And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.                                                                                                           

                                                                                                            2 Corinthians 4:3-4 

It is indeed a tragic reality…not everyone will see the kingdom of God. Some will be lost for eternity, separated from God and without any possibility of ever being united with Him. Many people don’t like talking about spiritual warfare but it is real. We have an enemy and he desires to keep us from coming to Jesus and experiencing salvation. Our spiritual enemy wants to keep us focused on ourselves and on the impact that our sin has made on our lives. What he doesn’t want is for us to come to the realization that Jesus is greater than all of our sin and that the impact He made on the cross is more powerful than any sin in which we could ever find ourselves (Romans 5:20). Today’s passage is yet another reminder of the fact that spiritual warfare is real and that the gospel is veiled to some and that this veiling is a work of the enemy.

There are two ways in which we can see the enemy at work in distorting the gospel, hiding its power from those who will not believe. First, there are his efforts to keep people away from the gospel. If they cannot hear it, then they cannot respond to it. Paul tells us about the importance of the church proclaiming the gospel so that people can hear and respond:

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher (someone to proclaim)?

                                                                                                            Romans 10:12-14 

Salvation is for anyone who will admit his/her need and call on the One who saves…Jesus Christ. But if people don’t know about this amazing good news, then how can they respond? This is the question that Paul proposes. His intent is to persuade believers to proclaim the gospel, knowing that without someone entering into a saving relationship with Jesus, salvation cannot take place. Forgiveness, reconciliation with God, and redemption are found only in the name of Jesus (John 14:6, Acts 4:12).

So the enemy seeks to hide the gospel. Keeping people busy with life’s activities is one of the most effective ways in which the gospel is kept from those who need to hear and respond. It is amazing how people will make time for the things that they deem important yet seem to have little time (or interest) in going to church and gathering with other believers. In many cases, this is probably because they are not a part of the body of Christ. They have not been saved nor, in some cases, do they believe that they need to be. Their apathy toward the things of God speaks loudly to the spiritual reality that they are indeed lost. So the enemy already has these people in a precarious spiritual condition, that of being apart from Christ, and it would be his desire to keep them this way. The only thing that could change their status would be hearing the gospel and responding to it. So as long as the collective busyness of these people remains, keeping the gospel from their ears, they remain lost, without hope, and condemned.

But there is a second way in which the enemy keeps the gospel away from people. Our enemy knows that the gospel, in many cases, will be heard. So his efforts are then focused on removing the truth of Jesus from the heart of the hearing individual before it can be acted upon. This is the theme of today’s passage. Consider Paul’s words:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel… 

The purpose behind this veiling is so that “they might not see the light of the gospel.” And this veiling of the gospel is being accomplished as “the god of this world” blinds the minds of the unbelieving. The lower case “g” in “god” reveals that we are indeed talking about the devil. Jesus reveals the same thing in His telling of the Parable of the Sower:

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

                                                                                                            Matthew 13:19 

These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 

                                                                                                                        Mark 4:15 

Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

                                                                                                                             Luke 8:12 

Recorded in three separate gospels, Jesus leaves little room for us to wonder who is working to keep the gospel hidden. Our spiritual enemy is referred to as “the evil one”, “Satan”, and “the devil.” But perhaps the passage in Luke gives us the best description of why the enemy does this work of hiding the gospel: “so that they (those who hear the gospel) will not believe and be saved.” Knowing that hearing the gospel and responding by faith brings salvation, our spiritual enemy continues his work of keeping the gospel away from the hearts of sinful mankind.

Have you received salvation by faith in Jesus Christ? Has the enemy kept the gospel from you by convincing you otherwise? Have you been so busy with life activities that you have not made Jesus your priority? If you will admit your sinfulness to God and ask Him to save you on the basis of what Jesus has already done for you on the cross, you can be saved today! Why not go to Him in prayer and become a Christian right now!

…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.                                                

                                                                                                            Romans 10:9-10