As we saw in , God has not left us in the dark regarding the issue of clothing. He has spoken and, as always, what He says on this matter is completely contrary to what the world says.
But if you are a believer, God’s criteria revealed in the Word of God are the ones that should bind your conscience and guide your steps, not Vogue magazine, not Harper’s Bazaar, not Cosmopolitan, not GQ for men; but the infallible, inerrant, and all-sufficient Word of God. “Let God be true, and every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4).
What does God tell us in His Word about clothing, what does He command us?
Paul says in 1Tim. 2:9: “In the same way that women dress themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and modesty.”
The first thing that Paul recognizes here is the legitimate desire of women to adorn themselves. The phrase “that they adorn themselves with decent clothing” can be literally translated: “that they adorn themselves with an ornate clothing.”
The two words that Paul uses in the text, and that RV translates as adornment and propriety, come from the same root: kosmos and kosmeo, where our word “cosmetic” comes from. The word kosmos means “order, arrangement, or system.” The opposite of kosmos is chaos.
So far from repressing women’s natural desire to dress up, Paul puts it rather into perspective. “Adorn yourselves, but as godly women, women who fear God and who desire to please Him and reflect His character above all else.”
A woman of God should not look like a mess, but should be arranged and in order. Her grooming should reflect the God of order she worships. However, this personal arrangement must have two fundamental characteristics.
A. The woman should dress modestly:
The Greek word that Paul uses here carries both the idea of modesty and humility. It literally means “sense of shame”. A pious woman should feel ashamed and guilty if because of her clothing someone is distracted from her worship of God or led to impure thoughts.
Modesty is the complete opposite of arrogance and the desire to attract attention. When this woman dresses she is before God, not before men. That is why modesty avoids excess and sensuality. As someone has said: “this woman’s dress does not say: sex, pride, money, but rather purity, humility, moderation” (Pollard; pg. 6).
What Paul is saying, then, is that a Christian woman’s clothing should be in perfect harmony with her profession of faith. A woman who loves Jesus Christ does not try to cause a furore with her dress. Her main interest is to show the character of our God and Father in everything she does and everything he wears.
If you dress for the glory of God, your clothing will reveal purity and chastity. Instead of showing the shapes of your body to provoke others, you are going to cover it properly because you do not even want to think that because of your whim a man is led to sin against the God whom you say you love, adore and serve.
Needless to say, that is not the world’s thinking on this matter. The fashion industry does not believe that the main purpose of clothing is to cover the body, but rather to draw men’s eyes on you; but that is exactly what Christian modesty is opposed to.
Most fashion today is designed to provoke sexual attraction. Clinging fabrics are used to reveal their shapes, and are carefully designed to highlight certain parts that are covered in such a way as to provoke the desire to see more.
In a secular book on fashion titled “Men and Women” written by Claudia Kidwell and Valerie Steele, she says that “clothing is especially sexy when it draws attention to the naked body underneath.” So the shorter and tighter the better.
And in that we must admit with sorrow that the impious are more honest than many Christians. They frankly tell us what many believers do not dare to say: “We dress like this to provoke, to draw attention to our figure, so that you can have a clear idea of my forms.”
As she said in a swimsuit ad: “It’s glamorous…it’s exotic…this is definitely not about swimming”. Of course it has nothing to do with swimming! This has to do with sensuality and provocation.
The forms of the body of the man and the woman are not sinful; the body was designed by a good and holy God, who after making it declared it good and holy.
But man has sinned and corrupted himself, and for this reason the discovered body of a woman is like a barrel of gunpowder passing through lighted chandeliers. This is why our Lord and Savior warns us so strongly to be careful what our eyes see:
“You have heard that it was said: You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that whoever looks at a woman to covet her, has already committed adultery with her in her heart. Therefore, if your right eye causes you to fall, gouge it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you that one of your members perish, than that your whole body be thrown into hell” (Mt. 5:27-29).
It is a problem for a man to see a woman dressed in a revealing and suggestive way. If he covets her, says Christ, he has already committed adultery with her in her heart; and the woman who provoked such a thought by wearing a skirt that is too short, or tight pants, or a tight-fitting blouse that clearly reveals her shape, that woman will have to give an account to God on the day of judgment.
That is why Thomas Brooks said that a woman should dress in the dress “that she would like to wear on the day of her death… with which she would like to appear before the Ancient of Days… with which she would like to appear on the day of judgment” (cit by Pollard, pg 40).
Look at yourself, believing woman, and look at your daughters how they usually dress, and ask yourself if they pass this test. Is this how you would like to be dressed on the day you stand before God to give an account? Is this how you would like your daughters to be dressed on that solemn day?
I am not saying, nor is Brooks implying, that at death we will stand before God in whatever clothes we are wearing. That’s not the point. But we will certainly stand before Him and give an account. Can you answer to God for the clothes you wear, the ones you are wearing right now, the ones you wore this week?
Listen to what our Lord says about those who cause others to stumble: “And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and that he plunged into the depths of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offenses! because it is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! (Matt 18:6-7).
A tight dress that clearly reveals the body shapes, or too short to cover what needs to be covered is not neutral. That is sinful because it violates the holiness of God and the modesty that we are called to exhibit as children of God.
And let no one accuse us of being legalists for saying this. Urging believers to cover their bodies is not legalism, because modesty is a scriptural commandment, a commandment that many seem to be forgetting. The difference between us and the pagans who do not know God is less and less noticeable.
Is your clothing a reflection of the humility and chastity that should characterize a believer? Christ our Savior shed his precious blood on the cross to buy your soul and your body, and the Spirit of God has come to make his home in you. Do you know what you should do now in light of that reality? Dedicate yourself body and soul to pursue the glory of God in all areas of your life.
Paul says in 1Cor. 6:19-20: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? Because you have been bought with a price; Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Do you dress as it is appropriate to dress the temple of the Holy Spirit? Is your dress a clear reflection of God’s holy and pure character?
But women should not only dress modestly, but also, secondly…
B. Women should dress wisely:
That is the meaning of the word that RV translates as “modesty” in 1Tim. 2:9. We can also translate it as “self control”, “common sense” or “mental purity”.
This is a judicious woman who does not get carried away by her impulses. When she dresses she does it in a discreet and appropriate way: appropriate for her age, for her economic situation and for her time.
Regarding the latter, Richard Baxter says: “It is always legitimate to follow the sober fashion of sober people; but it is not legitimate to follow the vain, immodest, and sick fashion of the rebellious, wanton, proud, and dissolute” (Christian Directory; pg. 393).
So we must dress with modesty and good judgment. And I say “we must” because although Paul is referring to women in a particular way in this text, the general spirit of Scripture allows us to apply these principles to men as well.
May God help us to glorify him in everything we do, including the way we dress. Our clothing says a lot about the reality of our hearts.
© By Sugel Michelen. All thought captive. You can reproduce and distribute this material, as long as it is not for profit, without altering its content and acknowledging its author and origin.