Throughout history there are examples of oppression against mankind. In each of these situations there are those who didn't want to create waves. Yet others stood for their cause and impacted the lives of many for the better. One example would be the Revolutionary War and those who plead their lives, fortunes and sacred honor.
Today we see similar examples. There's Child Evangelism Fellowship who've been told they can't be given access to students and classrooms due to separation of church and state. In one such instance they stood up and it went all the way to the Supreme Court. The result is that it was found that CEF has a right to access public schools for their after school clubs.
Now imagine if CEF had consented to the cries of those who misrepresent the separation of church and state. In that case, the Gospel would have been silenced. However, as a result of their taking a stand for Christ, young people all across America are hearing the Gospel.
To highlight this issue, Crosstalk welcomed William Federer, a nationally known speaker, historian, author, and president of Amerisearch, Inc. He's the speaker on The American Minute daily broadcast. He's authored numerous books including, America’s God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations, Who is the King in America?, and Socialism: The Real History From Plato to the Present-How the Deep State Capitalizes on Crises to Consolidate Control. William is launching a nationwide tour speaking on the topic: Silence Equals Consent.
He began by defining the Rule of Tacit Admission. It's in Blacks Law Dictionary. It's an admission reasonably inferable from a party's failure to act or speak. In real estate it's called “squatter's rights.” So if someone moves onto your property/land and you remain silent and let them live there, it's known as “adverse possession.” In this case the “squatter” actually gains control of the property because of your silence.
This principle is also in our U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 7. Congress passes a bill. They send it to the president. He can veto the bill, sign it or he can simply let it sit on his desk for 10 days. However if the president is silent and doesn't do anything with it, it automatically becomes law as if he had signed it.
How does this affect the believer? After all, if the issue doesn't affect you, why should it matter? William communicated that it's because the Lord wants to see what's in your heart. True, God already knew what was in Abraham's heart, but he wanted to see Abraham take Isaac to the top of Mount Moriah and be willing to take his son's life.
Other biblical and historical examples point to those who took a stand for God or remained silent as well. But how does Romans 13 fit into all of this? Should believers remain silent? Is there a proper time to speak up? It's all about sins of commission and those of omission and William teaches about the ramifications of the latter on this edition of Crosstalk.