Deleted Scenes: What Kind of Silence? Romans 3:9-20

As I’ve thought about the passage we delved into last Sunday (Romans 3:9-20), the line that keeps standing out to me is this: “so that every mouth may be silenced”. The end result of the sinfulness that pervades the human race (a sin that is not just actions we do but also a power we are in bondage to) is that we will stand before the throne of God without any grounds for self-defence. As I said on Sunday, whatever rationalizations, justifications, and excuses we have will all be moot. 

This strikes me because I know that people are wired differently when it comes to debate and conflict. As I’ve mentioned before, I am someone who generally freezes up when facing confrontation. That might come as a surprise to you because week after week I speak to hundreds of people and seem to know what needs to be said. However, in conflict situations where I feel under attack, my mind turns to mush. I could give you many examples, but here’s one. A few years ago, when our church building was being constructed and COVID restrictions on churches were still in full force, Rodrigo and I were filming part of the sermon from the parking lot on our property. I was specifically talking about ways I thought that churches had been unfairly targeted in some instances through those pandemic restrictions. Suddenly, I heard someone yelling and shouting all kinds of profanities. Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of our neighbours standing on the nearby sidewalk shooting daggers at me with her eyes and words (no physical daggers, thankfully). She thought I was way too loud and that the words she had heard me speak to the camera were the height of stupidity. I was so taken by surprise that I had no idea what to say. I was silent for a bit before stammering an apology. Eventually she relented and returned to her home. When we resumed filming, I spoke in almost a whisper. You can hear the difference on the YouTube video. One minute I’m speaking boldly with confidence, the next there’s a cut and I’m speaking like a chastised child. 

Other people are wired very differently. They don’t shy from conflict. They are energized by it. They get amped up, their tongues set on fire with a rapid sequence of devastating arguments and counter-attacks. As I’ve confessed in a recent sermon, I find some cathartic enjoyment in watching videos of people who have convictions similar to mine “owning” some ideological opponent. They always have an answer. They’re always able to instantly point out the hypocrisy or inconsistencies in the other side. It’s like I’m watching them do what I wish I could do but seem to lack the ability. It just comes naturally to them.

But here’s the thing about both of those types of people (and everyone in between): whether you find yourself silent or vocal in the face of conflict, you probably think you’re in the right. I might be silent when confronted initially, but I promise you that my mind will be working overtime in the coming hours to come up with all kinds of clever arguments. I’ll play the conversation back in my imagination and suddenly have every retort ready to go, leaving the other person dumbfounded and silent. Of course, this can become a nasty cycle. Let’s say I find myself in a situation like that again. I deliver my prepared, thought-through response. To my dismay, my opponent comes back with something I didn’t see coming, and now I’m paralyzed again!

So here’s my question: when Romans 3:19 says that in light of our sinfulness, every mouth will be silenced, is that because people will acknowledge that they’re actually in the wrong? Will their hearts be changed? Or will it be the kind of frozen, shocked-and-awed paralysis of speech that I sometimes experienced when overwhelmed by someone else? Will it be the kind of silence that hasn’t actually acknowledged wrongdoing and is determined to maintain self-righteousness? I wonder if the determination of the human heart to exert its own justification will keep many from truly admitting their wrongdoing, even when they are before the throne of God with their sins laid bare. Could it be that the silence for some will be the kind of silence I experience in conflict situations, where my mouth is frozen but so is my heart?

I don’t know for sure. What I do know is that this is yet another reminder that what counts is the heart. Whether we speak proud words of justification and excuse for our actions, or speak words of fake humility that mask our inner self-righteousness, we’re guilty of the same thing. What we need to do, right now, is to ask the Spirit to convict our hearts so that we genuinely, truly recognize that God is in the right and that we have been in the wrong. True, honest, heart-felt confession is what matters. Do it now while you can.