SILENCE CAN BE SINFUL
The apostle Peter was concerned that Christians could
not or would not defend their beliefs about Christ and about Christian living. He
knew Christians in every age would encounter opposition in their devotion to the
cause of Christ. He urged them: "But sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you a
reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Pet. 3:15). I must
ask each of us: "Do we have the knowledge and the courage to tell our
friends, neighbors and family members why we believe the Bible to be the word
of almighty
God, what people must do to become members of the New Testament church and our reasons for
supporting the moral values the scriptures teach? Can we give a Bible answer for the
kind of government the church must have and the worship God demands in the
Christian era.
Edmund Burke served in Great Britain's parliament from
1765 until his death in 1797. The World Book Encyclopedia (Chicago:
Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, 1966) says "Burke never
hesitated to speak his mind on the major issues of his time"
(volume 2, p. 593). Bill Bright and John N. Damoose's
book, Red Sky in the Morning (Orlando: New Life
Publications, 1998), quotes Burke as saying, "The only thing necessary for
the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" (p. 220). Burke's brilliant and
appropriate observation has provided great inspiration to men and women to change our world
for the better. Over and over, Burke's words appear in volumes dealing with a
Christian's obligation to oppose evil of all kinds, including gambling, beverage alcohol,
sexual immorality and pornography.
Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.'s book, Beyond Doubt: Faith-Building on Questions
Christians Ask (GrandRapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Comnpany,
2002), discusses
at some length the impact Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had on our nation. He
quotes these powerful word from one of Dr. King's
speeches: "I fear the silence of the churches more that the shouts of
angry multitudes." Dr. Plantinga offers the
following prayer:
"0 Lord our God, we confess the cowardice that has so often silenced us in
the face
of evil." He prayed that we might be bold in declaring God's justice in
all the reaches
of our lives (p. 167).
The apostle Paul wrote of the great abuse he had
experienced as a gospel preacher. "We are troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair: persecuted, but not forsaken;
cast down, but not destroyed." Such opposition from God's enemies would
have silenced many professed Christians of Paul's generation and no doubt does
silence many in our day. But only death could keep Paul from preaching what he
believed. He explains: "But having the same spirit of faith, according as
it is written, I believed, and therefore I have spoken; we also believe, and therefore we
speak" (2 Cor. 4:8-9, 13). Paul was addressing
his responsibility to preach Christ Jesus the Lord as the Savior of the world,
but his words apply to every phase of our lives, including our obligation to
discuss all spiritual and moral issues. If we believe abortion,
pornography, homosexuality, gambling, using beverage alcohol and other drugs
are contrary to the will of God, can we remain silent without bringing the
curses of
God on our heads?
In 2002, the International Gospel Hour published my
book, Silence Can Be Sinful. My book has done very
well for the Gospel Hour. In fact, we have just republished it a few weeks ago. My
book has chapters on abortion, hate groups in America, civil disobedience, gambling,
psychic detectives, destructive businesses and homosexuality. If the Lord allows me
to live long enough, I plan to publish four more books on the same topic. I am
convinced, as I emphasized in my book, that failure to speak out against
evil—all evil—is sinful. I agree with someone who wisely observed:
"Silence can be golden, but sometimes it is just plain yellow."
Several months ago, I received a letter
regarding my book, Silence Can Be Sinful. My correspondent's letter begins: "I
want to say that I enjoyed your book, Silence Can Be Sinful, but one thing I
would like to clear up. In your first chapter, you said that 'Christians
may also sin by being silent. Are you saying that a Christian is 'anti' because they
are silent all the time? Well, I want you to know that that is not true. Please
know that I am not mad or anything like it, but silence is part of God's
word.'" I am grateful for the letter. I shall make myself as clear as I am able.
I know that "silence is part of God's word"—a
truth I have preached for more than sixty years. I have time to give you just one
example. The Mosaic covenant required that priests come from the tribe of Levi. But
since the Old Testament did not say, "You shall not select priests from
Simeon or Judah or Benjamin," what could possibly be wrong with choosing
priests from those tribes? After all, according to Korah, Dathan and Abiram, men from the
tribe of Reuben were just as holy as men from Levi (Lev. 16:1-3). Those three rebels
must have reasoned like many modern theologians: "Since God was silent on
whether priests could come from tribes other than Levi, it must have been all
right to have them from other tribes.” Does the silence of the Old Testament
concerning the other tribes mean that God opposed having priests from Reuben or
Judah or Benjamin?
The author of Hebrews discusses the principle of silence
I am discussing with you. He argues very plainly: "For the priesthood
being changed, it is made of necessity a change in the law also. For
he of whom these things are spoken pertains to another tribe, of which no man
gave attendance at the altar" (Heb. 7:12-13). The "he of whom
these things were spoken" was Jesus Christ. Does the author of Hebrews
mean that Christ
could not have been a priest under the Jewish covenant because he came from the
wrong
tribe? If you have any doubt about that, the inspired author of Hebrews should
settle that doubt forever. Please listen carefully. "For it is evident
that our Lord sprang out of Judah: of which tribe Moses spoke nothing
concerning the priesthood" (Heb. 7:14). Since Moses said nothing about
priests' coming from the tribe of Judah, what could possibly be wrong with
having priests from that tribe? Is the author of Hebrews arguing that we must
respect the silence of the scriptures? In other words, if God does not
authorize an act of worship, we have no scriptural right to practice it. That
is the reason
faithful churches of Christ do not use mechanical instruments of music in the
worship of the church. That is also the reason we do not observe the sabbath and engage in the burning
of incense and such like. There is absolutely no scriptural authority for these practices.
But is God so picky that he will not approve of such insignificant
activities? What lesson did God intend to teach by including in the Old Testament
the story of Nadab and Abihu?
These two men were the sons of the Aaron, the older brother of Moses, and the
very first high priest in Israel. Moses accused them of offering strange fire on the altar.
And what was "strange fire?" The King James Version identifies
"strange fire" as fire that the Lord commanded not (Lev. 10:1). The
English Standard Version calls it "unauthorized fire." But surely the
Lord would not punish Nadab and Abihu for offering
"unauthorized fire," that is, fire concerning which the Lord was
silent, or would he? Moses explains what occurred:
"And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died
before the Lord" (Lev. 10:2). Failure to honor the silence of the
scriptures is a serious offense against God, as the story of Nadab and Abihu teaches.
I have been preaching and lecturing for many years on the
topic, "Silence Can Be Sinful." But I am not alone in speaking on that and
similar topics. In 2001 Tom Minnery, vice president of
Public Policy for Focus on the Family, wrote a book with the title, Why You Can't Stay Silent: A Biblical Mandate to Shape Our
Culture (
In a number of books I have read since the publication
of my book, I have taken special note of other authors' concerns about the
silence of good people. I shall mention some of those books and what they say about
the sinfulness of silence. Vivien Spitz, the youngest court reporter at the
Nuremburg trials in
Elwood McQuaid's book, Persecuted:
Exposing the Growing Intolerance Toward Christianity (
Dick Morris, a well-known political consultant and an
analyst for Fox New Channel, has written a number of books on political and
social themes. One of his books, Off
With Their Heads: Traitors, Crooks and Obstructionists in American Politics,
Media & Business (
In the Introduction to my book, Silence Can Be
Sinful, I list and discuss briefly some of the excuses Americans give for not
speaking out against the evils that are destroying so many lives. I shall list those
excuses and examine each one. It is not unusual for someone to argue: "I would
speak out on abortion, gambling, pornography, beverage alcohol and
homosexuality if I just knew what to say." Jane Chastain,
There really is no excuse for not knowing what is
occurring in our world. For example, if you want to speak out against gambling,
numerous good books exposing the stupidity of gambling are readily available.
Larry Braidfoot has a law degree and a Ph.D. in Christian
ethics. He has testified before congressional committees in several states that
were thinking of legalizing gambling. His book, Gambling: A Deadly Game (Nashville: Broadman
Press, 1985), is one of the very best on that topic I have ever found. Norman Geisler with Thomas A. Howe published an excellent book
with the title, Gambling: A Bad Bet (Old
Tappan: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1990). Ignorance is not an
excuse for not speaking out on evil.
Tragically, there are people and there always have been
who just do not care enough to use their time and talent to oppose the
destructive practices that prevail in our nation. Isaiah, the eighth century B. C.
prophet in Israel, describes some of the conditions that prevailed among the
Israelites about 150 years before the Babylonian exile. "Woe unto them who rise up
early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until
night, till wine inflame them! And the harp, and the
viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts:
but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the work of his
hands.... Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their
own sight! Woe unto them who are mighty to drink wine: who justify the wicked
for reward; and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him" (Isa. 5:11-12, 21-23)!
Were the Israelites not concerned about the moral
situation in Israel? God commanded Isaiah: "Now go, write it before them in
a tablet, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and
ever; that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear
the law of the Lord: who say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets,
prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things (or pleasant things),
prophesy unto us deceits (or illusions): get out of the way, turn aside out of
the path, cause the Holy One in Israel to cease from before us" (Isa. 30:8-11). Has not the prophet Isaiah well described
the so-called "positive thinkers" of our day?
One the chief reasons many in our day—including some who
call themselves "Christians"—remain silent is because they are
thoroughly confused about right and wrong. Did you know, for example, that the
majority of Americans do not believe there are any absolutes? If there are no
absolutes, then nobody has absolute authority to condemn any kind of behavior.
The ethical confusion in some modern churches— including some left-leaning churches
of Christ—reminds us of the tragic conditions in Isaiah's day (about 750 years before
our Lord was born). Isaiah wrote: "Woe unto them who call evil good,
and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put
sweet for bitter, and bitter for sweet" (Isa.
5:20)!
Moral turpitude prevents some in our day from speaking
out against modern sins. There are millions of Americans who are not going to
speak out against ungodly and destructive behavior because they are addicted to
pornography or to beverage alcohol or to sexual immorality. When men and women
engage in immoral activities—either for pleasure or for profit—they seldom, if ever,
join in crusades to curb those activities. Do not Christians sin when they remain
silent on immorality?
Finally, some Christians and other moral people are
silent because they are afraid. When Elijah vigorously condemned the behavior
of Ahab and Jezebel, is it possible the great prophet was afraid? We have no way of
knowing since the Bible does not tell us. But it would be remarkable if Elijah
did not experience some fear. He knew Ahab and Jezebel hated him enough to kill
him. But regardless of any fear he may have had, he did not hesitate to
reveal to them God's word. And what about the prophet John
the Baptist? He told Herod that he had no right to have his brother Philip's wife (Mt. 14:3-4). His
uncompromising preaching cost John his life.
I make no claims for having always preached what I should
have preached and the way I should have preached it. I know I have made many
blunders. For that I have sought forgiveness. But I have worked to prepare myself
to preach what I honestly believe I should preach. I strive to preach the whole
counsel of God because I know God demands it. I also know that churches are not going
to be faithful if they do not know and obey the truth. I take seriously Paul's
admonition to Timothy: "Preach the word" (2 Tim. 4:2). I want to go to
heaven when I die and I want to take you with me.
Winford Claiborne
The
International Gospel Hour
P.O.
Box 118
Fayetteville,
TN 37334
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