First of all--God wants there to be a distinction between
men and women, and this distinction extends to our clothing. In Genesis 1:27, the Bible says, ‘Male and female created He
them"--physically, God made men and women distinct from each other. And
then, in Gen 3:16-19, we read that man was given the role of
breadwinner and woman the role of child rearing--not only were men and
women to be physically different, but God gave them distinct social
roles. From creation, God wanted men to be men and women to be women.
And then, in the Mosaic era, we find passages under the Old Covenant
such as Deuteronomy 22:5: "The woman shall not wear that which
pertaineth unto
a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do
so are abomination unto the Lord thy God." Clearly, God saw that
clothing distinguished a man from a woman, and vice-versa: He did not
want a mixing of roles, even in the area of clothing.
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| Biblical Principles Governing Way of Dressing. |
The second Bible principle of dress is the effect our clothing
has on our influence.
In Matthew 5:13, Jesus Christ taught that if we lose our
"savour," our saving influence, we are good for nothing--and
our clothing can kill our influence. If my uncle works for Jack
Daniels distillery and gives me one of those black T-shirts you've seen
around, why don't I wear it? I don't drink alcohol, so why not?
Because I'd kill my influence--by my clothing. On the other hand, Jesus
taught in Matthew 5:14-16 that your good influence shining like
a light
before men, will glorify God. How many of our ladies have been
approached in public and asked what church they were a member of
because of their dresses and long hair? "Test what is best." And
remember, you have no greater influence anywhere than in the home,
before your children and husband. Why wear things in their presence
that you would not wear in public? There is no one you have a greater
influence upon than your own children--dress appropriately!
The third Bible principle of dress is whether or not your
clothing is "offensive."
The word "offend" in verses such as Romans 14:21 (KJV) means,
"To cause or
make to stumble... cause to fall away" (Thayer). There are two ways
our clothing can cause someone to sin. First of all, Jesus said in Matthew
5:28 that to look with lust upon a women is to commit adultery
with
her in your heart; if a women dresses provocatively, she can cause a
man to sin, and the same with the man toward the woman. Secondly, Romans
14 teaches that if someone has doubts about something, even if it
is
lawful they sin if they do it because they go against their
conscience--Romans 14:23 says, "He that doubteth is damned if he
eat...
whatsoever is not of faith is sin.;" If you as a woman wear pants in
front of a woman who believes that is wrong and in so doing embolden
her through your example to go against her conscience and wear pant,
you cause her to sin. Jesus taught in Matt 16:18 that
if you offend a little one, you'd do well to find yourself a millstone
to hang about your neck and then to go cast yourself into the sea. Think
about it.
The fourth Bible principle of dress is that clothing must be modest.
I Timothy 2:9 says that women should adorn themselves in
"modest" apparel.
The word "modest" means "orderly, well arranged, decent, modest"
(Vine's). Now, we're not talking about modest in your neighbor's eyes,
or friend's, or even family's--but modest in God's eyes.
You are not trying to please men, but God (Galatians 1:10)--you
will not be
judged by men, but God (2 Corinthians 5:10). We know that God
sees nakedness
as immodest--when Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, God clothed
them with
animal skins because He was not satisfied with the clothing they had
made to cover their nakedness. And here it's important to remind
ourselves of this principle: the purpose of clothing is to conceal,
not reveal--conceal nakedness.
And I want to quote Isaiah 47:1-3 in order to further understand what
God sees as nakedness and immodesty. "Come down, and sit in the dust, O
virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O
daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and
delicate. Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make
bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness
shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen." This God describing
the downfall of Babylon with the figure of a woman. Notice that at the
point God describes her as having the leg bare and the thigh uncovered
God says she is "naked" and her "shame" shall be seen. This is why
short dresses, shorts, "peek-a-boo" slits in skirts, etc., are
sinful--and this is why I as a man do not wear shorts, skimpy tops,
unbutton the top buttons of my shirt or go bare-chested in public as
some of our people do--this is nakedness and it is shameful. I hope
that in this immoral age we live in our people do not become so
accustomed to the nakedness around them that they lose their own
sense of modesty.
In conclusion, we serve God in body as well as in spirit (I
Corithians 6:20); this would include our dress. The Bible does not
contain a formal dress code, but gives principles of
dress that let us make judgments and "test what is best" (Philippians
1:9-10).
We want to please God, not ourselves (2 Corinthians 5:15), so we
want to
clothe our bodies in a way that pleases God.
Hence, The four principles of dress are:
(1) maintain the male-female distinction;
(2) consider the effect our clothing has on our influence;
(3) make sure our clothing does not "offend" anyone, and;
(4) be sure our clothing is modest in God's sight.
I believe these principles can be used for any article of clothing
whether you are a man or woman or whether you are young or old.
Nakedness
has always been a symbol of shame, beginning with Adam and Eve in
Gen. 3:7. The aprons they made for themselves might well have covered
about as much as a modern swim-suit, but God was not satisfied with
this, as he made for them "coats of skins" (Gen. 3:21) to clothe them.
Nakedness was also used as a symbol of spiritual shame (Isa. 47:3,
Rev. 3:18). Note that you can have clothing on, and still be naked in
the Biblical sense. The word is used in the sense of "thinly-clad" in
such passages as Job 22:6 and James 2:15-16. According to this, you are
"naked" in many of the modern costumes that are accepted as normal
attire.
God has said, "In like manner, that women
adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shame-fastness and sobriety;
not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment; but
(which becometh women professing godliness) through good works" (1
Timothy 2:9-10).
"Modest" from the Greek means
"well-arranged, seemly . . . ." Thus dress is to be orderly, in good
taste, and in such fashion as to cause a women to be respected, to be
thought highly of. Some argue that "good taste" is reflected in
whatever the current fashions are. That may be true to a certain
extent, but custom can go beyond the principles of godliness, and the
Christian is told to "be not fashioned according to this world: but be
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what
is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans12:2).
With
this attitude, we are not so eager to ape the fashions of this world
and justify ungodliness just because "everyone else is doing it."
"Shame-fastness"
is "a sense of shame, modesty, reverence, the ability to blush." This
is more akin to our modern use of "modesty" which is defined as ". . .
not forward; shy or reserved. Behaving according to a standard of
what is proper or decorous; decent; pure; now especially, not
displaying one's body." In keeping with this definition, can one
honestly defend many modern styles? To put it plainly: Girls (young or
not so young), would you be embarrassed for a man to walk into your
room and see you in your underwear? If you have any shame-fastness at
all, your answer is "Yes." Then why not show the same attribute in
public and refuse to wear the shorts and halter and otherwise
revealing costumes that so many try to defend? Does the fact that the
name of one is shorts and the other is underwear make the difference
between modesty and immodesty? Honest, now.
Clothing
indicative of shame-fastness is opposite that type which is a bold
display or which is forward in nature. This rules our clothing which
exposes and emphasizes the private parts of the body and which
therefore tends to produce unwholesome thoughts. If you could hear some
of the comments the men and boys make concerning the girls who pass
by in tight outfits, shorts, low-cut blouses and the like, surely it
would bring a blush. Such clothing may be considered lascivious
(encouraging lewd or lustful thoughts or emotions), and is condemned as
a work of the flesh in Galatians 6:19-21.
Our text in
1 Timothy also uses "sobriety," which indicates "soundness of mind,
self-control . . ." and "good judgment, moderation . . . especially as a
feminine virtue, decency" (Arndt and Gingrich). Here is clothing that
is moderate, kept within bounds, restrained, in keeping with good
judgment.
When these unchanging principles are
destroyed, immodesty results, and sin comes. But when one seeks to
conform to God's standards rather than those of the world, modesty will
be sought, rather than shunned, and godliness will be practiced
rather than worldliness defended.
May God bless you in your desire to better serve Him in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
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