September 8 - LD 36, Day 6: Sinful Silence

Leviticus 5:1 - “And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.”

Scripture reminds us that even our silence can involve us in profaning God's name. By silence or connivance we become partakers of this horrible sin in others. Connivance is faking ignorance of a sin, acting as if nothing is wrong when God's name is under attack.

The issue in sinful silence is the question of neutrality. Can we be neutral toward God? The Bible says, “Impossible!” The words of our Lord are unmistakably clear (Matt 10:32,33): "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." We are called to confess the holy name of God with fear and reverence.

Obedience to the third commandment is not merely a matter of obligation to say something to the one who openly abuses God's name in our hearing. Yes, we must tell such a person that we are offended because of our love for God Whose name he profanes. But we must also understand that the third commandment requires that we glorify God in all that we do and say! To ignore God and His Word is simply intolerable wickedness. If we have any spiritual life within us, how can we possibly ignore the God of our salvation or pay Him less attention than a common pet? How can we possibly say, "Let us declare His name in the Church;" but ignore Him when it comes to school or job or home or life in general?

To walk in such neutrality toward the great name of God is sin which proves that love is lacking. And, don't forget, love is the fulfillment of the law! To the Church, to us, comes the call of Isaiah 40:9: "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!" We shall not be silent.