Modest Attire

When someone preaches on modesty, it is usually an unpopular topic. People don't like to be told that the scriptures give us guidelines on our clothing and our attitudes for wearing what we wear. I would like to begin by looking at just some of the common objections to a lesson on modesty, AND THEN LOOK AT SOME VERSES THAT TELL US ABOUT WHAT KIND OF CLOTHING AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS OUR CLOTHING THAT WE SHOULD HAVE, AND THEN SOME PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS FROM THE SCRIPTURES ABOUT WHAT MAY BE OR MAY NOT BE ACCEPTABLE TO THE LORD.

Common opposition to a lesson on modesty?

· I can wear what I want. Who are you to tell me what to wear?

· Selfishness? This shows us an attitude of someone who does not understand what it means to call Jesus their Lord. If our God gives us guidelines on our clothing, we need to follow them if we want to be right with Him. The Lord has every right to tell us what kind of clothing we need to wear.

· What's wrong with it. It's in fashion!

· Is it ok to blend in with the world? We need to be different from the world. If we wear the clothing of the world to be accepted by the world, we will not be accepted by God! We need to ask ourselves, what does the Lord think about this fashion?

We should not look like the world. Aren't we to be strangers and pilgrims?

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

· Transformed by renewing of mind?

(NKJV)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

· If what I wear bothers you, that's your problem. If you have a problem with lust, that's your problem!

· Does this sound like a proper attitude for someone that is professing godliness? Does this show a self focus or a focus on the well-being of others?

· We need to remember that something that we do can cause a brother or sister to stumble. What if your dress causes someone to sin with their eyes? I will agree with anyone that says that men are commanded to be disciplined and to have self control when it comes to lust, but women need to remember that they have a part to play in making sure that godly men do not have a stumbling block put before them

HOW DOES THE DRESS OF A WOMEN APPEAL TO A MAN?

It may seem kind of strange that the verses that speak about modesty are talking to women. But God in His wisdom knows the differences between men and women, and how the dress of the opposite sex appeals to them.

Men are visually stimulated. When a guy sees a girl dressed in an immodest way, the eyes of the guy seem to draw towards those parts of the body that appeal to the guy. Guys of the world look at the ladies in a way that they would not appreciate.

· Men in the world look at the immodestly dressed woman as an object of his own selfish gratification and imagination. He thinks, “What do she look like w/o those clothes? That is not right, but that s what goes through the minds of the men in this world! Do you really want to be looked at as an object of lust and not respected as a woman created by God to be honored and respected? Now I will agree with anyone that says that the man has the command to have self control in the scriptures, but the simple fact is that men in the world don’t follow the scriptures and they will look at you in any way they want, and they will think things about you that you really don’t want them thinking!

I THINK I WOULD BE PRETTY ACCURATE IN MY THINKING TO THINK THAT JUST THE IDEA OF A MAN THE AGE OF YOUR FATHER OR EVEN OLDER LOOKING AT YOU IN A WAY YOU DON’T APPRECIATE SHOULD DISGUST YOU! ANY AGE REALLY!

I can speak from experience about these things! Before I became a Christian, I used to think about some of these very things about women.

This is something that I struggle with even now. I just don’t like this time of year just because of the way that women dress. I can’t wait some weeks to get away from the world and to assemble with the saints because I know that I will be around people that care about their brothers and sisters, and also be around godly women that dress in godly apparel! I so greatly appreciate godly women at this time of the year! But unfortunately there are godly women that also dress immodestly and throw a stumbling block before a brother. Jesus says in ,

(NASB95)

“but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

The world understands the power of sex appeal. That’s why you can’t turn on the tv without seeing anything from chewing gum , deodorant, and any product you can think of being sold using sex appeal. They know how to appeal to the consumer. Sex sells!

· Well you just want to bind old fashioned traditions!

· The goal is not to go back to the good old days, but to dress in a way that honors and glorifies God. We need to challenge the standards of this world! Our focus in all that we do must be to be pure, holy, and right with our God. We need to be before our God in proper clothing.

I'd like to take note of a few verses in this lesson and make some suggestions based on these verses on proper clothing and what kind of attitude to have towards others when it comes to our clothing.

(NKJV)

"I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; 9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. "

Adorn- to put in order, arrange, make ready, to prepare, to decorate.

Modest- (not what we normally think of as modest) this word means to be orderly, well-arranged, seemly, appropriate (Does the clothing fit the situation? Ex. Tuxedo to a ball game) Does what I wear bring attention to me? The words adorn and modest show us that prior thought should be put into what we wear.

Propriety- the Greek word used for ‘propriety’ can mean 2 things. It refers to an attitude toward men and also our attitude towards God. The word is defined as to look downcast before others, a sense of shame or bashfulness (shamefacedness (KJV), if something slips will it cause you to blush?). The second definition of the word is ‘awe or reverence,’ which shows us that when we are clothing ourselves we need to take what the Lord says into account. We need to honor Him with what we wear. Does my clothing show reverence to God?

Moderation- sobriety, a soberness of mind resulting in self restraint. Does what we wear make others think that we have set boundaries that control the way we dress, or do others think that we just don’t care. The Greek word can also mean ‘sanity.’ I like that definition because when I see what some women wear, I think they are crazy!

I believe that the emphasis in this text is on the character of the Godly women. When you are clothing yourself, do you think about whether or not what you wear makes you stand out? Do you take into account what the Lord thinks, and how what you wear will affect others?

Does your beauty make you stand out? Or is it your character? Let’s turn next over to believe that Peter in this text is saying to the women pretty much the exact same thing that Paul is.

(NKJV)

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel-- 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God."

The woman should not focus on her outward appearance to make herself look attractive, but the inward appearance. We tend to look at beauty as purely an outward thing. But that is not how God views beauty. Are you beautiful to the Lord is the question that you need to ask!!! We do not want to be men-pleasers. We want to please God! The scriptures say that if our desire is to please other people, we are not pleasing God!

Do we put more thought on what we are going to wear, or how we can serve God, or preparing our hearts for worship? I think this is an important question to ask ourselves. Which is more important to us, looking good for other people, or looking good for God?

Immodesty-

She entices with her dress! Her dress was focused on seduction. The way she dressed showed her character! The complete opposite of the gentle and quiet spirit of one professing godliness!

We see that this women's clothing reflected her heart. What does your clothing say about your heart? We need to remember that our clothing sends a message to others.

With the harlot in , her desire when she picked out what to wear was to appeal to men. The scriptures would refer to this kind of attitude as lasciviousness.

TURN TO (ASV) But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Lasciviousness (ASV, KJV), sensuality (NASB, ESV), lewdness (NKJV). Lasciviousness is a big word. It is defined as the arousing of sexual desire or lust, or acting in a way to appeal to the senses that can lead to lust and uncleanness.

Many things that are worn today by women in the world would be lascivious clothing, and shows that a woman has an attitude of lasciviousness, trying to appeal to men. We need to be careful of what kind of message our clothing sends to others. Does your clothing say, “Look at me!” or does it say “I’m godly, and, I’m right with God.” I’ve seen women that claim to be Christians wearing clothing that made me think that they didn’t respect themselves or others. If we commit lasciviousness, our text in says that we will not inherit the kingdom of God. We need to take our attitude towards why we are wearing what we wear seriously!

(NKJV)

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

It is a shame to expose one’s nakedness, and it is sin to expose what God views as nakedness?

WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE?

I believe that there are principles in the scriptures that show us what we should and shouldn't wear, some principles that we have already looked at, and some that we will look at shortly. If the Lord refers to the uncovering of certain body parts as nakedness, or if He reveals to us that certain types of clothing are insufficient, we need to make sure we conform our clothing to His will. If He tells us what kind of attitude to have when it comes to our clothing, we need to have the proper attitudes. When we follow the principles set forth in the scriptures, we are honoring our God!

I have just a few suggestions for us to think about…

I give these suggestions from what I believe to be God’s will, and from my own personal experience, knowing what kind of clothing appeals to men.

· Clothes should cover the body and not cling to it. This would exclude miniskirts, short shorts, sundresses. If your clothing doesn't leave much to the imagination, it is not modest. Our clothes should not look like they were painted on! They should be loose and hanging. Clothes should provide no restriction of movement. You should not have to worry about what will show if you bend over or cross your legs, or sit down.

If we are in certain positions, is what God refers to nakedness showing? There are 2 texts I would like to take note of at this point to show us what God refers to as nakedness.

In the book of Genesis, we see the first sin committed by Adam and Eve. Their sin led to the creation of clothing. They sewed fig leaves together to make coverings, or loin-cloths for themselves. The Hebrew word for ‘coverings’ can be defined as clothing that covers the private parts of the mid-section, something like most of the bathing suits we see today. But we see that God was not pleased with their choice of clothing. He still considered them naked. The Lord covered their nakedness by giving them garments to wear. Different translations refer to them as garments, tunics, or coats. But we are given the best description of what they were when we look at the definition of the Hebrew word used in the text. I can’t pronounce the Hebrew word, so I will not try. Thayer’s defines the word as “a garment... generally with sleeves, coming down to the knees, but rarely to the ankles.”

God was pleased with Adam and Eves clothing when they were covered from shoulders to knees. I believe that the Lord set the standard of proper clothing in this situation. In this text God covered what He considered as nakedness.

A second text I would like to look at is (NKJV), which speaks of the clothing that was expected on priests to cover their nakedness.

“And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs.”

The Lord says that if the waist and thighs are covered, nakedness is covered. So what does that mean if the thigh is uncovered? Our nakedness is showing and God views us as not being properly covered!

Even in the clothing of men, whom this text in Exodus is speaking of, the uncovering of the thighs is considered as revealing nakedness. If we sit down, does what we wear come a few inches above our knees, allowing our thighs to show? This is why I would recommend that if we wear shorts they should go a couple of inches below the knees, because when we sit down, more of our legs are shown.

I would also seriously question tank tops. You may ask why? Because if you bend over when you are wearing one, it may be possible that body parts may be seen that you do not want to be seen by others!

· Clothes should be able to pass the inspection of a godly man. Does it pass your father's inspection? Your father knows what kind of dress can appeal to a man. A woman cannot fully understand how her dress affects a man.

Is the father willing to examine and hold children accountable?

· What do women professing godliness wear?

· If there is any doubt about if something is modest, leave it at the store!

God wants the women to dress in such a way that her true beauty shows. The clothing that we see most women wear today does nothing more than make them objects of lust. The woman is to be esteemed and honored by the man.

Modesty allows the beauty of God's creation to be seen. shows us the respectable view that God has for the woman. This text praises the virtuous women. This text also speaks of the way that she dresses. Strength and honor are her clothing. Her inner beauty is seen.

We must allow our dress to show our attitude and our character. Who inspires our dress, the world or God? Is my dress focused on myself or on how it will affect others?

But unfortunately, with all of this in consideration, it is possible that men in this world will still look at you in ways you don’t appreciate and think things about you that you would not like. All I need to say is if someone is going to look at you or think something about you, let it not be your fault, but theirs. Do not throw a stumbling block before them in giving them an opportunity to be tempted!

But I still do not think that we have looked at the verse in the New Testament that gives us the clearest dress code that the scriptures provide.

Let’s turn to

NIV

(NIV) Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

When we apply this text to our lives, especially our dress, what does it teach us? All of the attitudes in this text are attitudes that we need to have towards others. The choice of our clothing should not be self focused, chosen to please ourselves, but focused on the well-being of others, showing that we are the people of God.

STOP VOICE RECORDER