Consider the following: A parent gives a child a ten dollar bill, and tells him to go into the store and buy some milk and a loaf of bread. The child returns to the car with the milk, the bread, and cookies. The parent says, "I didn't say you could get cookies!" The child replies, "You didn't say I couldn't!" The child's statement is true, but he quickly learns that the parent's silence on the matter did not constitute permission to go ahead and buy the cookies. From this example, we understand the principle that silence is not permissive.

The same is true with the word of God. Many believe the idea that "if God has not condemned a practice, then He allows it." However, this is not the case.  In fact, not only does the logic in our example disprove such a concept of authority, the scriptures explicitly deny the concept as well.

It is not surprising that such an attitude is common today. The Catholic Church has taken the position that the Bible is only one component of God's will, and has added to scripture its own traditions. Martin Luther, perhaps the most influential man in the reformation movement, felt that Christians were at liberty to do anything that was not expressly forbidden in scripture.

In 1 Peter 4:11, the apostle wrote, "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God..." Disregarding the need for expressed authority from God leads to many errors. It is because of a misunderstanding of this concept of Bible authority that the Christian Church digressed by accepting into their worship instrumental music, and into their work the Missionary Society. Both have their origin in the mind of man, rather than in the scripture. As this attitude toward authority developed, the Christian Church continued to add man-made advances such as "fellowship halls," socials, women preachers, and countless other things on the grounds that, "The Bible doesn't say we can't have them."

In Hebrews 7:14, the Hebrew writer clearly shows the restrictive nature of the silence of God. The passage reads, "For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood." The writer notes that in order for Jesus to serve as a priest, there would have to be a change of the priesthood and the law. While the law did not expressly deny the right of one from Judah to serve as priest, its silence on the matter was in itself a prohibition. Jesus could not have been a priest under the old law.

Silence does not give consent. Silence prohibits! We cannot know what God's will for us is, unless God reveals that to us (1 Cor. 2:9-13). We are not to add to the word of God (Rev. 22:18-19). The Bible supplies everything we need to serve God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). To add to the word of God constitutes will worship (Matt. 15:9), and is unlawful (Matt. 7:21-23). Let us be content with what God has revealed.

- The Old Paths, 7/26/15