{"id":476,"date":"2014-08-03T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-03T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hanoverbaptistchurch.org\/blogpastor\/?p=476"},"modified":"2014-08-01T19:47:49","modified_gmt":"2014-08-02T00:47:49","slug":"what-does-the-bible-say-about-secrets-and-hidden-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/2014\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-secrets-and-hidden-things\/","title":{"rendered":"What does the Bible say about secrets and hidden things?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:2–4—NKJV)<\/cite> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Secrets and hidden things are made that way to suit someone\u2019s purpose. State secrets and certain things with strategic value must be maintained in order to keep enemies at bay. Strategic secrets, in our country, are meant to protect, defend, and enable freedom. God\u2019s Word of advice on strategic secrets is pretty plain. A man must not invest all his trust in his preparations to avert disaster, but trust in the Lord as Psalm 20:7 states, \u201cSome trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the Name of the LORD our God.\u201d Proverbs 21:31 explains it this way, \u201cThe horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the LORD.\u201d <\/p>\n

Personal secrets are another matter. People hide things from one another for a variety of reasons. For some, knowledge is power and there is no charity in their heart for those over whom they would gain advantage. It is best to measure carefully anything you may reveal about yourself in their presence. Is it any wonder that the Scriptures speak so often about holding your tongue? Apparently, there are many who would twist even the best of intentions into the blackest of deeds. Since Satan is the Accuser of Men it is no surprise that among his spiritual offspring there are those who enjoy the lie and make merchandise of the tale. Against such men believers have but one defense, be blameless, guarded, and trust in the Lord. <\/p>\n

For others, the general right to privacy and respect has been exploited in hidden subterfuge and crafting of secrets in order to avoid immediate consequences, even though eventually the truth must inevitably become known. Such secretive and veiled behavior serves notice to all around the individual of how little he values others and how much you can trust him and his advice. God\u2019s Word on this is also plain. Mark 4:22\u201323 states, \u201cFor there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.\u201d As the Scriptures say, \u201cLet everyman speak truth with his neighbor\u201d (Ephesians 4:25, Proverbs 25:9). <\/p>\n

Secrets, in the best of senses, can have good reason and purpose. A childhood memory was the family Resurrection Sunday egg hunt. After Sunday dinner, my father would shoo us kids out of the living room and hide the eggs which we had dyed the day before. We each had chosen a separate color to dye our own eggs. Dad dyed one—it was called \u201cthe golden egg,\u201d and its discovery came with a cash prize! Of course he placed the eggs in hidden places with various degrees of difficulty depending on each one of our ages. For my littlest sister the eggs were in plain view. The older kids were not to touch others eggs but to leave the joy of discovery for the intended recipient. We joyfully went about the task of finding our own eggs and, if we were extra vigilant, we might just happen upon the golden egg! The eggs were all intended to be found, of course. <\/p>\n

The usual Bible word for hidden is krupto<\/em>, from which we get crypt, cryptic, and cryptography. It means to cover, to conceal, and to keep secret. The first thing to notice is that there is not one secret that is unknown to God, for the hidden things will be revealed. Here are some Scriptural references to this stark truth: Psalm 44:21, 90:8, 139:16; Ecclesiastes 12:14; Luke 8:17; Hebrews 4:13; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Romans 2:16. Believers do well to speak the truth with God, confess sin (Psalm 32:5, 69:5) and hide His Word within the heart (Psalm 119:11). 1 John 1:5–10 is worth regular review. Blessed is he who is forgiven and whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1). <\/p>\n

Though God knows all and will reveal all, there are many things hidden from men. The Gospel is hidden (2 Corinthians 4:3) and there is hidden wisdom to be found (1 Corinthians 2:7). Our text above tells us that believer\u2019s lives are hidden with Christ in God. Let that phrase sink in for just a little bit. Verses that begin to reveal the beauty of this concept teach that as we draw close to God by hiding in His presence (Psalm 17:8, 27:5, 31:20), hidden truths about this blessed life God has granted are revealed?\u2014?blessings of which the world scarcely dreams. Psalms 13–15 illustrate the riches found in the meaning of a life hidden in God. A life hidden in God preserves a believer from hidden things of shame (2 Corinthians 4:2, Ephesians 5:12) but allows a faithful believer (1 Peter 3:4) to be a faithful brother (James 5:20). One who spends time hidden in the prayer closet and is quietly gracious in giving (Matthew 6:4–6) will also be sensible in the restoration of others (the circle of the offense is the circle of restoration) as seen in Matthew 18:15. The hidden life of quality is the glorified life of eternity. Trust and obey. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:2–4—NKJV) Secrets and hidden things are made that way to suit someone\u2019s purpose. State secrets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hanoverbaptistchurch.dreamhosters.com\/blogpastor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}