IS THE SILENCE OF THE SCRIPTURE PROHIBITIVE?

INTRODUCTORY TEXTS:

(SHOW QUOTE #8 FROM FIRST LESSON)

LESSON--

1. Thomas Campbell, in his pamphlet Declaration and Address set forth some principles of interpreting the bible in the form of propositions.
   
   1. (Transparency--Proposition #3)"....Nothing ought to be inculcated upon Christians as articles of faith; nor required of them as terms of communion, but what is expressly taught and enjoined upon them in the word of God. Nor ought anything to be admitted, as of Divine obligation, in their church constitution and managements, but what is expressly enjoined by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles upon the New Testament church; either in express terms or by approved precedent."
      
      1. The authority of Bible commands is seen in the phrase "Expressly enjoined...in express terms."
         
      2. The authority of examples is seen in the phrase "Expressly enjoined...by approved precedent."
         
   2. (Transparency--Proposition #6) "That although inferences and deductions from Scripture premises, when fairly drawn, may be truly called the doctrine of God's holy word, yet are they not formally binding upon the consciences of Christians farther than they perceive the connection, and evidently see that they are so; for their faith must not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power and veracity of God. Therefore, no such deductions can be made terms of communion, but do properly belong to the after and progressive edification of the Church. Hence, it is evident that no such deductions or inferential truths ought to have any place in the Church's confession."
      
      1. This is the most ambiguous statement about interpretation in the Declaration and Address. (Campbell, perhaps, had not fully formed his views on the principle of "necessary inference.")
         
      2. A simple illustration of how we may derive information by necessary inference is found in Genesis 13:1 "And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him," There is no information in the text that Lot went down into Egypt with Abram, but since he came out, it is necessarily inferred that he went in.

2. Jesus taught the force of all three of these ways to derive authority.
   
   1. Direct Command-- John 15:14, 17 (transparency)"Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you....These things I command you, that ye may love one another." Also, Matthew 5:43-45 "Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: 44 but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; 45 that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust." (Compare also 1 Corinthians 14:37.)
      
      1. Let us see what can be learned about the Silence of the Scripture from examples in Scripture involving specific commands.
         
         1. What David learned. 1 Chronicles 13, 15 (Transparency)
            
         2. The command David discovered, and what Moses thought of it. Numbers 4:15, 7:1-9 (Transparency.)
            
         3. What Jesus learned. Exodus 28:1; Hebrews 5:4-6, 7:11-14 (Transparency)
            
      2. These examples teach us that specific commands are "exclusive."
         
   2. Approved Example-- Matthew 12:1-7 (transparency) "At that season Jesus went on the sabbath day through the grainfields; and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears and to eat. 2 But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do upon the sabbath. 3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him; 4 how he entered into the house of God, and ate the showbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests?....But if ye had known what this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." Also, Luke 4:24-27 (transparency)"And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is acceptable in his own country. 25 But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; 26 and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
      
   3. Necessary Inference, Mark 12:26-27 (transparency)"But as touching the dead, that they are raised; have ye not read in the book of Moses, in the place concerning the Bush, how God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: ye do greatly err."

CONCLUSION-- In spite of these principles, there are some things that are permitted to be done in the area of "silence." These are called "expedients." We will address that subject next in our study.