If  God Does Not Say Anything, It is Usually No

Jeremiah 7:28-8:3

I attend court regularly to give evidence in personal injury cases. Over the years, I have seen how judges have to adapt to new specialist orthopaedic evidence, especially if there is no precedent. For example, many years ago, if someone lost his thumb in an accident, the courts awarded 80% loss of function of that hand for compensation purposes. But recently, I am able to give a new reconstructed thumb to the patient. Does that mean he receives no compensation? Not really – for the new thumb is never the same as the original. The rule book was silent on how to compensate for a reconstructed thumb, so we have to try to find compensation for pain and suffering in spite of the silence of the law.

Somehow, this approach has permeated into the Christian world. The Bible reveals a message of grace. We are accepted into the fellowship with God only by accepting the finished work of Christ on the cross, but faith alone. As a group of believers, however, the scriptures give us an indication of what God would like us to be and how we are to behave. The moral imperatives in the Ten Commandments remain a guide for us. But what happens when the Bible is silent on something? Does it mean we can indulge ourselves anyway, in the name of freedom? Can we incorporate all kinds of activity into our worship services? Is God pleased with us bringing so much of secular cultural influences into the church? Is our noble aim to keep youth and the unchurched in our fold pleasing or actually grieving to God?

In Jeremiah’s time, the people of God somewhat worshipped God they way he has asked them to. Yet the people had added practices form the nations around them. The most egregious of these was the child sacrifice. While this is an extreme, we find today soft versions of these types of activity creeping into churches. For example, is not yoga or transcendental medication rooted historically and spiritually in Hinduism? Yet church condone such practices by saying they have removed the hindu element. What does God say about doing things he does not prohibit?

1. God knows what we do and calls it disobedience (7:28). Practices that he has not commanded are not to be added to worship or our daily Christian walk. It is convenient to use the argument form silence and say that what God has not forbidden, is acceptable! But God is watching and is grieved. Is it not better to avoid adding new things to our worship and our daily lives until we are sure that the practice is not rooted in pagan culture or religious systems? I know this sounds intolerant, but read this passage again and make your own determination. It is God’s word.

2. What God does not command, is also not allowed (7:31). This puts to rest the argument that if the Bible is silent on some activity, belief or practice, that means that God allows  or condones it. God said that the people had built “high places” which he did not command. High places were a place and a style of worship in the land of Judah. Are we building “high places” today? Are we building ministry models that He has not commanded? Seeker friendly church models use psycho-kinetics and other attractions to bring people to church. Are members coming for the entertainment or to worship our Holy God? Pastors now walk on stage in shorts and slippers. Are we disrespecting God?

3. The “new” visible churches will be irrelevant (7:32). The “high places” created by the Israelites will be no more, says God. The modern “high places” are these entertainment oriented “churches”. Messages are diluted to avoid offending people. The church members who come in easily, tend to fall away just as easily. And these church models will likely disappear too. The “Toronto Blessing”, with its laughing and barking, seems to have passed on. Many churches that were built on the word of God and the testimony of fervent Christians, will do well to avoid the trap of bringing in new things just because it is the craze.

We should avoid building the new “high places” that God says “ I did not command, nor did it come form  My heart” Jeremiah 7:31. If you have been unconsciously doing this in your life or your church is going down these roads, please heed what God spoke to the Hebrews, and how it speaks to us today.

Please look at my earlier post on “Out with the New, In with the Old”