Defending Our Faith - When to Keep Quiet, When to Speak

 There is "a time to keep quiet and a time to speak," says Ecclesiastes 3:7. Here, then, is the challenge: deciding when to ignore opposers and when to speak up to defend our faith. We can learn much from the example of one who was always perfect in discretion-Jesus. (1 Peter 2:21) He knew when it was "a time to keep quiet." For instance, when the chief priests and the older men falsely accused him before Pilate, Jesus "made no answer." (Matthew 27:11-14) He did not want to say anything that might interfere with the carrying out of God's will for him. He chose, instead, to let his public record speak for itself. He knew that not even the truth would change their proud minds and hearts. So he ignored their charge, refusing to break his his purposeful silence. - ISAIAH 53:7.

However, Jesus also knew when it was "a time to speak."  On occasion, he contended outspokenly and openly with his critics, refuting their false accusations. For example, when the scribes and Pharisees tried to discredit hm in front of a crowd by accusing him of expelling demons by means of Beelzebub, Jesus chose not to let the false charges stand. With devastating logic and a powerful illustration, he overturned the lie. (Mark3:20-30; see also Matthew 15:1-11; 22:17-21; John 18:37) Similarly, when Jesus, after his betrayal and arrest, was dragged before the Sanhedrin, High Priest Caiaphas craftily demanded: "By the living God I put you under oath to tell us whether you are the Christ the Son of God!" This too was "a time to speak," for to remain silent could have been interpreted as a denial of his being Christ. So Jesus answered: "I am." - MATTHEW 26:63; MARK 14:61, 62. 

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