(There are two articles on this page)
When The Bible Is Silent
by Micky Galloway
In this publication, we have tried to emphasize what the Bible says. This is a deliberate effort to practice what the apostle Peter declared, “if any man speaketh, (speaking) as it were oracles of God” (I Peter 4:11). However, what are we to do when God’s word says nothing? It logically follows that if we must speak where God speaks, then we must say nothing when He says nothing. Most students of the Bible do not grasp the importance of this fact. If believers are to walk by faith and faith comes by hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17), then we are not to practice what we have not read in God’s word.
The silence of God is as sacred as His revealed will. We dare not encroach upon either one. That which God has revealed in His word is for man. That which has not been revealed belongs to God. “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). What is our attitude toward the silence of the scriptures? Does the silence of the scripture give authority to act? These questions have to do with one's attitude toward the word of God.
To illustrate our point, God’s word says nothing about infant baptism, sprinkling for baptism, Christians observing the Sabbath day, instruments of music in worship, confessing of sins to a special priesthood, church sponsored entertainment, etc. These things are wrong solely because God has not authorized them in His word. All that we do, Paul says, must be done in the name of, or by the authority of, Christ (Colossians 3:17). However, some conclude, that whatever God in His word has not expressly and specifically forbidden gives freedom to act. That is, where the Bible is silent, we are at liberty to act as we think best; thus silence gives freedom to act. This attitude says, “Where did God say not to?” There is a pattern of respect for God’s revealed authority revealed in several Bible examples.
Cain sought to operate on the silence of God (Genesis 4:1-7). Since faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17) and Abel, in Hebrews 11:4 was said to have offered his sacrifice by faith, we must conclude that God had told him what to offer. He had also told Cain what to offer since God is no respecter of persons (cf Acts 10:34). Able based his action on what God said, while Cain appealed to the silence of God.
Nadab and Abihu presumptuously offered “strange fire,” that is, fire which the Lord had not commanded them (Leviticus 10:1-2). They burned incense in their censers, not with the perpetual fire of the altar (Leviticus 6:13; l6:12), but from some other source. Their appeal to the silence of God was answered by His wrath.
These same attitudes were prevalent in church history. During the reformation movement, Martin Luther, the great German reformer, felt that we were at liberty to do anything not expressly forbidden. On the other hand, Ulrich Zwingle, the great Swiss reformer, felt that only that which is expressly authorized should be taught and practiced. The expression, “we speak where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is silent” was a famous expression during the early 19th century, following the pattern of I Peter 4:11.
These same attitudes were also prevalent in the division of the nineteenth century. Those who came to be known as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) adopted the view: we speak where the Bible speaks, where the Bible is silent we have liberty, thus freedom to act as we think best. This explains why they accepted the missionary society and mechanical instruments of music, even though neither is authorized in the New Testament. Later they had state-wide organizations, trained choirs, “fellowship-halls”, chicken dinners, etc., all on the same basis that the Bible doesn't say not to have them, or the silence of the scripture. The same argument was made to support instrumental music in worship. Today many members of churches of Christ are accepting the view of the Christian Church of years past concerning the silence of the scripture. It is often heard, “We do many things for which we have no authority.” There are many illustrations: Social affairs, recreation, sponsoring churches, societies, homes for aged, youth camps, etc. The advocates of error, in and out of the church, continue to make their appeal, not to a “thus saith the Lord” but to the silence of the scriptures.
Does the silence of God authorize anything? We cannot know God, nor the mind of God by his silence (I Corinthians 1:18ff; cf I Corinthians 2:9-13). Silence DOES NOT give consent. Moses spoke nothing concerning priests coming from the tribe of Judah (Hebrews 7:13-14). Therefore, when God specifically mentioned Levi as the priestly tribe, and said NOTHING about other tribes, they were prohibited from being priests.
The answer to all the innovation begun by an appeal to the silence of the scriptures is simple. Return to a “thus saith the Lord” and be content to “abide in the doctrine of Christ” (II John 9). Let us leave the silence of the scriptures alone and be content to be governed by what God has revealed to us in His word. We must respect what God has said, but we must also respect what He has not said. “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…” (I Peter 4:11).
The Anchor Of The Soul
by Chris Simmons
ARTICLE 2 [Coming Soon]