands this: he is a display case for the work of God, and everything that comes into his life is first filtered through God.

Do You Believe in the Son of Man?

The question we would ask is the same one Jesus asked the blind man: Do you believe in the Son of Man? And perhaps your response would be like his — you are interested, you want to know, what do you do? Jesus answered him: you have seen Him, you are talking with Him. We would say it to you this way: you have heard about Him. His name is Jesus.

If you believe He is who He said He was, and that you are who He said you are — a sinner separated from Him — then you understand this: the wage of sin is death, your sin must be judged, and a payment has to be made. The sacrifice has to be perfect, and the moment you sinned, you made your own self-sacrifice inadequate. Someone had to die in your place — someone perfect, someone sinless.

God came in the person of Jesus Christ, lived a perfect life, and died a perfect sacrifice. If you believe in Him, you will have eternal life. It is a magnificent and wonderful truth.

An Invitation to Know Christ Personally

Many in this room already understand this, and my hope is that it simply deepens your love, appreciation, and gratitude to Him even more. Some of you do not yet know this truth, and some of you are wondering. My prayer is that God would move you. Talk to the person who invited you here, or speak with someone at the front of the chapel after the service, or call us — and discuss what it means to know Christ in a personal way.

This is what I discovered. I came from a background that would never say you are going to heaven. It was always: if you do this, and if you do this — but if you fail, the deal is off, and then you can make up for it if you do something else. I was in and out and in and out. Then all of a sudden, I heard that if I come in repentance and faith, I will be saved.

I am not more saved now than I was on March 6th, 1980. I know Him better. I know His Word a little better. But He saved me, and He will save you too. He will transform your life, and it will never be the same again.

Worship That Does Not End at the Door

All of those songs — magnificent songs. There is a lot of discussion about old hymns and new songs. I enjoy hymns, but I find the theology a great deal richer in the newer songs. The song you just sang, "Every Day, Lord" — it is true. And you can know that truth if you come to Him in repentance and faith.

Father, thank You for this marvelous truth. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You that we have the privilege to come and worship here together. But when we leave this room, when we are by ourselves, that does not mean the worship ends. We worship You in all we do, all we say, how we think, how we respond. God, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for His love for us. Thank You that You knew we too were cast out and wandering, and You came and You saved us, and we have eternal life. God, thank You for that truth. Let it permeate our thinking and the way we live. We ask it of You in Jesus' name, amen.

Belief Brings Sight

Well, good evening. Let me invite you to open your Bibles. We have been working our way through John chapter 9, and tonight we come to the final passage in this remarkable chapter. This is part eight of our series, and we are going to see how this story reaches its conclusion.

Let me read the text. We are in John chapter 9, beginning at verse 35. "Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when He found him, He said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?' 'Who is he, sir?' the man asked. 'Tell me so that I may believe in him.' Jesus said, 'You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.' Then the man said, 'Lord, I believe,' and he worshiped Him. Jesus said, 'For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.' Some Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, 'What? Are we blind too?' Jesus said, 'If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.'"

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