'Hidden things of dishonesty'
Adam and Eve hid their disobedience in the garden and their embarrassment under fig leaves.
Cain hid his guilt in an evasive answer: 'Am I my brothers keeper'
Joseph's brothers hid their guilt in a blood stand coat from Jacob
Rachael hid her gods in the camels saddle
Moses hid the body of the Egyptian in the sand
Achan hid the gold, silver and Babylonian garments in his tent (Joshua 7)
The unfaithful steward hid his talents in the ground. Why? To keep them safe? We can't be sure why he hid it. We do know that he made an excuse; 'And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.' (Mat 25:25). If we take that at face value, 'I was afraid,' then perhaps hiding that talent relieved the fear of accountability. I hid what the Lord had given me, so I managed to convince myself that I was not accountable for the talents he gave me. What talents? I may hide them but they do not cease to exist, they do not cease to have been given. The burial was not for the benefit of the talent, it was for the benefit of the conscience.
Judas hid his betrayal under cover of darkness, his deception under discipleship, his malevolence under miracles, his demonic possession under his proximity to Jesus, and his theft under a cloak of respectability.
So if there is nothing wrong with what you are doing Adam, Eve, Cain, Rachel, Judah, Moses, Achan, and Judas – then why are you hiding it?
Paul has denounced the hidden things of dishonesty (v2)
This leads from the hiding of the sinful to the hiding of the saving – the gospel (v3).
In what sense hid?
Not hid, in that the gospel doesn't shine!
God has made the glorious gospel shine (v4).
This gospel has gone out into the whole world.
So how can it be hid?
Because of the position of the individual (v3) – 'them that are lost.'
How is it hid to 'them that are lost.'? Clearly it is not hid to all of the lost – or else we wouldn't be here!
Our gospel is hid to those who continue in the hidden things of dishonesty (4:2)
The hidden things of dishonesty offend a Holy and righteous God.
The hidden things of dishonesty leave a man with a guilty conscience. It can be easier to avoid the truth than facing up to it.
Those who consistently pursue the hidden things of dishonesty and who wish to continue to do so, have a vested interested in leaving those hidden things hidden! There is thus a motive for avoiding the light: 'For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.' (Joh 3:20). Sin operating in the realm of a sentinent person, sin working in the life and in the realm of conscience flees from the light to preserve the ego from criticism.
We have here then:
Distraction of Sin – pull and attracting
Deception of Sin