The Silence of The Scriptures

One common belief about Biblical authority is that silence authorizes. What I mean by this is that people argue, “If the Bible doesn’t have a command against it, I’m allowed to do it.” This is a very common belief among most religious groups today. It is also a very wrong belief. Why is that the case?

The silence of God’s Word has never authorized man to do anything. Nadab and Abihu are a good example of this. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. (2) And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” (Leviticus 10:1-2). These two men made the mistake of ignoring the silence of the Scriptures. They offered fire that God had not commanded.

God’s silence on this matter did not authorize them to offer strange fire. God had given them instructions as to how to burn incense. He did not have to list the million ways they were not allowed to do it. Therefore, they were killed for their disobedience. There are many other examples we could give but space does not permit.

How do people abuse the silence of the Scriptures today? Probably the most obvious way is in the worship service. It is a plain, irrefutable fact that God has commanded His children to sing praises unto Him. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16). Yet in almost every religious organization that wears the name “Christian” we have people not only singing but playing pianos, guitars, drums, and other instruments. They try to justify their actions by claiming, “The Bible doesn’t tell me I can’t.”

Friend, God told us to sing. He didn’t have to tell us everything that we couldn’t do. If you’re part of a religious group that uses instruments in worship, ask your leaders about Nadab and Abihu.

"Have You Heard" articles posted with permission.

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