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The “Silence” Of The Scriptures

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Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin Articles

The above titled article by Brother Gary Workman, appeared in the March 1981, Vol. 1, No. 4 issue of “The Restorer” publication, in which Brother Workman emphasized the importance of our respecting the silence of the Scriptures. His article is worthy of our consideration:

People everywhere are in need of either an introduction or a reminder as to how to deal with what has often been called “the silence of the scriptures.” It is failure to understand and respect such “silence” that is causing some erroneous deviations that are now creeping into the worship and work of many congregations. But this is not something new.

The Introduction Of Musical Instruments

It was this very same failure and lack of respect that caused musical instruments to be introduced into the worship in 1860 and ultimately led to a massive spit in the church. Those with the lax attitude formed what became known as the Disciples of Christ or Christian Church, the main body of which has now in recent times completely renounced the concept of New Testament Christianity and voted itself into full-fledged denominational status. Such is the inevitable result of failing to respect the “silence” of the scriptures.

The Law Of Exclusion

Meanwhile, faithful Christians continued to teach and preach on the necessity of Bible authority for all that we believe and practice. Included in that teaching was insistence on the “law of exclusion” – that when God specifies a particular thing (such as gopher wood in the ark or vocal music in worship) it excludes all other types of that thing (oak or pine in the ark and instrumental music in worship). The validity of the “law of exclusion” is clearly illustrated in the classic case of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2). They did not violate a stated prohibition, but simply failed to respect the “law of exclusion” and so “offered strange fire before Jehovah, which he had not commanded.” It is this “law of exclusion” which is otherwise referred to as “the silence of the scriptures.” And brethren in general used to teach diligently on these things.

A Lack Of Continued Teaching

In recent years, there has not only been a lack of continued teaching on this subject in the Lord’s church but, in some cases, even an outright repudiation of it! A brother in California stated in a recent book that “nowhere is the Bible silent” and that any insistence on respecting such “silences” is just “well-worn Restorationist doctrine.”

Likewise, two articles just published among us in Alabama, assert that instrumental music in worship “is neither scriptural nor unscriptural because the Bible says nothing about it either way” and that “if the apostles ever taught that instruments were sinful, they never left one word to that effect” (emphasis mine).

All three writers conclude that the use or non-use of instrumental music is just a matter of opinion and personal preference.

The Law Of Exclusion Illustrated In Hebrews 7-8

These brethren (and thousands of others) need a good lesson about the “law of exclusion” or “the silence of the scriptures.” The principle is clearly stated in the New Testament in Hebrews 7-8. The Old Testament law gave the priesthood to the tribe of Levi without specifically eliminating other tribes by name (Numbers 8). But the silence of the scriptures had to be respected. Therefore, since “it is evident that our Lord hath sprung out of Judah, as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests,” if Jesus were on earth “he would not be a priest at all” (Hebrews 7:14; Hebrews 8:4). When one tribe alone was named, the silence in respect to other tribes, amounted to an exclusion!

Conclusion:

We must realize two things: (1) Any statement that involves an obligation, must be treated as a command, and (2) Implicit commands are just as authoritative and binding as explicit ones! In any positive command or statement, there is an implied opposite – an implicit negative command.

As we read the positive, we draw an inference or make a deduction which leads to a conclusion about the negative. If we have correctly understood the positive statement, the inferred negative conclusion is decisive and inescapable. Therefore, do not begin by asking, “Where does the Bible say we can’t do it?” First, see if its is excluded by what is specified. And if it is, respect the silence of the scriptures!

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