NO CAUSE FOR APPLAUSE

Handclapping has become a growing trend among some congregations of the Lord’s church, and it sometimes occurs after such events as preaching and baptisms. In our culture there is another word for “handclapping,” and that word is “applause.” It is a human device that has made its way from the entertainment industry into the worship of God Almighty. In his book Piloting the Strait, Dave Miller wrote, “Applause in our society is a response to an entertaining performance. Our applause is focused upon the performer. We are showing approval and recognition of the performer’s talent…” Even a United Methodist “bishop” named William Grove is recorded as saying that applause can give the assembly a type of “theater atmosphere” and it can confuse people about the focus of worship.

We should consider the full ramifications of bringing such things as applause into our assemblies. If a congregation deems applause as appropriate, what is to stop them from labeling cheering and whistling as appropriate also? What about standing up and giving people “high fives” or jumping up and down? Where will it end? It should never even begin because there is no authority for any of this in the Word of God.

Notice what Jesus said: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23, 24). We are to worship in spirit and in truth. If we are worshiping in spirit, we will have the proper attitude; and if we are worshiping in truth, we will be worshiping in accordance with the truth, which is the Word of God (John 17:17). Jesus never would have said that God seeks true worshipers without telling us the true way to worship! All of this indicates that God has set forth a pattern in His Word which we are to follow when we assemble to worship.

Paul wrote, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). If a police officer says, “Stop in the name of the law,” he is actually telling you that he is ordering you to stop by the authority of the law. We are to do everything in the name of (or by the authority of) the Lord Jesus; therefore we must be able to find Biblical authority for everything we do in the worship assembly. Nadab and Abihu did not respect the authority of God’s instructions for worship, and the account of their punishment is there for a reason! (Leviticus 10:1, 2).

One might ask, “Where is the authority for a song book, or a church building, or PowerPoint?; and how is that different from handclapping?” In order to answer these questions, one should notice how Biblical authority is set forth. God expresses His will in three ways:

1) Direct Statement

An example of a direct statement would be “Repent and be baptized…for the remission of sins…” (Acts 2:38).

2) Implication

The Bible implies that Lot went down into Egypt, even though it does not explicitly tell us that he did. Genesis 13:1 tells us that Lot came out of Egypt, so we infer that he must have gone down into Egypt. Hebrews 10:25 implies that we have a place to assemble, else we would not know where to gather.

3) Approved Example

An approved example must have an underlying command in order to make the example binding on us today. For instance, we have the command to partake of the Lord’s supper (Matthew 26:26-29), and we have the Apostles’ example of gathering on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7).

In the 2001 Seek the Old Paths Lectures, Garland M. Robinson wrote, “If God has not authorized an action by one or more of these three ways, then we have no authority to act.”

Christians also need to understand that in carrying out the commands of God, some matters are matters of expediency. The word “expedient” appears seven times in the New Testament, and Webster’s defines the word as “fit or suitable for the purpose; proper under the circumstances.” When God has told us exactly how to carry out a command, we must do it the way He said to do it. However, in many cases God did not specify exactly how certain commands are to be carried out. In such cases we are to carry out the command in accordance with our best judgment as long as our actions do not violate the general instructions of the Scripture. These are matters of expediency. For example, God did not tell Noah how many rooms to make in the ark. He merely told him to make rooms (Genesis 6:14). Therefore the number of rooms was left to Noah’s best judgment; the number of rooms was a matter of expediency.

In contrast, God specifically told Noah to build the ark out of gopher wood. To add another type of wood would have been a sin (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Proverbs 30:6). God specifically tells us to “sing” in New Testament worship (Ephesians 5:19; Hebrews 2:12; James 5:13, etc.). To add another type of music would be sin. Adding another type of music is an addition the command of God, not an aid in carrying out the command to sing.

In matters of expediency, tools may be chosen to carry out the command according to our best judgment, and these are called “aids” or “expedients.” For example, when God said to Noah, “make thee an ark,” Noah could use hammers, saws, etc. to carry out the command. God has told us to “Go ye into all the world…” (Mark 16:15). One might ask, “HOW do we go, Lord?” God has left that to our judgment. It is a matter of expediency, so we may choose a tool, such as an airplane. Just as Noah could use tools to carry out the command to make an ark of gopher wood, we can use tools to carry out the command to sing (such as song books). This is not an addition (like a guitar in worship would be, or using both cedar and gopher wood for the ark), but merely a tool. We have been commanded to assemble, but the question of “where to assemble” has been left to our judgment. The same is true for the question of “exactly how to teach.” We are to use tools that will be most effective in carrying out these commands, without contradicting the Word of God. The church building is an aid in carrying out the command to assemble; the song book is an aid in the command to sing; PowerPoint is an aid in the command to teach.

All of these aforementioned tools are authorized by God because they have underlying commands that they aid, but applause is not an aid for carrying out any command in worship, and thus it is not authorized by God! Applause is merely a man-made addition to worship, and it has no authority from God’s Word.

Please consider this – Will we clap for the man who leads the opening prayer? Will we clap for the men who serve the Lord’s Supper? Will we clap for those who take up the contribution? Let the glory be given to God (Matthew 6:13; Jude 25). These men are merely doing what God has instructed them to do, and so is the person who is being baptized. A baptism is a truly joyous event, but God wants all things to be done “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40), and in accordance with His Word (John 4:24; Colossians 3:17).

“…Is any merry? let him sing psalms” (James 5:13).

Jason Hilburn