Satan's Blindfold

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.” – Romans 8:1 As a child we played a game called, “Blind Man’s Bluff.” One person would be the ‘blind man’ and would have to wear a blindfold. He would be turned many times while the rest of the players would find a certain place within the confined area and couldn’t move his feet from his initial spot. The "Blind Man" would call out “Blind Man” and everyone else would call back “Bluff,” sometimes in a disguised voice. Then the "Blind Man" would try to follow a familiar voice. This would continue until someone was found and identified. Satan tries to play a similar spiritual game with us. It is called, “Blind Man’s Condemnation,” but the rules are different. Satan puts a blindfold on the believer by filling him with condemnation, making the weight of their sin drag their heart into a pit of despair. He makes it seem like God’s disfavor is bearing down on them – they feel condemned. But this is just a "feeling," and it isn’t the truth. Satan has blinded the believer to the truth. The truth is that believers are not condemned for their sin, no matter how terrible or habitual their sin may be (Romans 8:1). They have been blinded to the fact that when they came to Jesus they were forgiven of all their unrighteousness and do not have to be condemned. Satan blinds the unbeliever also by deceiving him into believing either he is good enough without believing in Jesus or by telling them they are too bad and could never be forgiven. Satan blinds the unbeliever to the love of Christ that while they are still sinners Jesus loves them (not their sin), and He accepts them just as they are if they will just come to Him and accept that love and forgiveness. If the unbeliever will do this the blinders will fall off and they will see clearly who had blinded them, and most importantly, they will see clearly who loves, forgives and has accepted them into the family of God. Ephesians 4:27 gives us some advice we would be wise to follow, “Don’t give an open door to the devil,” because if we do, just know he always brings his blindfold We may judge ourselves harshly because our actions and motives fall short of God’s holy standard. But God sees us in the “righteousness of Christ,” which clothes us the moment we say yes to His payment of death on the cross on our behalf. No one can do or be good enough to merit his own salvation; Jesus alone removes the believer’s sin and “guilty” verdict. All we have to do to move from the feeling of condemnation to the fact of righteousness is to go to God’s Word and claim His promises to the “Born-Again,” submit ourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you (with his blindfold) (James 4:7). Condemnation is reserved for the unbeliever who is declared guilty of sin and punished (John 3:36). The truly blind (spiritually), are those who are walking in the flesh and are like the poem of “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” The Blind Men and the Elephant
(by John Godfrey Saxe) American poet John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) based this poem on a fable that was told in India many years ago. It is a good warning about how our sensory perceptions can lead to some serious misinterpretations; especially, when the investigations of the component parts of a whole, and their relations in making up the whole, are inadequate and lack co-ordination. It was six men of Indostan, To learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant, (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation, Might satisfy his mind The First approached the Elephant, And happening to fall Against his broad and sturdy side, At once began to bawl "God bless me! but the Elephant, Is very like a wall!" The Second, feeling of the tusk, Cried, "Ho! what have we here So very round and smooth and sharp? To me 'tis mighty clear This wonder of an Elephant, Is very like a spear!" The Third approached the animal, And happening to take The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up and spake: "I see," quoth he, "the Elephant Is very like a snake!" . The Fourth reached out an eager hand, And felt about the knee. "What most this wondrous beast is like Is mighty plain," quoth he; " 'Tis clear enough the Elephant, Is very like a tree!" The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said: "E'en the blindest man Can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can This marvel of an Elephant, Is very like a fan!" The Sixth no sooner had begun, About the beast to grope, Than, seizing on the swinging tail, That fell within his scope, "I see," quoth he, "the Elephant, Is very like a rope! And so these men of Indostan, Disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion, Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong! Moral: So oft in theologic wars, The disputants, I ween, Rail on in utter ignorance, Of what each other mean, And prate about an Elephant, Not one of them has seen!