CONCEALING THE WORD OF GOD
"For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One." (Job 6:10b)
"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood." (Acts 20:28)
It is very good to openly and boldly maintain a profession of attachment to the cause of God; He will reveal the knowledge of His truth to us , but if we refuse to acknowledge the truth in our lives and inform others as well, our loyalty to God need to be questioned. To hide the divine words of truth would be a great sin against the Most High God.
HOW DO WE CONCEAL THE WORD OF GOD?
1. WE CAN CONCEAL THESE WORDS FROM OURSELVES
We do this when we will not permit this word to search our own heart and ways--when we conceal the Gospel, and go about to find out some way of our own for self-salvation. We should hide the Gospel in our heart (Psalm 119:11), but not from our heart.
We conceal it when we do not receive the whole of revelation, but pick and choose out portions of it; accepting half the truth and rejecting the rest. Some professors have favorite texts and choice portions of Scripture, and they regard other parts of the word with aversion, avoiding them as much as possible, because they do not agree with their system of divinity, and need much squaring before they will fit in with their foregone conclusions. They do not read such passages, or read them carelessly and will impute another meaning than the true one to the words of God. It is written that, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16)
The law of God speaks with a searching and threatening voice: it tells us about our sin, it forewarns us about the punishment, and it places our danger both present and future before our mind’s eye: but there are thousands of people who never give the law an opportunity of being heard in their hearts: they turn a deaf ear to anything which is unpleasant to them; they do not like to face the honest truth.
Don't avoid the word of God's command nor select the convenient ones. Some Christians object to the teaching of Christ where he says, "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. " (Matthew 5 :39). This precept is being denounced as impractical, and it is asserted that it cannot be carried out. "Doing to others as you would have them do to you"(Matthew 7:12) is regarded as a golden precept for other people to practice towards our dear selves, but not at all a practical maxim from us to the general public. When people speak of our Lord’s precepts as good but impractical, they make him out to be an amiable simpleton. Is this their reverence for the incarnate wisdom?
It is written, “He who knew his Master’s will, and did not do it, shall be beaten with many stripes”( Luke 12:47) ; and, notice that he who did not know his Master’s will, but might have known it and deliberately declined to know it, shall take his place with those who bear the heavier punishment.. Try to know what God would have you do, and pray that by his Holy Spirit when you know it, you may put it into speedy and cheerful practice, and this shall be a comfort to you.
Do not put out the only light which can lead you to eternal life. Do not shut your eyes to the divine lamp; do not conceal from yourselves those humbling but yet soul-saving doctrines, which make eternal peace for your souls. It is a foolish thing to conceal the words of the Almighty God from our conscience, and so flatter our soul into destruction.
2. WE CAN CONCEAL THE WORDS OF GOD BY NOT CONFESSING THE TRUTH AT ALL
Let us reveal our true identity, profess your Christian faith in deeds and words. A Christian can be known by his fruits(Matthew 7:16). "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33)
Do not run risks upon that score. If you love the Lord, say so; if you expect him to acknowledge you, acknowledge him.
3. OUR SILENCE CAN CONCEAL GOD'S WORD
We conceal these words by a sinful silence after confession of the truth. It is good to know the word and truth of God, but don't draw a veil over them by not revealing them. Apostle Paul acquitted himself to the church of Ephesus, and said that "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God" (Acts 20:27) "and I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shown you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house" (Acts 20:20).
it must be an atrocious sin for a man to know the words of the Holy One and not to make them known to others. This sin is easily committed by a silence which pleads modesty, but which ought to confess to cowardice, therefore be aware of the cheat.
Let us speak the truth, for grievous wolves have entered the church to devour the young Christians and perverse things are being used to pull off men of God from the truth. (Acts 20:29-30).Speak the works of God that you have seen, say His mighty acts to the new generation, speak the things that were written from past generations, the truth written in the scriptures (Acts 4:20).
Silence to what is spoken is consent, but silence when we should speak is concealment.
4. WHEN WE SILENCE OTHERS FROM SPEAKING THE TRUTH
Some conceal the words of God themselves and they cannot endure that others should publish them. The chief priests and the rulers charged Peter and John , that they should not speak at all nor teach any more in the name of Jesus. "they conferred among themselves, Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle has been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it but that it spread no further among the people, let us straightly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." (Acts 4:15-18).
These keep the truth locked up (as Jesus Christ charged the lawyers in Luke 11:52) by taking away the key of knowledge.
"Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.”(Luke 11:52)
5.MISINTERPRETATION OF THE TRUTH
Some conceal the truth under misinterpretations, errors and misconstructions. They replace the words of the Lord by their own words, and the cloud the truth with error. This is a very dangerous way to hide the word of the Almighty God. The Pharisees made the law of God of none effect by their expositions, as well as by their traditions, by the additions they made unto it (Mark 7:13)
The most proximate cause of the Pharisees’ antagonism toward Jesus, however, lay in His ignoring of their hundreds of elaborate but petty rules that they had devised for interpreting the law of God. Not only did they devise these hundreds of man-made rules, but they had also elevated them to the level of Scripture, so that to break one of their rules was to violate the law of God itself. And yet these rules not only obscured the true intent of God’s law, but also, in some cases, actually violated it. They reject the commandment of God, that they may keep their own tradition (Mark 7:9)
A true disciple puts God's Word first, not our interpretation of it. No matter how good or insightful an article, an institution, or a book may be, it does not carry the same binding authority as God's Word.
When you talk about Jesus Christ, make your speech very plain, lest under the ornaments of your language you should conceal the words of the Holy One.
"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar." (Proverbs 30:5-6)
"You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." (Deuteronomy 4:2)
6. OUR PRACTICE AND CONVERSATIONS MAY CONCEAL THE WORD OF GOD.
The word of life (Philippians 2:16) should reflect in our conversations; the lifestyle of Christians shall publish the word of life. The best way to preach the truth is by practicing it. We conceal the words of God if our lives are crooked, perverse, unkind, ungenerous, unholy, selfish; for men will not read a true gospel in us, nor have a true idea of our religion. They will not care to hear a gospel, which produces such characters as ours, if those characters are unlovely.
God's wrath is revealed from Heaven against all ungodly conversations. The Bible informs us that all our words and all our actions are known by God himself. Nothing escapes his attention, and every thought, every word and every action of ours is fully and intimately exposed to an all-knowing God. And even more frightening, one day we will give an account of our words and actions. There is a divine video recorder taping our every action, a divine audio microphone recording our every word, and on top of all that a divine receptacle holding our every thought.
One day we will all stand before God and give an account of all this. Everything once hidden will be revealed. Everything we thought we got away with will be exposed. Every dark secret will be fully brought into the open.
"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”(Matthew 12:36-37)
"There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs” (Luke 12:2-3).
Man's holy life is the loudest proclamation of the word of God and a sinful life is a concealment of it.
WE SHOULDN'T HIDE GOD'S WORD
1. It is not good to conceal the word of God in our opinion or practice. Smothered truths, will one time or other set the conscience in a flame. If a gracious heart has taken up a sudden resolution to hide the word of God, he quickly repents of it. He finds that word, as a burning fire in his bones and not able to bear it.(Jeremiah 20:9)
Nothing in the world will burden the conscience so much as concealed truth. Those who have taken a meditated resolution not to reveal the word of God, should note that the word will one time or other reveal itself to them, in the light and heat of a burning fire, feeding upon their consciences.
2. Since all Scripture is profitable for us, there is a present-day lesson for us to learn from Jesus’ clash with the Pharisees. We need to be careful that we do not add our own man-made rules to the Scriptures. Some convictions that we hold dearly may be derived more from our particular Christian culture than derived from Scripture, and we need to learn to discern the differences. It is okay to have cultural convictions, but we should be careful that we do not elevate them to the same authority as Scripture. So much judgmental acts among Christians today occurs because we do this. But that is basically what the Pharisees were doing. So, let’s be careful that we are not modern-day Pharisees.
3. God has secrets of His decrees and counsels kept close in his cabinets, but whenever He reveals any secret either in his word or by His works, men ought to reveal it to others.
It is as dangerous to conceal what God has made known , as to be inquisitive to know what God has concealed. Yes, it is as dangerous to hide the word of God, as it is to hide our sins.
4. Can we boldly say the words of King David , that "I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your loving kindness and Your truth from the great assembly." (Psalms 40:9-11)
The remembrance of our active faithfulness to the truth of God will bear up our hearts in hoping for the mercy of God. God cannot conceal His love from those that have not concealed His truth.
FINAL NOTES
The man who conceals the Word is out of order with God. The design of words is to make known the speaker’s mind. If you conceal His words ,you are not in harmony with anything God has made. All declare His glory. Think of the consequences which would have followed if others had done so.
Do not hide the truth from yourself nor shut your eyes to the evidence of them, communicate the knowledge of the truth to your neighbors, friends, even your enemy as well. We should not be ashamed to profess the true religion of God; neither should we deny the truth but hold fast and live up to it in our life's principle and conversations.
Avoid sinful silence and speak of the things of God to others. Do not restrain the truth nor frustrate its dissemination. Let us proclaim God’s words abroad: they are light and are not meant to be hidden. Such candles ought never to be put under a bushel.
It is not good to hide God's word, neither is it right to hide your sin. "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."(Proverbs 28:13). Avoid this sin, repent and amend your ways. SPEAK THE TRUTH.
Let us always think of the consequences which would have followed the concealment of the gospel, if others had done so. If the apostles had never risked their lives to preach, what would the nations have become? If martyrs had never yielded their blood in testimony, would not thick darkness have still brooded over the nations?
If sinners sink to hell, passing out of this world unsaved, and they have come into contact with Christian men who gave them no warning, on whose skirts will their blood be found? What can you do for God except obey him, and when he speaks to you, gladly make known to others the truth which has sounded in your ears.
Some of you cannot speak very much because you are naturally shy and slow of speech. Try and overcome the infirmity, but if you cannot do so, do not conceal the words of the Most High on that account, but write earnestly and lovingly for Jesus Christ. You can also circulate what has been written by other people, send tracts and sermons, in a readable form. Sometimes you may write out part of a Christian tract, and it will attract others through your own handwriting.
Help and support other people who have greater gifts in writing. It is not given to everyone to preach to large numbers, or to preach at all, but you can often pick up a young man and say, “I will help and support him to preach the word of God, and improve his writing and teaching skills.” You can send anonymous gifts to encourage them.
Help a man to preach. Support him to disseminate the truth to all parts of the world. Help the missionaries, who abandon the comfort of their homes, they make efforts to share the good news of salvation to the remote areas of the world. God said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15).
Help all those who proclaim the word of the Lord.
SPEAK THE TRUTH. LIVE THE TRUTH. WALK THE TRUTH.
"I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed.(Psalm 119:46)
WORKS CITED
1. "An Exposition with Practical Observations on the Book of Job" by Joseph Caryl.
2. The Complete Works of C. H. Spurgeon, Volume 25: Sermons 1451 to 1510
James Dina
jodina5@gmail.com
14th March 2021
https://www.blessministries.org/james-dina
