Hand Clapping

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Hand Clapping

• Trending Today
• Hand Clapping in Worship
• What does the Bible teach?

2
Trending Today

• With each decade there are things that lose
  popularity / others that become popular
• More and more congregations are including
  applause into the worship
• After a baptism
• After a sermon
• When a guest speaker is introduced
• During a song with the tempo of the music
• Does the Bible approve?

3
Psalm 471

• Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to
  God with the voice of triumph!
• Clap 6 times in the Old Testament
• None in the New Testament
• 3 times in bad sense clap and hiss at evil
• 2 times figurative water and trees clap

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Psalm 471

• Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to
  God with the voice of triumph!
• Notice that this verse also says Shout
• And vs. 5 - God has gone up with a shout, The
  Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
• Vs. 5 includes a shout and the sound of a
  trumpet.
• Adam Clarke suggests that this psalm says all
  (Jew and Gentile) should magnify God.

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Terms

• Applause, Clap hands
• Approval
• Accompaniment with music
• Worship
• To show reverence, deep respect, attribute worth
  to God
• Worship must always be toward God

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Terms

• God Prescribed Worship
• What sing, pray, communion, study, give
• When Sunday, Lord's day, 1st day of week
• Why God is worthy of our praise
• How As commanded in the New Testament
• John 423-24 23 But the hour is coming, and now
  is, when the true worshipers will worship the
  Father in spirit and truth for the Father is
  seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit,
  and those who worship Him must worship in spirit
  and truth."

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Arguments for Hand Clapping

• It is a matter of culture

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Arguments for Hand Clapping

• It is a matter of culture
• What would it hurt?

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Arguments for Hand Clapping

• It is a matter of culture
• What would it hurt?
• Unavoidable celebration

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Arguments for Hand Clapping

• It is a matter of culture
• What would it hurt?
• Unavoidable celebration
• It is not instrumental music

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Arguments for Hand Clapping

• It is a matter of culture
• What would it hurt?
• Unavoidable celebration
• It is not instrumental music

• It is OK in the OT

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Arguments for Hand Clapping

• It is a matter of culture
• What would it hurt?
• Unavoidable celebration
• It is not instrumental music

• It is OK in the OT
• The same as saying, Amen

13
Arguments for Hand Clapping

• It is a matter of culture
• What would it hurt?
• Unavoidable celebration
• It is not instrumental music

• It is OK in the OT
• The same as saying, Amen
• It is not forbidden

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Arguments for Hand Clapping

• It is a matter of culture
• What would it hurt?
• Unavoidable celebration
• It is not instrumental music

• It is OK in the OT
• The same as saying, Amen
• It is not forbidden
• It is appropriate at a baptism

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Conclusions

• Hand clapping is not Biblical for New Testament
  Christians
• Worship must be directed toward God
• Worship is not about men,
• Worship should not honor men
• Most of the arguments for hand clapping are the
  same arguments made to add instrumental music to
  the worship