APPLYING FIRST CENTURY PRINICPLES TO TODAY

First century Christians lived in a culture far different from ours. So, many of the problems they faced won’t be the same. Yet, the principles outlined in the New Testament about how to deal with them can easily be applied to 21st century circumstances. For example, Biblical instructions about a problem that arose in the church regarding
eating meats are valuable to us today concerning the issue of clapping in worship (in accompaniment to some songs).

How is that possible? Let’s take a look. Incidentally, it would be very helpful to read the passages connected to the meat eating problem in Romans 14 and 1st Cor. 8 before reaching a conclusion about the thoughts in this article.

As you read, a couple of things quickly become obvious. First of all, some brethren thought eating certain meat was sinful (probably meat that had originally been offered to an idol—see especially 1 st Cor. 8). Other brethren considered it ok to eat this meat. Similarly, today, some brethren regard clapping as sinful while others obviously
think it is alright.

Secondly, the passages in Romans and 1st Corinthians clearly urged brethren to stop judging and condemning each other. Instead they must realize that those who refused to eat meat did so for the Lord and gave thanks to Him. On the other hand, those who ate the meat also did so for the Lord and gave thanks to Him. Both groups acted from a motive of pleasing the Lord. Brothers and sisters, we need to understand that this exactly parallels the clapping issue. Both groups (those who clap and those who don’t) are motivated by a desire to please the Lord.

No doubt several first century Christians created sophisticated arguments about why eating market-purchased meat was wrong and attempted to press their conclusions on others. Some 21 st century Christians do the same with regard to clapping during a song. Both have overstepped their bounds. Instead, judgment and condemnation are to be replaced with love and mutual encouragement. Only in that kind of atmosphere can church problems be resolved in a way that honors God, even if it takes weeks, months, or years. Let’s do it.

—In Christian love, Lloyd