90 Days with Jesus, Day 43: John 9:1-12: Jesus the Light of the World

August 1, 2007 in Christianity, Jesus, John's Gospel, homosexuality, sin
Tags: Holy God, homsexualism, Robinson, tolerance

John 9:1-12

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3″Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7″Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. 8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” 10″How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.11He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” 12″Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.

Whatever else may be true about this particular story we can say this much: This man was not the same after he met Jesus. He will repeat it time and time again in the following verses: I was blind, but now I see. He did not deny that Jesus had changed his life. He did not fail to confess that Jesus did something for him that no one else could: Opened his eyes. Therein we see exemplified Jesus’ words: I am the Light of the World. As Carson writes, “This chapter portrays what happens when the light shines: some are made to see, like this man born blind, while others, who think they see, turn away, blinded, as it were, by the light” (The Gospel According to John, 359).

The irony of this chapter is that it begins with a man born blind that Jesus could and did heal and ends with a group of people whom Jesus could not heal. The point is clear enough: you have to be blind in order to be healed of blindness and the folks at the end of the chapter would not admit to being blind. Someone who is already healed does not need a doctor.

How many blind people are there in the world? That depends. I have been accused over and over again, by certain ‘types’ of folks who visit here, that I am the one who needs to open my eyes, that I am the one who is ignorant because I don’t understand someone else’s point of view. I am blind because I refuse, so they say, to acknowledge that this world only needs some peace, empathy, sympathy, compassion and tolerance and all will be well. But that is not what Jesus says the world needs. Jesus says the world needs something more: They need to recognize their own lostness: “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind…If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” Jesus says this world needs light because it is overrun with darkness. Jesus says this world needs a Savior because it is overwhelmed with sin. Jesus says this world needs someone to open it’s eyes because it is blind to the truth.

That is rather harsh, I think. But let me see if I can’t show some examples of people who refuse to open their eyes or, rather, better, allow Jesus to open their eyes. Understanding a person’s point of view has nothing to do with whether or not they have heard the Gospel and obeyed. I understand this: There is Christ or nothing, blind or seeing, saved or lost. That’s not my take; that’s Jesus’ verdict. So for example… 

Those who are far superior intellectually in this world have taken it upon themselves to tell us that certain things God has said were sin are, in fact, no longer sin. A prime example of this is the ongoing attempt by practicing, fornicating homosexuals to declare themselves ‘in-line’ with the will of God, that is, not in defiance of His command, not His enemy. A major proponent of this is (parts of) the Episcopal church and a certain openly homosexual bishop named Eugene Robinson who continues his assault on the word of God by promoting an active-blessed-by-god-and-approved-by-the-church life of sin. Eyes are wide shut on this one. Here is a man who must contort Scripture to justify his sin. (I’m using his example, but there are other denominations struggling too.)

Then there is this story from Christian Post, which tackles the same subject from a similar angle:

It’s unfortunate that, in the Christian context, homosexuals are the modern day lepers, said a former lesbian.

Beyond the advancement of the homosexual agenda in the nation’s school systems and popular culture, the greater tragedy is that Christians have misrepresented God’s character to the gay community and have alienated them from the Gospel, said Christine Sneeringer, director of Worthy Creations, an Exodus International ministry.

Sneeringer was walking out of homosexuality for two years when during one Sunday school session on abortion and homosexuality, she was met by harsh comments from Christians that were not unfamiliar to the gay community, she said in a testimony featured in a recent Coral Ridge Ministries broadcast.

One fellow believer said she doesn’t have any compassion toward homosexuals while another agreed and added that AIDS is God’s judgment against them. Both were unaware of Sneeringer’s sexual history.

“It’s no wonder that the average homosexual expects rejection from Christians,” said Sneeringer, who was speaking to hundreds of Christians in Fort Lauderdale last month.

“There’s not a homosexual in North America who doesn’t know the evangelical viewpoint on homosexuality,” she said. “But do they know there’s a God in Heaven who loves them and who sent a Savior to die for them too?”

Not all gays want to be gay, she noted. But in a society that says it’s okay to be gay, many don’t know there’s a way out.

* * * * *

Sneeringer grew up in a home where her father verbally and physically abused her mother and was addicted to pornography. At 12 years old, she was sexually molested by her older cousin and later her brother.

* * * * *

In this new century, there are only two kinds of churches – the relevant and the irrelevant – she stated. Relevant churches uphold the biblical standard of morality in a culture that has lost morals and is bold to show God’s love to those trapped in their sin.

Today, Sneeringer is no longer a lesbian. She’s thankful for the relevant church that looked beyond her sin.

Now, Sneeringer is telling Christians to be that relevant church.

“What have we done to offer the gay community an alternative?” she posed to Christians. Just railing against gays hasn’t helped them to know the redeeming love of Jesus Christ, the ministry leader stressed.

“Often Christians think that to love a homosexual is a compromise of their Christianity, that somehow their love would be misconstrued as condoning homosexuality.”

But the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor, Sneeringer highlighted.

A Christian’s message must balance truth and love. Jesus, she said, accepted and loved sinners. And he loved them enough not to leave them in their sinful state but to challenge them to a live a life beyond it, Sneeringer explained.

* * * * *

“If we can’t embrace and support the repentant homosexual, how much more will we struggle with showing God’s redemptive love to the active homosexual?” she asked the Christian crowd, adding that many gays are doing their best to walk right with God and crucify their fleshly desires.

Sneeringer challenged Christians to spread Christ’s redeeming love to the homosexual community. (Ex-Lesbian Urges Christian Love, Not Rejection for Homosexuals; By Lillian Kwon Christian Post Reporter Wed, Apr. 25 2007 12:50 PM ET;

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070425/27079_Ex-Lesbian_Urges_Christian_Love%2C_Not_Rejection_for_Homosexuals.htm)

First, let me say that I applaud this person for the work they do in Christ’s Name and for their passion to reach the lost; more should follow her example. This story is so filled with generalizations and half-truths that it is hardly worth commenting on, but I will take a stab at the part that I think matters. The ‘former-lesbian’ says that there are only two churches: the relevant and the irrelevant. But tell me how can a church be relevant if in fact the church has to be quiet about the truth of a Holy God? To whom are we to be relevant: The world or God? If, in fact, the Christians’ message must ‘balance truth and love’ how are we to do that if we are not allowed to point out the truth? Truth without love is arrogance; love without truth is meaningless. If the second greatest commandment is to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ then let us not forget that the first greatest commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.’ We love God first which necessarily means that our love is defined by his character, and shaped by His Holiness. (Jesus said elsewhere, ‘If you love me you will obey me.’) After that, we are free to love people in the manner which God loved us: in the Holiness of God, in fellowship with the Spirit, and in Submission to Christ.

Second, homosexuals are not, in fact, the modern lepers. Lepers don’t choose to be lepers. With very few exceptions, sinners are welcomed in any church they go to. Mine included. I’ll even welcome practicing homosexuals to worship at the church I serve (but also murderers, rapists, thieves and the like). But I will not compromise the message of the Gospel simply so they can feel validated and welcome, so that they will think I am tolerant and compassionate. So they will as quickly leave when they realize that the Scripture declares them to be lost (I know, a dirty word) and provoking the Holiness of God, and that I, as a Christian, have no authority to compromise that message of truth—regardless of how much I love someone. They will also leave when they realize that they have no fellowship in the church so long as they persist in un-repentance and sin. You see, one can’t have it both ways. You cannot claim to have your eyes open and then live with your eyes shut. If the Son sets you free, you cannot live like a slave. And they will also leave when they hear the Gospel preached because the Gospel declares, not me, that the unrepentant are lost. Believe it or not, there is a difference between the repentant and the unrepentant sinner. Sin is sin; but, if I am prohibited from declaring it as such, people will remain blind, in their sin, and ultimately lost.

Third, let’s be honest, it’s not just the Christians who are ignorant now is it? The homosexual agenda is that they want to be accepted into the church free of charge, free of change, just as they are, with no repentance, and no accountability before a Holy God whose Son died on a Cross. That’s like a heterosexual declaring she is a homosexual without actually becoming a homosexual, and practicing homosexuality, or even having the tendencies of a homosexual. It doesn’t make sense. The church only establishes guidelines for membership in the Body of Christ based on what the Head (Jesus) has himself established in His Word. There is no issue for the homosexual who repents of their sin. But to say that it is not a sin is like saying: “I’d rather remain blind.” Jesus declares those who are still blind to be sinners without grace. Being in church on Sundays does not necessarily make one a Christian.

It is truly only those ‘visionaries’ in the church who claim otherwise. So I’m not talking about those who truly want to change, which means repent, and live a life submitted to Christ. The subject of the story above said: “There’s not a homosexual in North America who doesn’t know the evangelical viewpoint on homosexuality,” she said. “But do they know there’s a God in Heaven who loves them and who sent a Savior to die for them too?” I wonder if they do? But how can they know the evangelical viewpoint on homosexuality and not know of the Holy God in heaven who loves them and sent a Savior to die for them? (The word ‘too’ at the end of her statement is superfluous; no one says that Christ didn’t die for any sinners when Scripture says he died for the sins of everyone.) And I further wonder if they realize that it was for their sin he died? And I further wonder if they realize that persistence in sin is a rejection of Christ? Then, we might also say the same thing to murderers, thieves, adulterers, idolaters, pedophiles, the covetous, the greedy, the slothful, and so on and so forth. The only people who have put homosexuals in a different category are, in fact, homosexuals. Their sin is not greater or lesser than the sin of anyone else; and Christ died for all sin.

She also said that many homosexuals don’t know the way out of their homosexuality. I defy that notion. If they want out, there are plenty of ministries available to them, but how can they know the way out if, in fact, Christians are prohibited (even by other Christians!) from telling them they are trapped in sin and that the only way to escape sin is through Jesus Christ? How can Christians do so when there are ‘Christians’ claiming that they don’t have to repent (see Robinson, Out of Context, etc.) of sin? I’m not saying that there are no ignorant Christians among us. I am saying, be realistic about what is expected from both sides. If a Christian is to love a sinner, as Jesus did, the sinner is no less expected to repent of sin and ‘be holy as [God] is holy’. It can’t be both ways. That is spiritual blindness at its utmost worst.

But the way out is simple, if not difficult. If Jesus opened the eyes of a man born blind, what more can he do for someone trapped in homosexuality? “A Broken and contrite heart he will not despise” (Psalm 51). Jesus is the way for closed eyes to be opened, and for the homosexual to leave homosexuality, and for the murderer to stop murdering, and for the rapist to stop raping, and on and on and on…

Only Jesus.

Soli Deo Gloria!