Sermon details
- Scripture
- Isaiah 56:10
- Series
- Sins of the Tongue
- Speaker
- Joshua Gong
- Date
- 25 October 2023
- Length
- 16 minutes
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We cannot be silent about sin
Good evening. So far in this Wednesday night series, we've considered various sins of the tongue. We've looked at lying, gossip, flattery, other ways we sin and what we say. But tonight, we'll consider silence, how we can even sin and what we don't say, how we can sin when we fail to speak. Let me invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 56 verse 10. Please follow along as I read.
His watchmen are blind. They are all without knowledge. They are all silent dogs. They cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
Before we dive into this text, I think it'll be helpful to sketch some context to help us get our bearings a little bit. The prophet Isaiah ministered to the kingdom of Judah, which at this time had turned away from God to live in open wickedness. They're described as a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, who have forsaken the Lord. They were people who called good evil and evil good. They rejected God's law and despised his word. There was widespread drunkenness, oppression, and injustice. For all these things, God's anger was kindled against them. And so in the midst of all this wickedness, Isaiah prophesied of God's coming judgment. If they continued to disobey, then he urgently warned them to repent and return to God. But as we look at this verse in particular tonight, we see a harsh rebuke of the watchmen, the leaders, for their silence. See, these leaders, prophets, judges, kings, had misled the people and turned them away from God. They were corrupt and immoral. They did not teach what was good and righteous from God's word. They were silent when it came to correcting the rampant immorality and open sin amongst the people. And even when Isaiah warned them of their sin and God's impending judgment, they ignored him. So even though this verse is addressed specifically to leaders, it's still very much applicable to all of us. Certainly the leaders held a greater degree of responsibility and authority, but the sin of silence is not one that only affects leaders in the church today. Every one of us has a duty to speak out against sin, to share the good news of the gospel, and to contend for the faith. The Christian life cannot be faithfully lived out in silence. And so our main idea tonight is that we cannot be silent about sin and its judgment. We cannot be silent about sin and its judgment. So we'll look at three things the text teaches us about silence, and then we'll consider application at the end. Our first point, silence is unfaithful. It's a failure to be obedient to what God has commanded. The first metaphor we're introduced to in this verse is that of a blind watchman. In those days, watchmen were posted on the city walls to watch for enemies or any kind of danger that might come and threaten the people of the city. They had been entrusted with a hugely important task. They had to be vigilant and watchful, ready to blow the trumpet and sound the alarm at a moment's notice. Yet Isaiah describes them in one word as blind. Can you imagine that? A watchman that's blind? It's absurd. I mean, if there's one thing a watchman can't be, it's that he can't be blind. But beyond blind watchmen, these leaders are also described as silent dogs. Similar to the watchmen, these dogs had a specific responsibility to fulfill. They weren't there just to be cute pets. These dogs had an important purpose, a job to do, and that was to keep watch over a flock of sheep and bark loudly when predators or danger approached. But the verse describes them as silent dogs that cannot bark. Silence here is entirely contrary and backwards to what they had been called to do, what they had been tasked with. Again, like the blind watchman, It's a picture of total uselessness and complete unfaithfulness. These leaders had been entrusted by God with the precious responsibility to spiritually guide and care for his people. They were supposed to be faithful shepherds who would lead the people into righteousness and not sin, but they failed utterly. They were blind and the next sentence tells us they were without knowledge. They taught false doctrine and led the people astray into all kinds of immorality and sin. They were unaware and ignorant of coming judgment, and therefore they were silent when it came to warning the people. In their silence, they were unfaithful to their duty and obligation to God. But in contrast, consider the faithful example of Isaiah. In chapter 58, verse 1, God calls him to
cry aloud, do not hold back, lift up your voice like a trumpet, declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.
Surely this was an unpopular task and a difficult one, but it was what God had commanded of Isaiah, and so he faithfully obeyed. And while silence is unfaithful, this text also teaches us that it's selfish. And that's our second point, silence is selfish. We see at the end of the verse, these leaders are described as dreaming, lying down and loving to slumber. And not only are they blind and silent, they're also fast asleep. Watchmen were supposed to stay up during the night. as they watch over the city so that they would be ready to warn the people in case an enemy attacked at night. But here we see they couldn't even be bothered to do this. It wasn't that they were tired and just happened to drift off into sleep. No, they love to slumber, and they dreamt as they slept. It reveals their selfishness in putting their own comforts and pleasures first. It showed they cared more about themselves than the good of their people. The verses that follow emphasize this theme of selfishness even more. Verse 11 tells us that
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they have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all.
Instead of warning the people of their sin and God's impending judgment, verse 12 tells us they filled themselves with wine and strong drink. It's a picture of selfish indulgence. In their silence, they put themselves first, They prioritize their own comfort above the good and safety of others. I think we can all agree oftentimes being silent is more comfortable. It doesn't rock the boat. Maybe you've shared the gospel or confronted someone's sin before and you've gotten that awkward look in response because telling others about sin and judgment can feel offensive. But I hope you'll realize that it's actually the kind and loving thing to do. After all,
better is open rebuke than hidden love.
We must not be selfish by being silent about sin and its judgment. We must be willing to sacrifice our comfort for the good of other souls. We've looked at how silence itself is sinful, But this text also shows us the effects of silence, how it endangers others. And that brings us to our third point, silence endangers others. Even if we just consider the metaphors of the watchman or the dog, we can imagine the devastating consequences of silence. The blind watchman who never sees the enemies coming, fails to warn the inhabitants of the city, and leaves them open to danger and destruction. The silent guard dog that fails to bark when it sees predators approaching, but likewise leaves the flock open to be devoured. In fact, this is exactly what verse nine describes. It says,
all you beasts of the field, come to devour all you beasts in the forest.
And we see here God summons the beasts of the field, the nations, to come devour his flock. But because of Israel's utter wickedness and idolatry, God leaves them. He gives them up to judgment at the hands of the nations. And while the sins of the people are certainly to blame, the silence of the leaders leaves them culpable too. The prophets had warned them time and time again that if they did not turn from their wicked ways, God would surely judge them for their disobedience. Yet the leaders ignore these warnings. It's as if wild beasts are circling the flock and closing in. and the dogs just sit by silently. They never called the people to repentance, and so they left them open to destruction. By their silence, they effectively invited God's judgment upon them. It's also helpful to remember that practicing sin itself is dangerous and harmful. It's self-destructive and damaging to yourself because it goes against God's good commands and purposes for his image bearers. If you saw your friend walking into danger, wouldn't you say something to warn them? Well, in the same way, to see someone caught in sin and speak out against it is actually a gracious thing to do. It's a way of saying, be careful. You're headed down a dangerous path. Turn around now. But instead of warning the people to repent of their sin, the leaders stood by silently. When God declared the prophet Ezekiel as a watchman, he made it clear that the watchman was responsible for the safety of the people, and that if they were silent, there would be devastating consequences. Ezekiel 33 says,
But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet so that the people are not warned and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.
It was the watchman's duty to warn of sin and judgment and failure to do so endangered the people and also left him at fault. So we've seen that silence is unfaithful, silence is selfish, and silence endangers others. But let's now consider what that means for us. How does all of this apply to us? Well, I think our first response should be to praise God because he is not silent. He's not like us. Even though we are often silent, he is not. We should never take for granted that God speaks, that he's given us his word through which we can know him. And praise be to God that in his word, he has spoken so clearly to tell us of our sin and his judgment, but also the way of salvation. In his love and mercy, God has told us how we can be forgiven by him, how we can be saved from his just judgment. And that is only by believing in Jesus Christ, the son of God, sent into this world to live a perfect, sinless life and die on the cross. so that all who would believe in him might be forgiven and receive eternal life. So if you're here this evening and you're not a believer, receive this forgiveness. Place your faith in Christ. This is the wonderful news of the gospel, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners like you and I. And so for those of us who are believers, for those of us who do know Christ, we have all the less reason to be silent. Brothers and sisters, if we have indeed beheld his glory, his beauty, his majesty, his excellencies, how could we remain silent? How could we keep these things to ourselves? So let us go then and share the gospel boldly. And not just that sinners may be saved, but because Christ deserves to be proclaimed. And one day he will return to judge the living and the dead. So let us be the faithful watchmen who would warn this world and make known to them the way of salvation. But even when it comes to matters within the church, there are also things we must not be silent about. We cannot be silent about things like false doctrine, serious sin, and significant deviations from biblical instruction. To speak out against these things is not merely the obligation of leaders in the church. but it's the responsibility of every single church member. We cannot be passively silent about these things. Paul writes in Ephesians, not only to
take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness
, but instead even to expose them. But we should always remember that we ought to do these things out of sincere love and care for one another. And we should keep in mind that
love covers a multitude of sins
, and we should pray for wisdom when we do find it necessary to confront sin. And even when we correct and warn others of sin, that we would do so gently, and not out of a desire to be right, but out of a loving desire to see others be sound in the faith and restored to God. If you're a member here, may I remind you that these applications we've just considered are a part of the very church covenant you have entered into. We've made a commitment to one another that we will humbly warn a brother who is in danger of falling into disobedience or error. We've made a commitment to one another that we will faithfully proclaim the gospel and evangelize the lost. Brothers and sisters, I hope we take these promises seriously. I hope you see that we cannot fulfill them by being silent. So may we be a people faithful to our church covenant and obedient to God's word. May we be a people who speak the truth in love and share the gospel eagerly. May we be a people who are not silent. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, how we praise you and thank you that you have not been silent. We pray that as your people, you would give us the grace to not be silent. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Transcript from SermonAudio. The recording is the authoritative version.
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