CLOTHING A CHRISTIAN A. There is a continuous need to study the subject of proper dress among Christians. 1. Because styles change, memory fails, Christians come of age. 2. Because what the Bible teaches on this subject is not accepted by many people in the world. 3. Even Christians can be influenced by the world & led away from God s truth on this subject and indeed many have been... B. Some people suggest that what we wear should be entirely left up to the conscience. 1. These would say that God has stated no absolute truth on this subject. 2. Many are just content to follow popular fashion trends, thinking that if people are not offended by what they where, then what s the problem? [But in fact God has given very clear standards for proper dress among His people, & there are serious consequences in deviating from His clear instructions.] I. GOD S COMMANDS REGARDING DRESS A. Under the Old Law, God commanded a clear distinction between the clothing of men & women. Deut 22:5 A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God. B. The New Law goes beyond a dress code to deal with the attitude that a Christian woman must have in order to dress as God would have her to. 1
1 Tim 2:8-10 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath & doubting; 9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety & moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, 10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. 2. Next, Paul stated three attitudes that one must have before he [or in this case she] will dress in modest apparel The 1 st attitude is one of Propriety or Shamefastness: 1. Modest apparel refers to the general type of clothing, & modest is defined as a. Orderly, well-arranged, decent (Vine). b. Orderly, well arranged, in good taste, & in a way that will yield the respect & honor of saints (Thayer). a. A sense of shame, modesty, is used regarding the demeanor of women in the church (Vine). b. Not forward, but shy or reserved. Behaving according to a standard of what is proper, decent, & pure. And has particular reference to not displaying one s body either in the removing or putting on of clothing (Thayer). c. The well ordering is not of dress & demeanor only, but of the inner life; uttering indeed & expressing itself in the outward conversation (Trench). d. It describes one who disciplines himself & who may thus be regarded as genuinely moral & respectable (Kittel). c. The sense of shame & honor, which hinders one from doing an unworthy act. It implies reverence for the good as good [and not fear for reputation alone]. That which shrinks from over-passing the limits of womanly reserve & modesty, as well as from the dishonor which would justly attach thereto (Trench). 2
3. The 2 nd attitude is one of Moderation or Sobriety: a. It is that habitual inner self-government, with its constant rein on all the passions & desires, which would hinder the temptation to these from arising (Vine). b. Soundness of mind, self controlled, good judgment (Thayer). c. An entire command over the passions & desires, so that they receive no further allowance than that which the law & right reason admit & approve (Trench). 4. The 3 rd attitude is one of Godliness: Clothing styles that are depicted as sexy or hot are fashions designed to be provocative or to stimulate unholy thoughts in others (Matt 5:28). Solomon referred to such clothing as the attire of a harlot (Prov 7:10).] C. Peter, as well as Paul, was given revelation from God on the matter of proper clothing. 1 Pet 3:1-6 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. 3 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 & quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good & are not afraid with any terror [not afraid to do what is right at all costs]. 3 a. The fear or reverence of God (Vine). [A Christian woman is to dress as one who feels a sense of shame when lines of decency are crossed, & as one who is restrained by God s principles of virtue. 1. Peter makes an appeal for Christian women to follow the example of Sarah when it comes to dress & deportment.
2. Maybe the times have changed (customs, habits, culture, rules of decency), but God s laws remain the same throughout time. 3. Godly women in the Bible, like Sarah, dressed appropriately, not just because they wore long robes, but because they had the proper spirit. [A Christian woman s clothing should reveal not her outer beauty but the person God wants her to be internally.] II. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE A. Robert Collen ( East of Cathay; The Silk Road, pages 44-46). 1. He mentioned that silk naturally clings to the body, but some Roman women unraveled the close-woven Chinese fabric & rewove it into flimsy gauze (see through) material. 2. Roman philosopher Seneca (4-64): I see clothes of silk, if clothes they can be called, affording protection neither to the body nor to the modesty of the wearer, & which are purchased for enormous sums, from unknown people. 3. Pliny the elder (1 st century philosopher, commander in the Roman army & navy, personal friend of Vespasian): Render women naked. 4. Other writers: Made of glass 5. Clement of Alexandria (late 2 nd century, Christian Theologian, Gnostic): Fabrics foolishly thin, & of curious texture in weaving. For these superfluous & diaphanous [transparent] materials are proof of a weak mind, covering as they do the shame of the body with a slender veil. For luxurious clothing, falling close to the body, takes its form more easily, & adhering as it were to the flesh, received its shape, & marks out the woman s figure, so that the whole body is visible. He associated such clothing with vice & not with modesty ( The Instructor, II, xi). 4
6. Tertullian (2 nd century Christian author, prolific writer): Garments which, light & thin, were heavy in price alone a. He referred to them as prostitutionary garbs appealing to the provocative charms of apparel ( On the Apparel of Women, II ix x). [So when Paul commanded against the wearing of costly clothing (1 Tim 2:9), he was partly alluding to the indecency of that type of clothing in his time.] III. BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE A. Adam & Eve learned early what God wanted them to know about proper clothing. 1. They learned that lesson just after they sinned, because before that fateful day, they weren t required to wear clothing. Gen 2:25 And they were both NAKED, the man & his wife, & were not ashamed. One day they sinned! Gen 3:7-11 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, & they knew that they were NAKED; & they sewed fig leaves together & made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, & Adam & his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam & said to him, Where are you? 10 So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, & I was afraid because I was NAKED; & I hid myself. 11 And He said, Who told you that you were NAKED? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? Gen 3:21 Also for Adam & his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, & clothed them. 2. When this sin occurred, open nakedness for man & woman was no longer a state of innocence, but rather a state of moral shame & spiritual danger. a. From that point on, nakedness signified fear & shame in man s relationship to God (cf. Rev 3:17; 16:15; 17:16). 3. Adam & Eve tried to hide their shame by making a covering for their midsection (3:7). 5
a. Hagora (Hebrew): Girdle, belt, loincloths, apron. b. Peridzoma (Greek LXX): Compound word meaning around plus life (euphemism for the area of the body where life comes from). Used in Jeremiah 13:1-4. c. But even after covering themselves in this manner, they knew they were still naked before God (3:10). 4. So God made them tunics of skin to adequately cover the shame of their nakedness. c. He could have made their clothing by first evaluating weather conditions & patterns, but He did not. B. The word nakedness (Hebrew: erya; Greek: gumnos) is used in two senses in the Bible. 1. Strict sense: complete nudity a. Adam & Eve (Gen 2:25; 3:7) b. Noah s drunkenness (Gen 9:21-23) c. Job s state at birth (Job 1:21) d. Young man fled at Jesus arrest (Mark 14:51-52) e. Demon possessed man (Luke 8:27, 35) a. Kuttonet (Hebrew) or Chiton (Greek LXX): a tunic, generally with sleeves, coming down to the knees, rarely to the ankles. 2. Partial sense: not adequately or fully clothed b. The word is used to refer to Joseph s coat of many colors (Gen 37:3; cf. Job 30:18). a. No moral shame covered: {Undershirts, Lowgrade clothing} 6
1) David s dance (2 Sam 6:14, 20) 2) Isaiah prophetic work (Isa 20:2-3) 3) The poor (Matt 25:36; Jas 2:15-16; Job 22:6) 4) Peter, while working (John 21:7) 5) Seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19:16) 6) Jews, who threatened Paul (Acts 22:23) b. Moral shame partially exposed:{swim suits, Cheerleading uniforms, Shirtless, Low-cut or halter tops, short skirts, tight fitting clothes} 1) Adam & Eve s aprons (Gen 3:10) 2) No steps to the altar (Exo 20:26) 3) Linen breeches for priests (Exo 28:42) 4) Bare behind (Isa 20:3-5) 5) Bare leg, uncovered thigh (Isa 47:2-3) 6) Bare breast (Ezek 16:7) [There will be one more lesson. In closing consider the following (Matt 5:13-16; Col 3:17; 1 Thess 5:21-22; 1 Pet 2:11-12).] 7