Are You Going Blind?

Jesus encountered many people who were physically blind during His earthly ministry. However, there were only two groups that He ever called spiritually blind. One of them was the Pharisees. The ironic fact about this group is that they believed with all their hearts that they saw things more clearly than everybody else. (Modern Pharisees still believe that.)

What was the cause of their spiritual blindness? Legalism. Perhaps nothing so effectively destroys a clear vision of the face of the Divine Lover like legalism. The danger with legalism is that it usually doesn’t cause a Christian to be struck blind instantly, but gradually.

The last time I had my eyes examined, the ophthalmologist gave me a warning as she looked into the pupil of my left eye. “There is something here that you shouldn’t be worried about now, but at some point it will need attention,” she said. “What is it?” I asked. She continued, “I see the very early stages of a cataract in this eye.” “A cataract?!” I asked in disbelief. The ophthalmologist continued, “This isn’t something to worry about now. It will probably take it many years to grow to the point where you’ll need to have something done about it. I’m just telling you so that you can have it checked over the years.”

Some Christians begin their new life in Christ with perfect vision. However, as time progresses, like a cataract, legalism begins to gradually grow in their lives until it eventually blinds them to the presence of Jesus Christ in meaningful ways. Intellectually, they know He is there, but they gradually lose their experiential sight of Him.

They talk about times they have seen Him in the past, but have completely lost sight of Him actively working in their lives today. They have, as Jesus said about one church, “lost their first love.” Legalism suffocates love, thus cuts one off from the very life force of the spiritual disciplines.

Sometimes people with failing vision have been known to pretend to see better than they do. That’s what a Christian legalist does. In an effort to keep up appearances, those blinded by legalism profess all the more loudly about how clearly they can see. They go through religious motions, but with each passing day their view of the Divine Lover’s face grows more dim. Those actions which were once animated by His indwelling life and which were motivated by love now become religious routine. They have traded a Person for performance.

They read the Bible, but it doesn’t read them. They say prayers, but don’t pray. They watch and listen, but no longer see and hear. (See Mark 8:18) They are more than willing to tell everybody around them how to walk, but don’t have the vision to know where they are going themselves. They are “blind leaders of the blind.” (See Matthew 15:14)

The source of legalists’ behavior is not love for Jesus Christ, but dead, religious duty. They believe they can gain God’s favor because of what they do. The miss the point altogether that it isn’t a certain behavior that brings God pleasure. God is pleased by faith. (See Hebrews 11:6)

Those blinded by legalism typically get hung up on the technicalities of the religious rules they deem important, but have lost sight completely of the things that are really important. They argue over incidental things that have no eternal value. They are missing Jesus!

Jesus spoke to them in Matthew 23, telling them the way it is. Peterson describes the scene in The Message, when Jesus said to them,

You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment – the absolute basics! – you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?

Much of Matthew 23 is filled with the renouncement of Jesus against the legalism of the Pharisees. Their obsession with rules above relationships was the definitive evidence of their blindness. They were missing the whole point, says Jesus.

Have you become blinded by legalism? Some might argue that a Christian can’t be a legalist. They understand the word to refer only to those who hope to become a Christian by their works. While that certainly is one expression of legalism, it isn’t the only way a person can act as a legalist.

The Apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the Galatians because of the threat of legalism in their church. False teachers had come into the fellowship there, teaching these young Christians that, along with Christ, they needed to embrace the law. Paul wrote to them to say, “No! Your life isn’t built around the law! Your life is in Jesus Christ!” He asked them, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith” (Galatians 3:2)? So, He knew they had the Spirit. He wasn't questioning that. What He didn't know was what they were now going to depend on to go on in life.

Again, Paul wasn’t writing to them because he was concerned that they might misunderstand salvation. He knew they had believed the gospel and received God’s Spirit. How could they become confused about what it takes to become a Christian? They had already become Christians! His concern for them was that, as Christians, they might become ensnared in legalism.

The Pharisees were not believers in Christ. The Galatians were. It is possible to be a legalist whether a person is a believer or non-believer. Anytime our focus is on doing the right thing to gain God's favor or make spiritual progress, we have fallen into the clutch of legalism. Let's keep our eyes on Christ Jesus because legalism is a disease that will most certainly make us go blind.