What is Spiritual Blindness? | Acting Up in Church - Part 3

Devotion – Acts 13:6–12

Pastor Andy spoke on what spiritual blindness looks like in church. When the gospel advances, false teachers resist, the Spirit empowers, and God opens eyes that deception tried to keep shut. We see this clearly in Acts 13:6–12, but the truth of it reaches far beyond one moment in church history. Years ago in India, officials faced a deadly cobra problem. Their solution seemed brilliant: “We’ll pay people for every dead cobra they bring in.” At first, it worked. But soon the cobra population increased. People began breeding cobras in their homes, creating the very danger they were supposed to eliminate. When the government shut the program down, breeders released their cobras into the streets. The problem exploded. Economists call this The Cobra Effect when people are so blind to the real problem that their “solution” multiplies the danger. And that is exactly what spiritual blindness does.

In Acts 13, Sergius Paulus is described as an intelligent, curious leader who genuinely wants to hear the Word of God. The gospel always draws sincere seekers, and Christianity invites honest scrutiny. Yet people in positions of influence are often surrounded by voices that distort truth. Elymas the sorcerer is one of those voices—a false prophet, a manipulator who thrives on fear and superstition. Scripture says he “withstood them,” actively resisting the gospel and trying to turn the proconsul away from the faith. False teaching is never passive; it always seeks influence, control, and spiritual blindness.

Paul responds with Spirit‑filled courage. He is “filled with the Holy Spirit,” not anger or ego. He confronts Elymas directly, calling him “a child of the devil,” “an enemy of all righteousness,” and one who “perverts the straight paths of the Lord.” Judgment falls on Elymas as “a mist and darkness” cover his eyes. He becomes physically blind while Sergius Paulus becomes spiritually sighted. It is a power encounter—the kingdom of God crushing counterfeit spiritual power. The church must confront deception boldly, but only under the Spirit’s authority, never in the flesh.

The result is stunning. Sergius Paulus believes, not merely because of the miracle, but because he is “amazed at the teaching of the Lord.” Truth wins. Fear loses. A leader’s life, and possibly a region, is changed. When deception is exposed and truth is proclaimed, God opens eyes that no false teacher can keep shut.

Scripture teaches that spiritual blindness is a universal human condition “a profound, total blindness… living in darkness with no light at all.” It is the inability to recognize Christ, even when He stands right in front of us. Blindness produces stubbornness and rejection, hardening the heart against God. It shows up as twisted teaching, fear‑based religion, and confident self‑deception—people thinking they see clearly while rejecting God’s truth. Only Jesus can cure blindness. Jesus “gives new eyes… creates new eyes.” Only Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit can break blindness, exposing lies and guiding people into truth.

The Cobra Effect illustrates this perfectly. Blindness misdiagnoses the real problem, treating symptoms instead of the disease. Blindness creates solutions that make things worse, multiplying pride, fear, bondage, and deception. Blindness releases what destroys—bitterness, lust, pride, false doctrine, fear, and rebellion. Blindness grows when false teachers twist Scripture, distort truth, manipulate emotions, and keep people in fear. But only truth breaks the cycle. Spiritual blindness ends when truth confronts deception, the Spirit opens eyes, and Christ is revealed.

Elymas tried to keep a leader blind. God opened his eyes. The gospel prevailed. It still does. Just like cobra breeders multiplied the danger they thought they were solving, spiritually blind people build systems, habits, and beliefs that multiply the sin they think they’re defeating. But Jesus stops us from breeding cobras. Jesus breaks the cycle. Jesus gives sight.

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