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Clothing

"WHAT SHALL I WEAR?"
 
INTRODUCTION
 
1. "What shall I wear?" is a question many people ask nearly every
 morning...
 a. As they dress for work
to relax
etc.
 b. Usually weighing such issues as fashion versus form
style versus
 substance
 
2. When Christians ask this question
other issues should come into
 consideration...
 a. Is it modest?
 b. Is it proper for those professing godliness? - cf. 1 Ti 2:9-10
 
3. The challenge is that which constitutes modesty is constantly
 changing...
 a. At one time
it was immodest for a woman to expose her ankles
 b. Today
even the most modest of dress would have been consider
 scandalous
 
4. So the question remains
"What Shall I Wear?"...
 a. Should a Christian woman wear shorts
mini-skirts
low-cut 
 blouses
tight skirts or pants?
 b. What about men? Should they be concerned about modest apparel?
 c. What effect might this have on certain activities
such as mixed
 swimming and other athletic sports?
 
[I do not propose some easy answer
or simple guideline (such as "no
higher than an inch above the knee"). Rather I encourage prayerful
consideration of what the Bible has to say
which provides basic 
principles that can help one discern between good and evil. For 
example...]
 
I. IT IS SHAMEFUL TO EXPOSE ONE'S NAKEDNESS
 
 A. CONSIDER THE EXAMPLE OF ADAM AND EVE...
 1. After they sinned
they made "coverings" for themselves - Gen
 3:7-10
 a. Hebrew
"chagorah"
meaning a garment which covers the
 mid-section
 b. Despite such coverings
they still felt naked!
 2. The Lord made "tunics" for them - Gen 3:21
 a. Hebrew
"kethoneth"
a garment commonly reaching to knee
 b. Evidently God was not pleased with the brevity of the
 coverings they had made
 
 B. IT IS SHAMEFUL TO EXPOSE OR DRAW ATTENTION TO PRIVATE PARTS OF
 THE BODY...
 1. Exposure of such parts was often a form of judgment intended
 to shame the wicked - cf. Isa 3:16-17; 47:1-3
 2. Paul alludes to the fact that some parts are "unpresentable"
 and should be covered - 1 Co 12:23-24
 
[At some point
then
there needs to be a line where it is a shame to
cross
there are parts of the body that should remain private. Perhaps
we can begin to determine what these may be as we consider another 
principle...]
 
II. WE MUST NOT PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FLESHLY LUSTS
 
 A. THIS IS CLEARLY CONDEMNED IN THE SCRIPTURES...
 1. Look at Ro 13:13-14
 2. Can the way we dress excite fleshly lusts? Consider the 
 following:
 a. "An astonishingly great number of men are of the opinion
 that women are more attractive partly dressed - than nude.
 They prefer to see women partially disrobed to the sight of
 complete nakedness." - Theodor Reik (Of Love And Lust)
 b. "Mini-clothes are symbolic of those girls who want to
 seduce a man..." - Mary Quant
London fashion designer and
 mother of the miniskirt
 c. When asked where it (miniskirts
etc.) was all leading to

 Mary Quant replied with one word: "Sex."
 d. During the hijacking of the Santa Maria in 1967
the women
 on board were concerned the rebels might have designs on
 them
so they left off wearing "enticing clothing"; i.e.

 they stopped appearing in shorts and halter-tops
and quit
 swimming in the ship's pool
 -- If the "women of the world" know what is capable of
 stimulating the lust of the flesh
why not the "daughters
 of God"?
 
 B. JESUS WARNED ABOUT "COMMITTING ADULTERY IN THE HEART"...
 1. Is there not a two-fold responsibility here? - Mt 5:27-30
 a. The man is responsible to guard his mind from impurity 
 - Ph 4:8
 b. Is not the woman to help prevent the lewd stare?
 2. Though lust is inexcusable on the man's part
if the woman by
 her apparel or conduct has encouraged it
she shares in the 
 guilt! - e.g.
Pro 7:6-27
 
[If the clothing we wear encourages the arousal of fleshly lusts in
others
then we have clearly crossed the line. Of course
this requires
honesty and objectivity on our part; we must be willing to be true to
ourselves and to God. To help us toward that end
consider another
basic principle from God's Word...]
 
III. CLOTHING MUST BE CONSISTENT WITH GODLINESS
 
 A. CONSIDER CAREFULLY 1 TIMOTHY 2:9-10...
 1. "modest" (kosmio)
 a. "Orderly
well arranged
decent
modest" (akin to kosmos

 in its primary sense as "harmonious arrangement adornment";
 cf. kosmikos
of the world
which is related to kosmos in
 its secondary sense as the world) - Vine's
 b. "The well-ordering is not of dress and demeanor only
but
 of the inner life
uttering in deed and expressing itself
 in the outward conversation" - Trench
 -- In the context
this word applies not so much to brevity of
 clothing
but to gaudiness of clothing
 2. "propriety" (aidos)
 a. Translated "shamefacedness" in the KJV
 b. "a sense of shame
modesty
is used regarding the demeanor
 of women in the church
- Vine's Expository Dictionary
  -- This word applies more to the issue of brevity of clothing:
 Can it be said that those who display their bodies so as to
 excite lust in others have the quality of "shamefacedness"?
 3. "moderation" (sophrosune)
  a. Translated "sobriety" in the KJV
 b. "denotes soundness of mind" - Vine's
 c. "it is that habitual inner self-government
with its 
 constant rein on all the passions and desires
which would
 hinder the temptation to these from arising..." - Trench
 -- Will not a sound mind take into consideration the affect
 one's apparel has on another?
 4. "not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing"
 a. Excess
rather than actual adornment
is what is being 
 condemned here - cf. Isa 3:16-26 with Ezek 16:10-14
 b. This is an example of the comparative use of "not" found
 frequently in the Bible:
 1) "Not" is sometimes used absolutely - Exo 20:14
 2) "Not" is sometimes used conditionally (not...if) - Ga
 5:21
 3) "Not" is sometimes used comparatively (not...but) - Jn
 6:27; 1 Co 1:17; 1 Jn 4:10
 -- Outward adornment is not wrong absolutely
but in
 comparison to the adorning of the inner person by good
 works
it is to be of lower priority and lesser importance
 5. "proper for women professing godliness"
 a. That which is fitting
seemly
suitable
becoming - cf. Ep
 5:3; Ti 2:1
 b. For women claiming to be reverent
pious - cf. Ti 2:3-5
 -- Would a woman who professes to be godly knowingly adorn
 herself in a way that excites lust in another person?
 
 B. CONSIDER ALSO 1 PETER 3:1-6...
 1. Note first the potential value of chaste conduct - 1 Pe 3:1-2
 a. Good behavior can influence one for good
 b. Likewise
improper behavior (e.g.
immodest clothing) can
 have an adverse effect!
  2. In verses 3-4
we have another example of the comparative use
 of "not"
 a. The emphasis should not be one's adornment (arranging the
 hair
wearing gold
putting on apparel)
 b. Rather
it should be adorning one's inner person
 3. The adornment that greatly pleases God - 1 Pe 3:4-6
 a. The incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit
 b. As worn by women like Sarah
who trusted God and submitted
 to her husband
 -- When a person disregards the effect their apparel may have on
 another
can it be said they are adorned with a gentle and
 quite spirit?
 
CONCLUSION
 
1. As noted in the beginning
it has not been my goal to establish
 specific rules for what is modest apparel...
 a. To do so would be to do what the Bible itself does not do
 b. Rather
to offer the general principles that can help the 
 Christian who desires to please God rather than self or man
 
2. When faced with the question "What shall I wear?"
may I suggest the
 following:
 a. Prayerfully consider whether your adornment in any circumstance
 reflects your profession of godliness
and the principles found
 in God's word
 b. Seek counsel from those who are mature in the faith
whose senses
 have been exercised to discern good and evil (cf. He 5:14)
 
Do this
and one is more likely to fulfill that goal set for us by the
apostle Paul
that we be...
 
 "...blameless and harmless
children of God without fault in the
  midst of a crooked and perverse generation
among whom you shine
 as lights in the world" (Ph 2:15)

－－《Executable Outlines》