Mat 13:15-16 (NIV) For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

We have already looked at this verse. But, let’s look at it as it first happens. Here their eye lids are obstructing their ability to see. The eye lids represent their will. They have obstructed their own view, but, not with something of the world. They just don’t want to see the things of God the way God wants them seen.

In other words, they have made God be the way they want Him to be. They don’t want to find out that God isn’t the way they have changed Him. This can happen to all of us. We start out with the basics of Christianity and then add our own concepts to it. For the most part, it is Christianity. It just has a few personal twists to it. When we read our Bibles or hear a sermon that disagrees with what we have decided to believe, we reject it.

Rom 10:2-3 (NIV) For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

As we saw when we studied Matthew 13:15-16 above, this can turn into a permanent eye disease that creates total spiritual blindness. The only cure that can keep this from happening is a sincere heart. The test of a sincere heart is whether or not we are willing to see if we are wrong. The insincere heart will not check to see. That is having our eyes closed.

Now I know that none of us who are sincere in heart want to believe false doctrine. We think that we will be protected by believing what our mainstream denomination believes. And, that does often help protect us to some degree.

What happens if a denomination gradually changes over a long period of time? It was originally on track Biblically and then gradually made minor changes here and there over the years. Who would notice that our eyes were gradually closing to vital issues of God’s Word? It is true that nothing can protect the insincere heart. But, personal study of God’s Word under the direction of the Holy Spirit is the only way a sincere heart can be totally protected.

Phil 2:12 (NIV) Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.