"The Bible Does Not Forbid It"
Most people professing to be Christians would agree that we should do what the Bible says. When a religious discussion takes place at work among those who declare they are Christians, inevitably, the Bible is mentioned. The fact that the Bible is mentioned in the context of such conversations indicates that most people who affirm they are Christians understand that the Bible is the religious standard to be followed in all our beliefs and practices. In fact, every person I know who says, “I am a Christian,” would agree that we should do what the Bible says.
However, not all agree that we should refrain from doing what the Bible does “not” say. To the contrary, those who insist they are Christians often allege that if the Bible does not specifically condemn a belief or practice then that belief or practice is acceptable to God. In other words, if “the Bible does not forbid it,” then we can engage in that practice with assurance that God is pleased.
But is this doctrine true? All evidence from Scripture indicates that this doctrine is false. Do you remember the account of Nadab and Abihu, recorded in Leviticus 10:1-2? “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” Please observe from this passage that Nabad and Abihu offered a type of fire that God had “not” commanded. They could have argued, “God’s law does not forbid it,” but that reasoning would not have been acceptable to God. The Lord expected these men to offer the type of fire that “was” commanded.
When God commands us to do something, He does not have to rule out all the things we are not to do. This is a common-sense principle we live by every day. If a teacher says, “Do the homework assignment on page 34,” does she then have to say, “Not the assignment on page 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, etc.? Would it be necessary for the teacher to rule out all other possible homework assignments? No, of course not. By this same logic, when God commands us to do something, He means what He says and does not have to specifically exclude all things we are not to do. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). Let us respect what God says and does “not” say.
