the silence of the Scriptures<\/a> and really enjoyed it. I have been faced with some of the “dogmatic” congregations for the first time in my life, and it really raised some questions in my mind as to if I was attending the right type of church.<\/p>\nI had a discussion with a man who told me getting married in the church building is sinful, funerals in the building, and having things like youth nights or singing groups. I did not agree with him, but I didn’t know what to say because I had never faced any members like that. So I’ve been researching the different types of beliefs and practices. But it seems that all we fight about are things that are preferences or within the liberty of each autonomous congregation.<\/p>\n
I like to think of myself as pretty sound in Scriptures for someone my age, being that I’ve always wanted to know for myself what the truth is. The church can be very complicated if people make it that way. However, your article was very enlightening and it gave me a sense of ease. Not saying I will stop searching the Scriptures because it is the only authority on earth. However, everything you said made sense and will help me in my debates with the “dogmatic extremists.”<\/p>\n
Thank you very much for posting that. If you have anything else that might help me please feel free to email me anytime.<\/p>\n
p.s. I am considering preaching someday, so I want to make sure I’m preaching the whole truth. Thank you for your time brother.<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
It is easy to claim that a particular matter is one of opinion, preference, or liberty, but where does the liberty or right to choose come from? Are we taking these rights for ourselves or were they granted to us by our Maker? If we accept “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God<\/em>” (I Corinthians 11:3) and “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth<\/em>” (Matthew 28:18), then we are always men under authority and the only time we can express our opinion or preference is when God grants us leeway.<\/p>\nThus, when a person claims that an issue is just a personal opinion, this doesn’t settle the matter; it is a claim that requires proof. It needs to be shown that the options under consideration are ones that God has left it up to man to select which option suits him best. What we find instead, are people trying to find ways not to think about the Lord’s authority over them.<\/p>\n
Understanding authority is particularly critical for a preacher. He is the Lord’s messenger, a town-crier giving the laws of the king to the people and explaining them so the people know how to follow them. What saddens me is how many I find in what are called the mainstream churches who can’t reason from God’s word, even while they chant “We speak where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is silent.”<\/p>\n
At the other extreme are those who use their own thoughts as the measure by which they determine right or wrong. Rules are made by what they accept without going back to see what God allows. The result again is a system where people don’t do a lot of thinking about God’s laws.<\/p>\n
What every preacher ought to strive for is to be able to explain what commands allow or disallow and how a particular idea falls within or without of the boundaries God has set. It requires more effort, more study, and more thought, but it is what it required to stay true to our Lord.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Hello sir. I was born and raised in the church. Just read your article on the silence of the Scriptures and really enjoyed it. I have been faced with some of the “dogmatic” congregations for the first time in my life, and it really raised some questions in my mind as to if I was attending…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[127,78,1508,192,536,912],"class_list":["post-27445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-about-this-site","tag-authority","tag-institutionalism","tag-liberalism","tag-preaching","tag-silence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31245,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-silence-of-the-scriptures-and-why-we-sing\/","url_meta":{"origin":27445,"position":0},"title":"The Silence of the Scriptures and Why We Sing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward Pratte In the New Testament, some things are required and some things are prohibited. Everything else falls into the realm of the things which are permitted. As one focuses more closely on the things that are permitted, the silence of the Scriptures soon becomes a major concern. What\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8894,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/silence-of-the-scriptures\/","url_meta":{"origin":27445,"position":1},"title":"Silence of the Scriptures","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Darrell Hamilton I was asked recently to put together a short document detailing the authority of the silence of the scriptures. I don't mind saying that this has been much harder to do than I thought it would be. It is also a LOT longer. Part of me sees\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4185,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/finding-liberty-in-silence\/","url_meta":{"origin":27445,"position":2},"title":"Finding Liberty in Silence (Article)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton It was one of those interesting coincidences. In the same week I received two correspondences dealing with separate issues, but both seeking to justify their beliefs in the same manner. The first was in an article. It contained a quote from Gary Mattingly, a preacher for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62453,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/finding-liberty-in-silence-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":27445,"position":3},"title":"Finding Liberty in Silence (Sermon)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It was one of those interesting coincidences. I received two correspondences dealing with separate issues, but both seeking justification in the same manner. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In attempting to justify the use of instrumental music, Gary Mattingly, a preacher for the Christian Church wrote: \u201cFirst and foremost, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58211,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-silence-of-the-scriptures\/","url_meta":{"origin":27445,"position":4},"title":"The Silence of the Scriptures (Rogers)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Heath Rogers Bible authority is established through direct statements, commands, approved examples, and necessary inferences. We understand what to do with the stated commands and prohibitions of Scripture, but what are we to do with the things God does not say? We know what to do with God's\u00a0voice, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5727,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/scriptural-silence-and-the-burden-of-proof\/","url_meta":{"origin":27445,"position":5},"title":"Scriptural Silence and the Burden of Proof","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford In my life, I\u2019ve had training in logic from two main sources: the church and my secular education. The further I progressed, the more I realized that the same principles were taught in both settings. 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