Light and Truth

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! - Matthew 6:22-23

    My whole physical being responds and acts according to what I see with my natural eye. The information comes through the eye and is transported to every nerve, emotion and faculty, and I act accordingly! This is also true of my spiritual life. What I see or understand, from the Word of God, the person and work of Christ, the preaching I hear, motivates my thinking, my attitude, my actions and my hope. If this eye of understanding is sound and truly taught of God, my whole being will be full of light and truth. My spiritual life will be lived for the glory of God. But if my eye of understanding is unsound  and full of error my religious being will be full of darkness—and if what I call light is darkness how great is that darkness! It is double-darkness!

    That’s the reason that a man with no religion at all is easier to preach the gospel of grace to than the religionist. The heathen is in darkness but the religionist is hedged about with a darkness that surrounds his natural darkness. He has built up a false righteousness and a false idea of God which has to be destroyed before one can attack his natural unbelief. He is dead but he thinks he lives. He is naked but he thinks he is fully protected. He is sick but he thinks he is well. The religionist sits in the darkness of his castle and refuge of lies surrounded by the walls of false peace, decisionism, religious works and tradition. These too, are works of darkness and iniquity. No light will dispel his darkness of nature until the light of grace reduces to rubbish his righteousness and false religion. He will cry "I count them but dung that I may win Christ and be found in him."