How do you view the silence of the scriptures? How did Jesus?
Scriptures to consider:
1 Corinthians 4:6 -- "Do not go beyond what is written." Paul gives a quote, not from scripture, but from somewhere else.
Revelation 22:18 - 19 -- This is the warning not to add or subtract from the words of the prophesy.
Our view of Bible silence has profound implications for us, and a deep impact on how we live with respect to the Lord.
Let's explore this.
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3 comments:
I know it looks like I'm responding to myself -- I am, but I thought of this later. Here's my thought:
Isn't there a difference between adding something in where God is silent, and frank disobedience?
Examples:
God was silent in the Law of Moses about whether or not to use musical instruments in worship. The Israelites added them in with no penalty.
Nadab and Abihu used strange fire, unauthorized, "contrary to his command" (Lev. 10:1), and were burned up for it. God had commanded something different, and these men disobeyed.
I have observed that both sides of this issue, taken to an extreme, can be used inappropriately.
So what is the moderate view of this? How can this issue NOT be taken to the extreme yet still be consistent?
This is a conundrum. Do we take a stand on a silence issue when it suits us?
We all take stands on Bible silence or "speech" issues depending on our understanding.
I think EVERYONE does this. We read and understand to the best of our ability, and some things get rationalized. For examples, that the men-with-long-hair issue is cultural, or that the silence of women was imposed only on a few congregations with that problem, or that the Bible is silent on meeting in dedicated church buildings. And then there are passages that command the holy kiss that get completely ignored. We could make lists and lists.
Everyone rationalizes. I do, too. What I would hope about myself is that as I study and grow in my understanding I would not be so proud of my positions that I refuse to see newly revealed truth, that I would not make EITHER the silence OR speech of the Scriptures my hill to die on, but that I would honestly seek the heart of God without a foolish commitment to something so changeable as my opinion on how to interpret those Scriptures.
Does that come close to a moderate view of this? Of course *grin* I think so.
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