Silence is Loud - Amy Lawrence

I had a friend (…and when I say friend, I mean my wonderful, loving mother…) request that I write an article on the silence of scripture. It is important to discuss such matters, and anyone who is striving to be pleasing to God knows the necessity of studying and understanding these principles. There are still many today, some closer than others, that do not have an understanding of scripture - where it speaks, and where it doesn’t speak. This doesn’t have to be permanent. A study of scripture under the right circumstances can garner a stronger knowledge of what God’s will truly is.

Some, however, lack an understanding even after studying. They cannot see what is there and have a tendency of inventing things that are not there. Paul the apostle describes those that would “twist” the scripture, “to their own destruction”, 2 Pet. 3:16, “…always learning but never to able to come to the Truth”, 2 Tim. 3:1-7. Some of these also try to teach their twisted versions of scripture, 2 Tim. 4:3-4. One of these twisted teachings is presented in the idea that when God is “silent”, He has given us an open door. Please allow me to illustrate the idea; my daughter and I frequent Walmart. Sometimes I wait in the car and send her in to get one or two items. Let’s say I hand her a $20 bill and say, “Please, get me a 2-liter of Pepsi and a single-serving bag of Planter’s peanuts.” My daughter understands the Law of Silence. She knows that she has been asked to get those two items and nothing more. Even though she has another $16.83 in her possession, she knows. Those that argue against this scriptural principle hold to the idea that if my daughter came back to the car with my two items in one arm and more items of her choosing in the other arm, giving me only $0.32 back, she has done nothing wrong because I didn’t say, “Don’t get chapstick, a Snickers bar, nail polish, new shoestrings, a beach towel, or sunscreen.” They feel they should be allowed to go beyond the silence. However, their argument is often dropped when the silence works in their favor. I may ask my daughter to empty the dishwasher. Because I didn’t ask her to also fold a load of laundry and clean the bathroom, they are quick to defend the Law of Silence.

There are many factors to be considered when gaining an understanding of principles such as this and how/when/where it applies. It requires logical reason, study, subsequent knowledge, and hopefully as an end result, wisdom. In this article, I hope to discuss the matter so that we have a stronger knowledge of God’s Word and our part in His will.

The first thing that must be addressed in any such subject of behavior is the heart and its current condition. Understanding of topics such as the Law of Silence will primarily depend on the level of a person’s selfishness. I use the term “level” because we are all human. We all have some degree of selfishness in us. If we didn’t, we would never sin, James 1:14. It is a part of us that we must defeat on a daily basis, Rom. 7:18. The goal of every Christian should be that they strive to be pleasing to God. As unfortunate as it is, not every Christian has that goal. Selfishness often wins. What determines the battle is the soil on which it is fought. Not all hearts have the right soil. Only in an honest heart that has good soil can the Word of God grow and produce fruit, Lk. 8:1-15. There are 2 types of Bible readers: the ones that read to change God’s word and the ones that read so that God’s word can change them. The only one that can be righteous in God’s sight is the one that sacrifices themselves to the change only God’s word can bring about, Rom. 1:16-17;10:1-3;12:1-2.

Secondly, there are indeed many subjects in scripture that are difficult to understand. There is a prerequisite in any gaining of knowledge. One must begin by learning the basics. The writer of Hebrews addressed an issue the Hebrews had; they had not only neglected to grow in knowledge but had done so for so long that they actually had to be retaught the basics, Heb. 5:11-15. The writer reprimanded them because they had so much time and opportunity to grow in knowledge that they should have been able to not only understand the tough concepts, vs. 11, but should have been able to teach them, vs. 12. There are fundamental truths that one must learn before one can move on to heavier matters.

The best place to start is in the beginning. One of the basics of the Law of Silence came about in the very first giving of the very first law. Adam and Eve were told that they could eat of every tree in the garden…except one, Gen. 2:16-17;3:2-3. Satan used the silence of God to convince Eve to sin. God never gave Eve an explanation of the law, and He didn’t have to. He’s God. He doesn’t owe anyone an explanation. He gave but one rule, Gen. 3:3. He expected it to be followed. Satan used this opportunity to tempt Eve by “filling in the blanks” and creating a scenario; one that depicted God as an uninformative, stingy power hog and knowing the difference between good and evil as a thing to be coveted, Gen. 3:5. The Devil’s finger was pointing at God’s silence and planted the seed of distrust into Eve. The first rule of the Law of Silence is trust. To follow God means to trust Him, to know that even though God doesn’t give us details about where we’re going, He is holding our hand and leading us to where He has already been, Heb. 13:5. This is a trust Abram had. When Abram met God, he was asked to leave his country, his people, his family and go to a place that God didn’t even name, Gen. 12:1. A covenant was struck between God and now Abraham, the father of many nations, Gen. 17:1-5. Later, without any explanation, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice the son He promised to Abraham, Gen. 17:19; 22:1-19. He obeyed. Even though he made mistakes as all humans do, his eyes were on God - Who later calls Abraham His friend, James 2:23…because he believed God with limited information and without question.

Another tenet of the Law of Silence is authority. God set boundaries to His Word. In the books of Deuteronomy, Proverbs, and Revelation, warnings are recorded for anyone who dares go beyond the boundaries God has set, Deut. 18:18-22, Prov. 30:6. John details the punishment, Rev. 22:18-19. Paul, when addressing the Corinthians, discusses the responsibilities of a steward in the house of God in 1 Cor. 4. Notice what he uses as the standard in verse 6: scripture. Paul examples himself and Apollos as physical illustrations of the humility that is required to keep from going “beyond what is written”. It is a natural inclination for humans in lofty positions to let it go to their head. God’s word keeps us in check - if used properly. Adding to or taking away denotes: 1.) A lack of trust that God gave us everything we need to know, and 2.) An arrogance that defies the fact that no human is qualified to add to or take away from scripture.

God’s will is only available to us today in its written form, 2 Tim. 3:16-17. Reading comprehension is also a must as a building block for understanding scriptural principles. Philip’s question to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 is a good example of the importance of this skill. He asked the eunuch, “Do you understand what you are reading?”, vs. 30. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that there were many that still didn’t understand that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies because their “veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament”, 2 Cor. 3:14. They didn’t understand what they were reading! When contending with the lawyer in Luke 10, Jesus didn’t just give him the answers he sought. Instead, He placed the burden of proof upon the lawyer, asking him the questions, “What is written? What is your reading of it?” in verse 26. The word for “reading” is the Greek word ἀναγινώσκω which is defined as: “to gather exact knowledge of, recognize, discern; especially, to read” (Mounce Greek Dictionary). Reading and comprehending. This lawyer answered the question in verse 27, but Jesus confirmed that the lawyer was correct, vs. 28. That little detail is important. Because Jesus said he had answered correctly, this introduced by default that the lawyer was also capable of answering incorrectly. Who determines whether or not a person’s understanding of scripture is the right interpretation or the wrong interpretation? That responsibility falls to the One Who wrote it, 2 Pet. 1:19-21.

Now, let’s tie all of this into the Law of Silence. We must establish a certainty first; the Almighty Creator needs nothing from us, Acts 17:25. It is we that need Him. David, during his reign as king of Judah, saw that he enjoyed the comforts of his own home but felt ashamed that he hadn’t built a house for God. He began making plans to do so, 2 Sam. 7:1-2. He told this to Nathan the prophet. Nathan returned to David with a message from God. In a nutshell, God told David, “I didn’t ask you to build Me a house.”, vss. 5-7. This makes it clear to readers that when God wants something, He’ll ask for it. If He doesn’t ask for it, He doesn’t want it. This concept is applicable in several passages. The writer of Hebrews used the phrase “spoke nothing” in Heb. 7:14, further standardizing God’s silence as an absence of permission and not an open door. When the children of Israel sacrificed their children to the Ammonite god Molech, Jeremiah recorded God’s words: “…I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind.”, Jer. 19:5. Nadab and Abihu offered a type of fire before God which He “commanded them not.”, Lev. 10:1. One can see the seriousness of God’s silence in these passages.

There are several New Testament commands that are followed with silence. When Christ established the Lord’s Supper during the Passover Feast, He used fruit of the vine and unleavened bread, Mt. 26:26-30. As far as I have observed, no church I’ve visited has used pizza as the bread and cantelope juice as the fruit of the vine. This is one silence that has never been contested…but there is one that has been deeply contested: “sing.” Both the Ephesian letter and the Colossian letter make singing a part of worship, Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16. No other form of music is mentioned in the New Testament in reference to worship. God’s silence on the matter makes singing and only singing the form of music God requested in worship to Him.

There is another “twist” to the false teaching concerning the silence of God. Some contend that if scripture doesn’t record the punishment for a particular person’s action, then that action is not sin and therefore permissible. Scripture was “silent” when Rahab told her lie, Josh. 2:3-6. Because scripture does not record whether or not she was reprimanded/punished for her lie, there are those that argue lying is allowed under particular circumstances. Before I counter that notion, let me point out two very important aspects of God. 1.) God is no respecter of persons. He is not partial, Rom. 2:11, and He commands that we neither be partial, 1 Tim. 5:21. Lying is a sin that comes with a punishment, Rev. 21:8. Rahab will suffer the consequences of lying just as anyone else will. 2.) God cannot lie, Titus 1:2. This is one of many things that make God the Almighty and what marks the difference between God and Satan. Lies are a tool in Satan’s arsenal, Jn. 8:44, and to suggest that God would allow us to use Satan’s resources and still call us righteous is ludicrous. One must also look at scripture as one continuous document. From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, the journey of the children of God through this world is recorded. In this journey, the Lawmaker is God. He is the only One that has the power to establish and take away, to make any changes to His law. If anywhere in this journey a law is established that lying is sin, unless it is changed or taken away by God, it remains law everywhere in scripture. Lying is called sin throughout both the Old Testament and New, Prov. 6:16-19, Col. 3:9, Rev. 21:8. This law cannot be dismissed using this context any more than the sin of Rahab’s harlotry can be dismissed simply because the reprimand/punishment is not included in the account.

Are there exceptions? Before this can be discussed, we first have to define a couple of things: closed commands and open commands. I’m going to use my daughter as an example (she just loves when I do this). If I tell her to “go” to “the store” and do not specify how and where, it is an open command. She can choose whether to go by foot, by bicycle, by hang-glider, her choice. She can prefer Kroger over Walmart. If I tell her to take my car and go to Walmart, I’ve given her a closed command. Her mode of transportation is limited to my car. I’ve also limited her destination. Jesus gave His disciples an open command in how they may “go” when He committed to them the task of spreading the gospel, Mt. 28:19-20. He gave a closed command in what could be used to represent His flesh and His blood as a remembrance every week, 1 Cor. 11:23-25. To say there are exceptions usually involves Christian everyday living. Nowhere in scripture is it recorded whether or not I am allowed to brush my teeth twice a day or what toothpaste I can or cannot use. If to do this I would be required to steal toothpaste or toothbrush, then it would fall under the purview of scripture. I don’t have to steal my toothpaste or toothbrush. Therefore, brushing my teeth is a choice God has given completely to me. Some bring this into a worship setting, such as what color the carpet should be inside a building erected specifically for worship service. Nowhere in scripture will you find precedence for the color of carpet. Neither will you find precedence for a church building at all. The first century church met in homes, upper rooms, at riversides, a variation of settings that housed a congregation of the Lord’s church. Open command. The requirement of meeting every Sunday - closed command, Acts 2:1;20:7, 1 Cor. 11:20;16:1-2. “Exceptions” within scripture are usually either undefined or created by those that have a selfish desire to have what they shouldn’t even want.

It’s easy to obey when we love the One we obey. We as humans are naturally selfish creatures, Rom. 7:4-5. John categorizes sin under three different categories; lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or pride of life, 1 Jn. 11:15-17. All three are rooted in pleasing ourselves. But when we trust our heart to God, we spend our efforts doing what is pleasing to Him. Sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes it’s difficult. Always it’s His will - not ours. When we follow our own will, it takes us on dangerous paths that are away from God. This is where the silence comes in handy. It’s simple to understand, really. The Christian road is flanked by darkness. God’s road signs are our guide to keeping us in the light, 1 Jn. 1:7. Putting signs where God has not will get us lost. “Beware of false knowledge. It is more dangerous than ignorance.” -George Bernard Shaw