We Speak

It was Thomas Campbell, in the early 1800's, that made this declaration that became the foundation stone of the Restoration Movement. "Where the scriptures speak, we speak. Where the scriptures are silent, we are silent."

These words shook a very young America trying to find her way in a new country. They startled those who felt that without human frameworks the church might wonder off in apostasy.

Crazy to think that if we just take God at His word that somehow that might not be enough. Yet it scared many who were interested in the church being united rather than divided into so many denominations. It scared them so badly that many walked away as men and women walked away from Jesus in John 6, when He challenged them to eat His flesh and drink His blood. They declared, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

Let's take time to analyze what Thomas Campbell said. First, "If the scriptures speak..." That should have us on edge of our chairs. If the scriptures speak, what? "We speak."

We speak. We speak. We have to hear what is being said here. We not are merely nodding our assent to what God's Word says. When God's Word speaks we are authorized to speak. Hear Jesus say, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto Me, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Right there Jesus authorized His followers, not just the eleven apostles, but all followers to come until He come ("And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.")

So we speak. Not simply nod our assent to the Word of God. And "Where the scriptures are silent, we are silent." What does this part mean? We have used it in a negative way. Against instrumental music in church, for example. The truth is that church history shows that the church did not use instruments for over 600 years. The term, "acapella" means "of the church." We don't need to demand that people see our understanding of Colossians 3:16 or Ephesians 5:19 as mandates for not using music in the church. We say the Bible says sing but it does not speak of instruments being used in these passages. Okay, but the truth is that demanding that these two passages don't authorize instruments in our worship is not nearly as strong an argument as looking at ancient writings and seeing how the early church worshiped.

So then what is meant by "Where the scriptures are silent, we are silent?" You might not like what I have to say here but I believe it to be true. If the scriptures to not say what we are to do in worship or life, etc, then we are at liberty to follow the guiding of God's Spirit. Check out 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 in the New King James: "19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil."

It is this spirit of oneness with God's Word and His Spirit that will show us when it is time to speak and when it is time to be silent. This would indeed mean that there would be a vast array of opinions and that those opinions would be just as good as ours, so long as they sought to honor God in what they believed and acted on. It is when we teach as God's Word our own opinions that we divide and destroy God's church. It's high time we spoke up about that!