This may just be the GrandDaddy of all controversial threads
theres something here for everyone to really get excited about!
God has camoflaged some major spiritual truths that upset many people.
And He had good reasons for somewhat hiding these controversial verses.
These truths are just too troublesome and negative for most people to handle.
REASON IMO, God desired for people to maintain a positive attitude,
to not lose their hope of Heaven, and to try to be better citizens of the world.
These somewhat hidden spiritual truths have at least several supporting verses.
And in 6 of the 7 cases below, God has provided alternative verses to counteract them.
These alternative verses are not really lies or deceptions, but they are phrased
so ingeniously that most people can just easily take them the wrong way.
IMO, the Lord chooses to reveal some spiritual truths privately through His Spirit.
The statements in black are somewhat hidden truths in the Bible.
----HT = Hiding This . My view of Gods reasons for hiding them.
1) Every human is born with an inherited sin nature (from Adam and Eve)
----HT removes a big excuse for people to sin more, and promotes guilty consciences.
2) The one true God has revealed Himself as being 3 Persons
----HT removes a major obstacle for the non-believer to accept Christianity.
----Example: saying God had a Son makes Muslims believe Christians are totally crazy.
3) Initially, everyone is totally unable to truly believe in Jesus and His gospel
----HT removes a major obstacle for the non-believer to accept Christianity.
4) Only by Gods grace, and by His free gift of faith, are people enabled to believe
----HT removes a major obstacle for the non-believer to accept Christianity.
----HT provides a better atmosphere for believing (and not criticizing) Christianity.
5) The difficult process of sanctification (after being born-again) is necessary for salvation
----HT removes a major obstacle for the non-believer to accept Christianity.
----HT removes a possible obstacle for the new believer to continue in the faith.
6) The baptism with the Holy Spirit (an anointing) has nothing to do with being born-again
----HT removes the discouragment of Christians who do not have this baptism.
7) Eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son, being led by the Spirit, and (5) above
----HT removes what can be very offensive to lukewarm and less-spiritual believers,
----until they are able to progress in understanding and maturity.
If anyone can think of other similar cases, Id like to hear about them. Thanks.
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