| Bible
Principles of Christian Dress
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| By George Vergara | |
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Foreword |
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| After reading George Vergara's article in the Old Paths Advocate concerning Christian apparel, I asked him if he would consider making a tract from it. George agreed, and after adding some thoughts to his original article, this tract is the result. Since George expressed so vividly and tactfully the sentiment of many Christians, I should like to see this tract in the hands of every child of God. Even though some have rebelliously decided to wear what pleases themselves rather than God, we sincerely believe that there are many who do not realize how a Christian should dress. It is our earnest prayer that you will consider carefully the principles expressed in God's word, which are presented in this tract. --Tony Melton | |
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Introduction: |
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| In I Corinthians 6:20, the Bible says, "For
ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God's." We serve God with our body
as well as our spirit, and this includes the way we dress. It seems
wherever I go people are interested in Christians and clothing,
particularly whether a woman should wear pants. The Bible, as in every
area of our life, gives us guidance in this area as well. But before we
get into specifics, let's look at a couple of basic Bible principles.
Philippians 1:9-10 reads, "This is what I am praying for: I want your love to overflow more and more with a fuller knowledge and all insight. Then you will be able to test what is best, so you will be pure and without guilt when Christ comes" (The Simple English Bible). The Bible does not contain a formal dress code such as, "The hem of the woman's skirt will rise no higher than 12 inches above the ankle. ..." Instead, God gives us principles that we are to use to make our own judgments on what to wear, what not to wear, and how to wear. If we know these principles, we can use them in regard to any article of clothing, and with confidence be able to "test what is best"-making mature decisions about what clothing will or will not be pleasing to God. Now, why is it so important to want to please God, even in an area of our living such as the clothing we wear? In II Corinthians 5:15, the Bible says, "And that he died for all, that they which live should not live hence forth unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." We live to please God, not ourselves; pleasing God should, be our number one desire, and this includes pleasing Him with proper clothing. And whenever I hear anyone say (as I've heard said in regard to women wearing dresses or pants), "Why can't I?" or "You show me why I have to!" Well I know this is not a person whose primary desire is to please God. Sometimes a Christian must not just look at whether a thing is so wrong, but that perhaps it would be better not to - perhaps this other would be the better thing to do. This is how the Christian who truly lives for God views apparel and other areas of living. And now, let's go on to four Bible principles pertaining to Christian dress. |
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First of all, God wants a distinction between men and women, and this distinction extends to our clothing |
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| 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 Genesis 3:16-19, we read man was given the role
of breadwinner and woman the role of bearing and nurturing children - 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 which says, "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 what distinguished a man from a woman, and vise-versa; He did not want a mixing of roles, even in the area of clothing. In the New Testament, we read passages such as Romans 1:24-27 and I Corinthians 6:9-10 where God condemns effeminate men and masculine women. So from creation, through the Mosaic era and into the New Testament age of today, God ordained a distinction between men and women and this distinction extends to our clothing. In our culture, there is no other article of clothing more distinctly feminine than a dress. Several years ago, I flew into Narita Airport in Tokyo, and there I noticed two emblems on the restroom doors - one a silhouette wearing pants and the other with a dress. Which door do you think I went in? The dress as a distinctly feminine garment is recognized as such even in the far-flung corners of the earth. Ladies, in this age of ungodliness and reversing of the male-female roles, why pass up such an opportunity to enhance your femininity, which is pleasing to God and edifying to the church? "Test what is best." |
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| The second Bible principle of dress - 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. For example, if my uncle works
for Jack Daniels Distillery and gives me one of those black T-shirts
you've seen around, with the bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey on it, 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 dress and long hair? "Test what is best." Remember, you have no greater influence anywhere than in the home, before your children and husband. Why wear things in their presence that you know would hurt your influence if worn in public? There is no one you have a greater influence upon than your own children and family - dress appropriately! |
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| The third Bible principle of dress-Whether or not your clothing is offensive. | |
| The word "offend," in verses such as Romans 14:21, means, "to cause or make to stumble . . . cause to fall away" (Thayer). There are two ways our clothing can cause someone to sin. First, Jesus said in Matthew 5:28 that to look with lust upon a woman is to commit adultery with her in your heart. If a woman dresses provocatively she can cause a man to sin, and the same with the man toward the woman. And then secondly, Romans 14 teaches that if someone doubts that something is right even if it is lawful, they sin if they partake of 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." You as a woman may by word or example encourage a woman to wear pants when she believes with all her heart that it is wrong. If by your influence she is emboldened to go against her conscience and wear pants, you cause her to sin. Jesus taught in Matthew 18:6 that if you offend a little one, you'd do well to find yourself a millstone to hang about your neck and go cast yourself into the sea. Think about it. | |
| The fourth Bible principle of dress - Clothing must be modest. | |
| I Timothy 2:9 says, women should adorn
themselves in "modest" apparel. The word "modest" means," orderly, well
arranged, decent, modest" (W. E. Vine). Now, we're not talking about
modest in your neighbor's eyes, or friend's, or even in your 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 (II
Corinthians 5:10).
We know God sees nakedness as immodest. In fact, after Adam and Eve sinned God clothed them with animal skins because He was not satisfied with the clothing they made to cover their nakedness. The purpose of clothing was, and is, to conceal, not reveal - conceal nakedness. This is why I as a man do not wear skimpy tops or unbutton the top buttons of my shirt - I don't believe God approves of such. 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 river. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen." The woman is used to symbolize the downfall of Babylon. Notice that at the point God describes her as having the leg bare and the thigh uncovered God says she's "naked" and her "shame" shall be seen. This is why short dresses, shorts (on women or men), "peek-a-boo" slits in skirts, etc. are not modest in God's sight - they are sinful. In this immoral age we live in, I hope our people do not become so accustomed to the nakedness around them that they lose their sense of what is modest. |
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Conclusion: |
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| We serve God in body as well as in spirit (I Corinthians 6:20); this would include our dress. The Bible does not contain a formal dress code, but gives principles of dress that help us make judgments and "test what is best" (Philippians 1:9,10). We want to please God, not ourselves (II Corinthians 5:15), so we want to clothe our bodies in a way that pleases God. 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; (4) and 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. May God bless you in your desire to better serve Him in the Lord Jesus Christ. | |
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