The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-02-22
SPIRITUALLY BLIND
]. GIVEN ADVICE
EVANGELIST SMITH APPEALS TO
SINNERS TO ALLOW CHRIST
TO HEAL THIS DEFECT.

Last evening at Elite hall, Evan
gelist Smith drew some pointed lessons
from the story of the blind man with
which the ninth chapter of Johns
Gospel is practically taken up. His
special text was the 25th verse of the
chapter: He answered and said.
whether he be a sinner or no I know
not: one thing 7 know, that, whereas
l was blind, nov I see"
The evangelist said: This man
first of all is a type of spiritual blind
ness. AS Christ found him physically
blind, so he found us spiritually blind.
Blind from our birth to the beauties of
Christ. Blind to the fact he is the
only way to salvation. Blind to our
lost condition without Him. To the
church at Corinth the Apostle Paul
said. The God of this world has
blinded their minds The mind is the
eye to the intellectual and spiritual
realm. o ask Why is it that every
body does not become Christian? l
ansWer 1T is not because they are en-
lightened above others, but rather be-
cause the God of this world is binding
tNeir minds Paul said on another oc-
c8sion The time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but
after own lusts (selfish desires) shall
they heap to themselves teachers hav-
ing itching ears, and they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and
shall be turned unto fables That
prophesy is being fulfilled before your
very eyes today, and every so-called
science, and ever new ism that the
devil %invents, has its followers by the
thousands. It is spiritual blindness.
THE ingratitude Of the parents Of
the young man who refused to &C
knowledge Christ as the one who had
healed their son, teaches US a lesson
In spiritual blindness. They must
have shared in his affliction, and,
therefore, his JOY. They would have
been unnatural parents otherwise. and
yet when asked by the enemies of
Christ to state who it was that opened
the eyes of their son they would not
tell. Ashamed of Jesus that is the
lesson; but, after all, these parents had
far better excuse for being ashamed
than you. They knew to acknowledge
Christ meant to be deprived of the
privilege of the Synagogue, and for a
Jew that was a fearful testing, and
yet o do not excuse them in the
face of the favor Christ had bestowed,
then what shall be said of the man
ashamed of Jesus in this audience, be-
cause he fears the taunt of an evil
companion? To say the least, it is
spiritual blindness.
Another illustration of spiritual
blindness is taught us by the attitude
of the Pharisees who closed their eyes
to the miracle performed, but opened
them wide in their attempt to get
something against the Christ. Are
you here tonight, holding UP the in
conslstencies Of the Christian, while
you close our eyes to the w of
Christ to save and transform? Then
1 say 1T needs no argument to prove
that you are among the blindest of the
blind.
But these same harping hypocrites
were doubly blind, because, in their
desperation, they tried to destroy the
1alth Of this young man by saying
Give God the praise; We know that
this man is a sinner There are men
today in your midst whose highest am
bition is, because of the ~blackness of
their own sim, to destroy faith in
Christ and in His word. They are
blind because that attempt has been
made for ages only to fail. Blind be-
cause the Bib today has a mightier
mold than ever before, and because the
men who have attacked it il the past
are gone and forgotten. Blind because
II mas been proven over and again