No examination of authority would be complete without giving some attention to what God didn't expressly address in the Bible. As stated earlier, there is much debate about what God has included in the scripture. Word studies, contextual, and cultural concerns are weighed as the written text is dissected. There are at least as many debates that center on issues that God did not directly address. We do know That "His divine power as has given us all that pertains to life and Godliness"(2 Pet 1:3). As we examine authority (the right or power to act) what God has written must be the standard. I believe that what God Has NOT said must also be given careful thought before acting/not acting in God's name.

      Even in after we can understand what the Bible teaches, we still fall short of agreement on certain Religious issues. The problem is how silence is weighed and interpreted. There are basically two attitudes about the silence of the scriptures. The first of these attitudes says that when the Bible is silent, then the reader is at liberty to act as he thinks best. If the Bible does not expressly prohibit something, then it is permissible. This attitude is reflected in the actions of many religious people. The second attitude says that when the Bible is silent, then the reader is not at liberty to act, but must be silent also. That line of thinking concludes that "inference authorizes, but silence forbids".

      God's Instruction To Noah-A Simple Example: In Genesis 6:14, God told Noah to con- struct an ark out of "gopher wood." In doing so, God did not have to say, "And thou shall not con- struct it from cypress, ebony, or any other kind of wood." All He had to do was tell Noah what kind of wood to use. The fact that He specified the type of wood eliminated every other type of wood. In Hebrews 11:7, the scriptures say: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." Here the Bible clearly tells us that Noah was saved by faith. Of course, Romans 10:17 tells us that Faith comes by hearing God's word. Noah, upon hearing God's word, moved by faith to prepare the ark as God had instructed him. In doing so, he saved himself and his family. Would God have been pleased with pine? Were there functional rea sons for His instructions that would have doomed the ark? We don't know. We do know God was very specific in His instruction.

      In I Peter 4:11, the Scriptures say, "If any man speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God." In Romans 10:17, the Scriptures say that faith comes by hearing God's word. And, again, in Romans 14:23, the Bible says that whatever is not of faith is sin. In I Corinthians 4:6, the apostle Paul teaches that one is not to think of men "above that which is written." Taken together, these scriptures mean that the word of God is the absolute standard of authority in all things religious. Where does that leave us on the issue of silence? I believe that we take a grave chance when we add to what God has said, written, or inferred. I try to err on the side of caution in matters like this whenever possible. We can see from Cain (Gen 4), Moses (Numbers 20), King Saul (I Sam 15), and others, that God means what He says and will reject things, that HE has not authorized, with severe results.

Bro Eli