Hidden in Plain sight

2 Corinthians 4:3

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Why would God hide the gospel? Shouldn't the gospel be readily available for everyone?

Daniel 2:21 say; He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to the discerning.

In order to obtain wisdom one must first be wise. Such wisdom must first be displayed. What sense would it make to allocate knowledge and resources to individuals who show no regard for it. Non-believers choose not to believe, rather it be through acts of rebellion or just plain choice. Most people are slaves to their lifestyles. Though believers may view it as sin, to a sinner it is a way of life. People want what they perceive to be freedom. What they consider freedom, they are actually slaves to, not realizing those acts have control over them, not the other way around. God is the judge of all things therefore he has decided that their way of living has disqualified them from the kingdom as well as the knowledge associated with the gospel. The gospel is sacred as it contains instructions for a sacred, holy, peaceful path, miracles, and redemption. But only to those who are called and who seek it.

What happens to a person who was once a believer but chooses to reject God indefinitely?

The key word is indefinitely. God knows the hearts of man. Due to life experiences and disappointments, one may curse God or simply give up the faith. But this does not disqualify him from knowing or having a relationship with God. God judges the heart of the matter and is understanding. However, to one who has completely disregarded the faith and chooses to rebel against God through acts of wickedness, repeat offenders receive the wrath of God as their portion. 2 Peter 2:21 says “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them”.

Not everyone belongs to God. God has his people, and the Devil has his. For most it is hereditary as we are all born into sin. Depending on the way a person is raised, they are destined to repeat the same cycle as the person who raised them. Very few break the cycle. Through Christ comes freedom regardless of how you were raised. The veiling of the gospel is meant to protect the wisdom of the kingdom as well as its believers. The bible compares wicked men to “Brute Beast” born only to be captured and destroyed. They mock what they don't understand, and what they do understand is the very thing that destroys them. The minds of the non-believing are distorted because they chase personal gain. Their hearts are hardened due to their lack of understanding and wicked deeds. Because of this, they are already perishing. Death is their portion. A non believer will try to convince a believer that what they believe to be true is false. This is where false knowledge and deceit comes from. Timothy was reminded constantly to guard what had been entrusted to him (truth and responsibility) for fear of being persuaded by false knowledge causing people to wander from the faith. Those individuals had not seen the glory of God for themselves causing them not to believe, as most people can't see what's in front of them, let alone what is invisible.

The moral of the story is God protects what is good from what is evil. It's not our job to convince non-believers to believe. Most of us came to the faith by experience, so until they experience God for themselves it's just a theory. Some people are lost causes as they would taint or attempt to destroy the faith. Titus 1:15 says “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.”