When God Is Silent

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

By Leon Goff

What does God want us to do when He is silent? The short answer to that question is, “NOTHING!” The purpose of this article is to demonstrate from the scriptures  that this is the scriptural answer.

Generally, people have two opposite attitudes toward what God wants us to do when He is silent.

1. One view is that we believe and do what ever God does not specifically prohibit. Those who accept this view belief that “silence gives consent.”

2. The opposite view is that God’s silence does not authorize to believe and act. God authorizes by what He says, not by what he does not say. Which view does the Bible teach?

True faith that saves only comes by hearing what God says! “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 10:17). Faith that is based on what god has not said is not “Bible faith!” The apostle Paul in Romans 1:16-17 states that God revealed the Gospel to produce faith in our hearts. “Faith” base on what God has not revealed is really only human opinion.

Bible Demonstrations of this Truth! “Nadab and Abihu… offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.” (Lev. 10:1.) note that the passage does not say they offered fire that he had commanded them not to offer. He simply had not commanded the fire they used. Leviticus 16:12 tells us where they were to get the fire. Do you say, “What difference did it make, fire is fire?” The difference is the difference in obeying God and disobeying Him! Nadab and Abihu died because they acted upon the silence of God!

Speaking of Israel crossing the Red Sea, Hebrews 11:28 says, “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.” Why did Israel make it through and the Egyptians didn’t? Do you really believe the commander of the Egyptian army said, “Come on men, let’s go get drowned?” No, they evidently thought they could make it through. The Israelites did. God told Israel to march through the sea, but He did not tell the Egyptians to march. God told Israel to march through the sea. Israel passed through by faith  Faith comes by hearing God’s word. (Rom. 10:17). The Egyptians marched on their own human opinion!

The writer of the Hebrews letter wrote: “For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood” (Heb.7:14). The argument the writer was making is that Jesus could not have been priest under the Law of Moses because Moses was silent about one from the tribe of Judah being  priest, and Jesus was of the tribe of Judah. The writer further wrote, “For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priest who offer gifts according to the law.”(Heb. 8:4). Jesus is priest according to the order of Melchizedec, The priesthood has changed and the law has changed (Heb. 7:12). If the view “that everything not specifically forbidden is authorized” is right, this would mean that the inspired writer of Hebrews is wrong in his argument! Remember, God did not specifically forbid Judah being priests, He just did not authorize it. God was silent about Judah being priests.

What does this mean concerning modern practices such as instrumental music in worship, infant baptism, sprinkling for baptism, social and recreational activities as works of the church, church support of human organizations, and the “sponsoring church” (centralized) method of church cooperation? God is just as silent about these as He was about the fire Nadab and Abihu used, the Egyptians crossing the Red Sea, and about Jesus and Judah being priest on earth under the Law of Moses. Where is the scripture in the New Testament authorizing any of these? Book, chapter and verse, please? The plain and simple teaching of scripture is that God does not authorize by His silence. He authorized by what He says, no by what He does not say.

Now, this does not mean that every detail has to be specifically mentioned. For instance, the command to assemble (Heb. 10:25) necessarily includes a place to assemble. Bible authority is established by

1. Command (Matt. 28:20);

2. Apostolic Example (Phil. 4:9) and

3. What is Necessarily Included by command and Apostolic Example Necessary Inclusion or Inference cannot be categorized as God’s silence. A song book and a musical instrument are not equal in this subject. The song is authorized and the songbook provides the song. “Sing” does not include an instrument.