Living Room Study

John 12

“This is why they were unable to believe, because Isaiah also said: He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts and be converted.

Isaiah said this because he saw His glory and spoke about Him.  Nevertheless, many did believe in Him, even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue.  For they loved the praise from men more than praise from God.”  John 12: 39-43

It has been said that the worst kind of blindness is when people refuse to see.

God offers everyone the opportunity to “believe” or “trust” in Him.  But if they reject Him, He may eventually make belief impossible. 

“So then, He shows mercy to whom He wills, and He hardens whom He wills.” Romans 9:18

In today’s passage, John is saying that God blinded the eyes & hardened the hearts of those who resisted Jesus.  It is the same language we find in Exodus, where God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.  In actuality, Pharaoh hardened his own heart by rejecting the Lord, and God honored his decision by refusing to reveal the truth to Pharaoh anymore.

So, that’s the story of those who refused to believe.  What about those who believed, but refused to go public?  I think the answer lies in the definition of “believe”.

Contrary to certain evangelical church trends, believers in Jesus are not to hide their faith, but confess it openly.  The bible NEVER calls for people to be “secret believers”, who refuse to profess their faith, or even deny it.  All they had was an intellectual ascent, a mere “recognition” that Jesus is Lord.  But their acknowledgment was hindered by an overriding denial of Jesus…they lacked that evidence of things unseen, which is the byproduct of salvation.  Instead of professing Jesus and trusting Him, no matter what happened, they chose to trust their fear and stay silent.

But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny before My Father, Who is in heaven.  Matthew 10:33

Simply acknowledging the facts about Jesus, does not necessarily mean that one knows Him in a saving way. Our salvation should bear spiritual fruit, evidence that a transformation has taken place.  We are not saved by faith & works, but we are saved by faith that works.  When we consistently refuse to acknowledge our faith, we have to ask ourselves if we really have a faith to share.

If loving God was against the law, would there be enough evidence in your life to convict you?

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins