If you wear reading glasses and look at objects far away or, if you wear glasses for driving and look at objects close at hand, they will appear out of focus, distorted. When I wear my reading glasses, people faraway look strange. Why? Because my glasses distort my vision, how I see reality.

If we think of glasses in a metaphorical way, I suggest that everyone wears glasses. Because everyone looks at the world through distorted lenses and fails to see what is really there―or what God sees. They do not perceive reality or see the truth. They do not see creation or the Creator. This is due to sin.

These distortions happen because our epistemological glasses, so to speak, function as sinful biases, worldviews, and idolatries. The Bible says that human beings have a severe vision problem. Sin affects how and what we see or how and what we think, commonly called the noetic effect of sin.  For this reason, we do not want to see clearly (John 3:19–20).

The Bible teaches, therefore, that we need radical surgery to fix our sight and thinking. For those who follow Christ, this is already happening. Slowly, our vision is being restored and one day in eternity we will see everything clearly, including ourselves (1 Cor 13:12). Until that time, God provides corrective lenses, so to speak, to help us see and think more clearly. The scriptures, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, provide the God-sanctioned assumptions by which to view the world and operate in it (Ps 16:11; 119:105).

By way of example, think about how people view the Bible. When you look at the information and the worldview represented there as a follower of Jesus, you already possess corrective lenses. You are inclined to look favorably on the Bible and to value its teaching. You see its beauty. You hear the voice of God in the word. You are learning the truth. You are beginning to perceive reality. You understand the Bible’s relevance for yourself and society.

But imagine how an unbeliever views the Bible. They view the same information, but with their sinful biases, presuppositions, and erroneous worldviews. They cannot see what you see. They do not hear God speaking in the text.

Therefore, when we present the Lord Jesus to unbelievers, we must not forget how sinful bias affects spiritual vision. If we talk about the Bible’s relevancy for society or as a revelation from God for our souls, we must always recognize the influence of sin upon our minds. Or, when we focus on the biblical worldview as a framework for interpreting human experience, we cannot forget the intellectual impact of the fall. Of course, we hope and pray that the Spirit works through the text to open eyes and heal sight.

So, when we read the Bible, we should―also―remove our “glasses.” And, when we share the Bible with non-believers, we should say to them, “Take of your glasses, please.”