Rom.
12:1-2: “1I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.2 And be not conformed to
this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.
God
is holy. Therefore anything that is ‘born’ of God must be Holy. Paul is telling
us in Romans 12:1, 2 that if we say we have received Christ as our personal
savior we need to live holy lives both within and without. Paul is telling us
that Christianity is not doing what everybody is doing. Christianity is about
separating oneself from the world. Christianity is a way of life, where the old
sinful life of fornication, anger, adultery and quarrelling is transformed by
the word and spirit of God into a clean useful instrument unto God’s use.
What you are
As a Christian, you are God’s representative
on earth. The day you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal saviour made you an
ambassador of Christ on earth- which means that anything you do or say should
portray Christ in you. One of the things that portray who we are as Christian
is what we wear. Fashion has become so notorious, especially amongst women that
it is difficult these days to tell who a Christian is from fashion.
People retort: “What is wrong with me showing my feminine features to be admired? A
woman need be attractive and fashionable! It is my body! I can wear what I
want! Am aware, mind your own business! “
Is your dress fashion professing
Godliness, as a Christian? Is a Christian justified to wear what pleases him/
her?
Know this
Holy living demands purity in
glances, thoughts, desires and actions. Christians generally understood that
immodesty is related to lust and causing temptation to others. A moral
conscience was therefore formed which informed Christians that immodesty, particularly
in a woman because of her nature as the temptress of man, involves an offence
against God and lack of respect for ourselves and our neighbour.
What should therefore be the
Christians principles to dressing?
Principles of Christian Dressing
A call
for principles of Christian dressing is very relevant today, especially when
modesty and decency is out, and nudity and sensuality are in. A few of the
principles are discussed as follows:
Principle One: Dress and appearance are important indicators of Christian character. Clothing
and appearance are most powerful non-verbal communicators, not only of our
socio-economic status but also of our moral values. We are what we wear. This means that the outward
appearance of the Christian should be considered serious, as it indexes the
Christian character. The Bible recognizes the importance of dresses and
ornaments as indicated in the numerous stories and admonitions regarding
appropriate and inappropriate adorning. Our outward appearance is a silent and
visible testimony of our Christian values. The Christian dresses to glorify God
(read 1corin.10:31kjv). As Christians, we cannot say, “what I look like is no
one’s business!” because what we look like reflects our Lord. It should show
how Jesus Christ has transformed my life from the inside out. When HE comes
into your life, He does not cover our blemishes with cosmetic powder, but He
cleanses us wholly by working from within. This inner renewal is reflected in
the outward appearance. Principle Two: Adorning our bodies with
colourful cosmetics, glittering jewellery and luxurious clothes reveals inner
pride and vanity, which are destructive to us and others. In both the old and new
testament, there is a consistent pattern of the use of colourful cosmetics,
glittering jewellery and eye-catching clothes to accomplish seductive purposes,
which implicitly reveals God’s condemnation of their use. (See Is.3:16-26kjv,
2kings 9:30, Ezek. 23kjv, Jer. 4:30kjv, 1Tim. 2:9-10kjv, 1Pet. 3:3-4). Principle Three:
Christian dressing in a modest and
decent way should show respect for God, themselves and others. (1 Tim.
2:9). With respect to clothing, the Christian should dress in a well-ordered,
decorous and a decent manner without causing shame or embarrassment to God,
themselves or others. To dress modestly and decently implies that the clothing
must provide sufficient covering to the body so that others are not embarrassed
or tempted. Today’s modern fashion industry rejects modesty and decency as the
basis for constructive human relationships. The main concern of the modern
fashion industry is to sell clothes, jewellery and cosmetics by exploiting the
powerful sex drives of the human body, even if it means marketing immodest
products that only feed pride and sensuality. The Bible explicitly condemns a
lustful look:” But I say unto you, that
whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her
already in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). The revealing clothes promoted by the
modern fashion industry awaken lustful passions in the heart of the beholder
and contribute immeasureably to the depravity of our time. By dressing
modestly, the Christian woman plays a key role in maintaining public morality.
Christians are summoned by scripture to reject the seductive dictates of
fashion and choose instead to reflect the outward appearance of natural beauty,
simplicity and elevated purity. Principle Four: Christians should dress soberly,
restraining any desire to exhibit themselves by wearing eye-catching clothes,
cosmetics or jewelry. Paul
uses the word soberly to describe appropriate Christian adorning in 1 Timothy
2:9kjv –“In like manner also, that women
adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with
broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;”. The
term ‘sober’ denotes a mental
attitude of self-control, temperate, an attitude that determines all other
virtues. Paul, in
using the word sober, pictures the Christian woman as one who dresses
soberly by restraining her desire to exhibit herself through wearing elaborate
hair styles, gold, pearls, or expensive clothes. Her appearance does not
say, ‘Look at me; admire me,’ but rather, "Look at how Christ has changed
me from the inside out." A Christian woman who has been freed from the
abiding concern to be the object of admiration will not be afraid to wear the
same dress too often, if it is well-made, conservative, and wears well. Principle Five: Christians
should respect gender distinctions in clothing by wearing clothes that affirm
their male or female identities. This
principle is plainly taught in the law found in Deuteronomy 22:5, which
prohibits wearing the clothes of the opposite sex. This shows that the Bible attaches great importance to
preserving gender distinctions in dress as well as in functional roles, because
these are fundamental to our understanding of who we are and what role God
wants us to fulfill.
What is
modest dressing
1Timothy
2:9-10 entreats Christians to be modest in their dressing. What is a modest dressing?
i. i. The modest Christian will not dress to go ‘naked’. They call it am aware; otto pfister and valley-view. Think about this:
when Adam and Eve sinned against God, they went into hiding when God called
them in the Garden because they realised they were naked after eating the
forbidden tree and had knowledge. How come we who claim to be more knowledgeable
than Adam and Eve’s time are going virtually naked, when we claim we have
clothed ourselves?
- The modest Christian will not wear tight clothing. The modern harlot will dress in a way that advertises what
she has to offer. This means that the little she covers will still
be revealed through tight garments. Today just about everything has
spandex or some type of stretchy material in it. This is not by
accident. A
Christian should not want to “show off” his/her body.
- A modest Christian will not reveal his/her underwear.
In a time now past, it was an open shame to reveal your underwear
but now, it is common. If the garment is tight so that it reveals
the outline of your underwear (or that there is no underwear at all), then
it is also drawing the guy’s attention away from the lady’s countenance
and to her undergarments. A modern trend is to actually show
off the underwear. Many women are wearing low-waist skirts/trousers and thereby revealing their underwear. Once again drawing attention
where it doesn’t belong. A Christian should be pointing people to our
Saviour Lord
Jesus and not our body.
iv. A modest lady will not draw attention to her jewellery. The verse on modesty (1Tim. 2:9) also mentions
gold, pearls and costly array. A Christian lady should not be “flashy”
with her jewellery and clothes. People around her should not look at her
and admire or even covet her expensive clothes and jewellery. When people
look at a Christian lady they should first see her sweet spirit and testimony.
Our clothes and jewellery should never over power, or stand in the way of
people seeing Christ in us. This is not to say that all jewellery is
wrong, but it should be kept in balance as an accent, and not a focal point.
A Modest lady will not adorn herself
with overbearing makeup. God gives each lady a natural beauty from
within. That beauty can be accented with mild, natural makeup. Although the Bible does give us an example to look at for make-up but Jezebel was a queen who has the reputation of being
the wicked, a murderer, a prostitute and, overall,
an enemy of God. How did she adorn herself? Among other things, she
“painted her face” (2 Kings 9:30). We do not know what she looked like,
but I think it is safe to assume that her makeup was distracting, so much that
it was noteworthy.
v. A modest Christian will not wear unnatural hair colouring or weird hair styles. In 1 Peter 3 and 1 Timothy 2 the Bible refers to hair
styles. The references here point to braiding and folding hair in an
excessive way. They were styling their hair so that the hair became a
focal point instead of God living within them. Today, we see many
different bold and attractive hair styles. Styling your hair is not
necessarily wrong. It is only when the hair style becomes overwhelming or
when the hair style draws someone’s attention away from your countenance.
Don’t copy the world
Romans
12:2kjv says: “And be not conformed to
this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”.
James
1:27B kjv say: “…, and to keep himself unspotted
from the world”.
In Matt.
5:14~16 A
Christian is to be salt and light in this world. Attire is an important part of
our testimony. The way a person dresses is an indication of that person’s
character and spiritual maturity. Dress for both man or woman should respect the
Bible principles of modesty and
non-conformed to the fads of the world
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.
Clothes should not expose areas of the body that normally draw attention from
the opposite sex. Clothes should not be revealing because of its conforming fit
to the body.
The world is not interested in
living a life patterned after the Word of God. Likewise a Christian should not
be interested in living a life patterned after the world. The unbelievers
prefer dress that draws attention to their bodies, which reflects extravagant
and changing fashions.
Conclusion
Clothes do not make a Christian, but Christians
reveal their identity through their clothes and appearance. The Bible does not
prescribe a standardized dress for Christian men and women to wear, but it
calls us to follow the simplicity and modesty of Jesus’
lifestyle, even in our clothes and appearance. if you are dressing revealing, you are guilty of
setting a stumbling block in front of your brothers in Christ.
I didn’t write this out of condemnation, or
self-righteousness, but out of love and compassion. I am not perfect myself,
but I strive to be more like Christ in my daily life. I just want to encourage
you to live a life of holiness.
Our outward appearance is a constant silent witness
of our Christian identity and may it always tell the world that we live to
glorify God and not ourselves. If you’re a Christian and claim Christ as your
savior, then every part of your life should be based on that truth. Right down
to the socks we put on.
Gen.
1:26-27 says we were created in God’s image, what image are you revealing to
the world? Romans 12:1-2 says we present our bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God and not conform to the standards of this
world but we should renew our minds and
do what is acceptable to God, our Father.
Do your clothes proclaim to the world that you are
a Christian who lives for Christ, or do they proclaim that you’re just like the
ungodly world?
Amen!
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