Is God obliged to speak?

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to make a decision about something that you knew the Bible calls sin but because of the situation it seemed like the right thing to do, or at least permissible?

"I know the Bible says this is wrong, but God knows my circumstance. So if I pray about it and He  says 'No', then I won't. But if He doesn't say anything, then it must be OK this time."

Or what about after you've done something?

"If that had been a real sin, God would have punished me. But He didn't, so it must have been OK."

These are both lines of reasoning we often use to rationalize our sinful behavior.

But here's the question... 

Is God obliged to say anything?

As a parent, when I tell my children something is forbidden they understand that to be a standing principle. If there is a general exception to that rule, then I will qualify my statement when I give the principle. Otherwise, the rule stands as is. 

Now while my children are young they might ask about it again because they are learning where these kinds of boundaries are. But if one of my older children asks about something I have already made clear is forbidden, I may not give him an answer since he already knows what it is. My silence is not to be interpreted as permission, but as me saying "You already know." 

Or what if they choose to do what I have forbidden. There have been times when my children have disobeyed me and I chose not to say anything about it.

What?!? What kind of parent are you? That's the same as approving of it!

Is it?

Allowing my children to experience the natural consequences of disobedience instead of imposing corrective action is not approval of the disobedience.

Or if I choose to show mercy to them at times, neither is that equal to approval. In fact, mercy requires the acknowledgement that something wrong has been done, something of which I do not approve.

When God is silent in the face of our upcoming disobedience, we should never assume this to be permission. Nor should we assume His approval when He is silent following our disobedience.

God is sovereign, having made His precepts clear in His Word. These have not changed since the beginning. What He said was sin, He says is sin. 

God is patient, wanting all to come to repentance.

God is merciful, offering a full pardon to anyone willing to put their trust in His Son as having paid the price of their disobedience.

And God is just, having set a day when those who refused His offer of a pardon will be called to pay the full price for their disobedience.

God is not obliged to speak up at the time of our sin. He has already made His will known.

He is sovereign, patient, merciful, and just.

He is, in a word... God.