The only reason a person rebels against God is because his understanding has been blinded by Satan. But the Word gives light and removes blindness.

Psalm 119:130 says: "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple."

Paul tells us in the fourth chapter of 2 Corinthians: "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost..." (v. 3).

How do you hide the Gospel? By not sharing it!

"...In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not (v. 4)."

The only reason a sinner doesn't believe is because his mind has been blinded. His understanding has been darkened. But when you give the Word, the Bible says the entrance of it gives light and understanding to the simple. God is saying, in reality, that the reason any person doesn't believe is because he is simple-minded. His understanding has been blinded.

I'm sure you know as well as I that the only reason you didn't accept Jesus any sooner than you did is because you didn't have a good understanding of the Gospel. Your mind, your understanding was blinded. But then you heard the truth. What happened? Do you remember what you said? "I see it. It has finally dawned on me." That's what I said too. And "dawn" is the entrance of light, isn't it?

That's why the Bible says the entrance of God's Word gives light. It's possible to hear the Gospel - and hear it, and hear it, and hear it - then suddenly the light is turned on. Suddenly, you see it. Everything you had heard all that time, everything you had stored up inside, became very clear. You listened to the Gospel over and over, and the moment you heard some particular truth, you recalled all that was stored up inside and you said, "Oh, so that's what that means! Now I understand it. I see it now. That's simple."

This is exactly what happens to the sinner when he finally "sees" the truth of the Gospel. He becomes "enlightened," doesn't he? You see, Satan has blinded the mind of the sinner.

Stop and think about it for a moment. If the sinner knew Satan - if he could see him just the way he really is - and if he knew God - if he could see Him just the way He really is - there is not the slightest doubt which of them he would choose. The sinner would choose God - immediately! Then why hasn't he already done so? Very simple. The only reason the sinner has not already chosen God is because his mind has been blinded by Satan.

Nobody in his right mind would ever deliberately choose Satan over God, any more than he would consciously choose to go to hell rather than to heaven. So there must be something wrong with the mind of a person who doesn't choose God. That's right, there certainly is - his mind is blinded.

In some cases, the sinner's mind is so blinded that he doesn't even believe there is a devil or a hell. In some other cases, the sinner believes there is a devil, but he doesn't know the truth about him. He may believe there is a God, but he doesn't know the truth about God. In other words, the eyes of his understanding have been blinded or darkened to the truth about them.

But the entrance of God's Word gives light and brings understanding to the simple. In order for the sinner to be born again, the "blinders" must be removed from him. How do you remove the blinders? By the Word. You share God's Word, and it will cause light to come. When that light enters a sinner's heart, he will see Jesus for Who He is and gladly choose Him.

Source: Sharing Jesus Effectively by Jerry Savelle.
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Ministries International