Biblical Modesty

When Summer time comes around, as the days get longer and the temperature gets hotter, we all find ourselves wearing less and less clothing to help cope with the changing weather. In regard to this, the issue of modesty often comes into the minds of many-- especially in my church's denomination which is rooted in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. Many standards of measurement are often purposed in order to define what a "modest" dress code is, though I believe them ALL to be lacking. Even within your own church, you'll likely get several different answers from different people if you were to ask them what is or is not appropriate attire to wear.First, be assured the Scriptures do teach that we are to dress modestly (1 Peter 3:3-6). In this passage of Scripture, the apostle Peter encourages women to not let their priorities get out of order. He teaches them that they should be more concerned with how brightly they let their inner-man (or in this case, the inner-woman) shine, than if their hair or clothing are the latest in fashion. Give a higher priority to dazzling people with your good works rather than your good looks. Secondly, be assured the Scriptures do not ever once describe what is and is not an acceptable dress code. For examples, never do the Scriptures teach that a woman's dress must come down to at least her finger tips. Never do the Scriptures ever teach that a dress must go down at least to her knees. Never do the Scriptures ever teach that a woman's dress must go down to her ankles! Yet, there are many who are deeply convinced of each of these standards of measurement, never mind you cannot find any of them in the Bible! For that matter, Jesus blasted the Pharisees for how they lengthened the tassels of their garments (Matt 23:5)Well, what then is Biblical modesty? I am firmly convinced through much prayer and study that the spirit of the Scriptures concerning modesty is this: Let God dress you. Such is what we see in Genesis soon after Adam and Eve realize they are naked and are ashamed of their nakedness. God then dressed Adam and Even in animal skins (Genesis 3:21). God taught Adam and Eve how to dress. It is interesting that in dressing them, the Scriptures do not record the dimensions of their garments. We are not told that Eve was given a dress that came down to her ankles, didn't show any cleavage, and fully covered her arms. Modesty is a mindset, not a standard of measurement. When picking out what clothes we wish to wear, we should dress simply to please God. Your mindset should not be, "How much can I show without getting arrested?" Rather, your mindset should be, "Is this pleasing to God?" If your mindset is to dress to please God, and to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, then it will not matter if you wear a dress to your ankle, knee, or something even shorter. So long as you can wear it and not violate your conscience, you will do well in the sight of God.I've known women who are covered from head to toe, yet have a spirit of seduction about them. Yet, some of the godliest women I've known can wear a two-piece bathing suit and still have a spirit of modesty! If one is still inclined to be contentious about this issue, let us consider the prophet Isaiah. We read in Isaiah 20 how this prophet, whose ministry was deeply rooted in the holiness of God (Isaiah 6), was commanded by God to go about his prophetic ministry for 3 years buck-naked as a sign to Egypt and Cush that they were about to be judged by God, and would go into exile. The prophet Isaiah was as holy as they come, yet walked around commando style for 3 years in front of everybody! Can you imagine if I showed up to church one Sunday to preach in the nude? Isaiah's ministry ought to wreck any of our precious holiness dress codes that we hold so dear to our hearts.However you choose to dress this summer, dress unto the Lord. Don't think of how much you can show, and flaunt what you got, but rather, think of how to dress as to please God. Let it be your OWN conviction, that none can shake you from.

KingJimmythis is an important topic and I am glad you have raised it. I hope you won't think me frivolous if I on the basis of your advice I tell a story...Well, what then is Biblical modesty? I am firmly convinced through much prayer and study that the spirit of the Scriptures concerning modesty is this: Let God dress you.The local minister was looking over the wall of a beautiful Garden and remarked "what a beautiful Garden God and you have created". The old gardener paused for a moment and said "you ought to have seen what it was like when God had it on His own".

Great story Ron :)

On a more personal note, it is rather interesting to be confronted with this issue of modesty. Friday, I was doing some open-air preaching and for the first time ever I felt overwhelminly compelled to speak to the teenage girls that were among those in my street congregation. Some of them were very popular, and apparently for all the wrong reasons. I nearly closed my eyes while preaching, because of what some of the girls were wearing. My heart broke within me as some of these girls made their way through the crowd, and how they greeted some young men in the crowd. They were scantly dressed, and highly suggestive in their actions. One of them I called out by name (as many others had done). I told them I had something from God I needed to tell her, and she said ok, and climbed up on the wishing well next to where I was. I then told her how she didn't need to sell herself out to these guys and settle for second-rate sex. I urged her not to dress for the attention of these boys, but rather, to dress for God's attention. I urged the rest of the girls there to do the same.Then it is interesting what happened this Sunday at Church. One member of the congregation did not like what my girlfriend was wearing, and thought it suggestive. She thought her dress was too short... it came to just above her knees. She promptly let my girlfriend know, which hurt her feelings greatly. My girlfriend is a lovely young woman of God who loves the Lord deeply, and wants nothing more than to please God. I have gone shopping with her countless times, and have personally seen how she selects out what clothing she wears. She has a definite personal standard by which she decides to buy. If she thinks something might be pushing the limits, she won't even let me see her in it after she tries it on. Likewise, when we went to a lakefront beach recently, she was extremely picky about what type of bathing suit she would wear (she finally decided on a one-piece suit). Her aim was constantly to please God, and represent Him as a minister of the gospel, as well as to not be a snare to men. This one sister in church probably thinks my girlfriend as not being modest, because her dress didn't come down to a length that satisfied her, because of unbiblical commandments of men being treated like it was a thus saith the Lord, yet I know without a doubt that my girlfriend to be one of integrity, and a modest spirit. Just some further thoughts...

Indeed dorcas, we must also "love our neighbor" in this regard, and do our best to respect various customs and others personal convictions. At the same time though, you cannot please everyone, as some people are offended by just about anything these days. Various contexts will, in our love for God, require we dress in a different manner to suit that context.

Further thoughts... I was talking to my pastor about this recently, and we came to agree, in the case of women (whom issues of modesty are mostly geared towards these days), that a woman should dress to chiefly please God, and then secondly her husband. In the case of younger women (e.g. my girlfriend), she should chiefly dress to please God, then her parents, and when she and I go out somewhere, she can dress to please me.

We live in age dominated by images from stuff on the highstreet it is not suprising that people only wear what is available as in shops ! People can only buy modest clothing if it is avalable I want to be pure in clothing it has been hot recently and I have been wearing shorts and as I have been working on a building site moving block and soil and accoutriments!! I found that when I walked into church I found that my shorts were slipping down god help me !! I am such a fool god help me someone pointed out it may affect someone else in that congregation if they are female and may be really unpleasent!! i am suffering with wrong images, I hate to see images that do not please god or man you can just walk up the highstreet, i do not know what you call it in the states and be flooded with pictures of people in clothes sometimes very little!! Maybe these people suddenlt got the idea to wear clothes that were too small for them or didnt fit right!! They must have got the idea from somewhere!! I am going to the beach with my family this is the height of this kind of clothing!! I want Jesus to keep me pure or keep me away from the beach !! I just want to be like him!! I want god to purify my mind and my heart and I pray that you pray that for yourselves and each other!! In Church we have been preaching about ovecomeing the lustful and carnal desires by fasting and it is working it amazing when you are thinking about other things these thoughts do not even pop into your head !! I have been online and I get horrified when you go on a link and you find an image say a bookshop!! and you are looking for christian books and an image pops up!! Please pray for me that god will clense my mind!! Back to the subject are soceity is filled with images of people and it is not that often to be polluted by what we see and hear twenty four seven!! If what we see affects the way we dress then our clothing is designated either by a heavenly garbe or an earthly one!! What I mean by this is that we are either influenced by biblical thinking or things around biblical thinking or another source!! We chose what we wear and who makes us deside what wear!! We need Jesus to deside what we wear!! To leave you on a lovely note one day we will be clothed in our righteous and all the colouring of this world would seem dim, god looks on the heart not on the outer shell!! We need him to wash our insides out so we can dress like he does!!in the blood of the lamb!! In coats of many colours!! I need Jesus lots of love DOmDanny Kensington has a sermon on biblical modesty!!

Jimmy, Excellent post! Modesty indeed starts with the heart. In my own walk with the Lord, as I've grown and matured, I have found that i naturally have given my own "wants" and "rights" to wear what I feel like wearing, but instead consider others. Yes, the Lord does lead us if we are sensative and listening. And no, not everyone will agree with us on everything we wear.I have come along way from wearing skimpy workout outfits to the gym just because i thought i'd worked so hard, I might as well show all my hard work. Now i see how prideful that was and how it probably caused others to stumble. I was only thinking of myself.I am not one to be legalistic about hemlines (i haven't worn a skirt or dress in over a year i don't think) and I wear jeans and capris everywhere- yes even to church.To me modesty is also humility. I also believe that just because some people have enough money to buy whatever clothes they want-that they don't have to dress flashy and wear the most expensive outfits. To me, this creates a barrier between me and those who may feel intimidated by my dress. That is why I choose to dress casually almost 99% of the time. Casual but modest.The Lord has led me to my own conclusion on clothes, do not wear things that would cause people to feel they couldn't approach me and feel at ease with me (especially women). Now this may not be an area of concern for someone else. It is just a point of interest which the lord has shown to me for whatever purposes He has. In the past, some women have thought it was intimadating approaching me(i honestly cannot see why myself-and this is no joke, maybe because i was a personal trainer?), so I have gone to lengths to resolve that as much as i can.C.J. Mahaney from Sov. Grace Ministries has a good article on the soul of modesty and how it relates to humility. http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/sgo/v20no4/modesty.html"Any biblical discussion of modesty begins with the heart, not the hemline. What fruit of the Spirit is seen in the modestly dressed woman? Self-control: an intentional restraint and moderation for the purpose of purity.Modesty, therefore, is simply humility expressed in dress. The humble Christian woman who understands this passage will have a wardrobe that expresses self-control, moderation, and restraint. What she wears will demonstrate that she lives with a settled resistance to the ceaseless pull of the world. She will dress to show the grace and beauty of womanhood and to reveal a humble heart — not to call attention to herself, flaunt her beauty, impress her peers, or allure men sexually." C.J. MahaneyIn Him, Chanin

I am not one to be legalistic about hemlines (i haven't worn a skirt or dress in over a year i don't think) and I wear jeans and capris everywhere- yes even to church.Good for you. The only time I ever dress up for church is on Sunday services or at services I'm scheduled to preach in front of the entire congregation. I only put on dress pants and a shirt because my mom nearly thinks it a sin for me to go to church otherwise. I only wear a suit in the pulpit because there are some who would refuse to listen to me were I dressed in anything less (and besides, I make it look good, :-) ). However, come Wednesday nights when I teach the Singles & Collge group, I come in jeans and a t-shirt.When I went to the beach recently with my girlfriend, I did not take my shirt off, even when I went out into the water. Granted, part of my reasoning for not doing such has to do with 1) I don't want to blind anybody due to Casper white skin 2) I'm not exactly Van Deasel, and thus a little shy 3) I once received a really bad burn years ago and have no desire to do it again and 4) That's my way of being modest. I'm not so much ashamed of the way I look, and in this day of age, there really aren't that many people on a beach with anything remotely resembling what you see in movies as far as beach-bod's. But, I do wish to be modest- tiz just my own conviction, though I hold no fault whatsoever to others guys who take their shirts off at the beach. I do not even feel like I would be sinning against the Lord even should I take my shirt off at the beach. It's just something I don't do. And should my girlfriend and I get married one day, I figure that is a something extra to for my wife to see one day.

Here are a few quotes I found on this issue: Mary Quant, known as the mother of the mini-skirt has been quoted in Newsweek as having said, "mini-cloths are symbolic of those girls who didn't want to wait until dark to seduce a man.Designer Leo Narducci says that the woman who wears revealing clothes is one who is sure of herself, who thinks of sex more openly...she is not concerned about nudity. She has a body and she knows it!! Enuf said...ginnyrose

Just because something was designed with a certain intent in mind, doesn't mean it has to be used by others with that intent. For example, a believer is free to buy meat from the market that was offered to idols. For it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.

KJ, I beg to differ with you! meats do not harm the body, of this the scripture is clear. But what you see with your eyes can lead you to sin. Jesus teaches us about the sin of lust and that comes through sight. KJ, I am a female, obviously, and women do dress immodestly to be noticed by men. They like the looks it attracts. Christian women are commanded to be modest; it is not optional. A Christian woman will not want to be identified with the devil's crowd!! and this is what you get when you dress like that crowd. Are you saying you like to see women dressed like harlots? ginnyrose

Ginny,Please reread all I said and think about it some more. Modesty is a mindset, not a dress code. Exactly what does a harlot look like? What do you do with the Scripture that teaches Isaiah walked around buck-naked 3 years at the command of God? Was that not a violation of modesty?

I heard a preacher say one time that he attended upon an emergency call to a hospital to visit a lady out in the country. It was a small community and the Dr. was on call. He was also a farmer. When the preacher arrived at the hospital about the same time as the Dr. The Dr. was dressed in cowboy boots, overhalls, a cowboy hat and the like; all clothes that he had been wearing while out on the farm. He walked in to attend upon the lady. He started the examination. The lady became uncomfortable and restless acting. Finally she spoke up and said- "Dr. if you would not mind would you go into your office and put on your white Dr.'s smock?" There was nothing wrong with the way he was dressed? Yet there was something unsettling about it all for the woman. The Dr. did not look the part. Putting on that white outfit never aided a single bit in treating this woman. He could have well done the job without it. Yet, as far as the woman was concerned he was not going to do anything to her until he looked like a Dr.As believers who profess Christ we need to use caution when we are in the world. Often we think that if we look just like the world we may well win them to Christ. Is that so? I once asked one of my youth if they were to "go under the knife" and looked up as they were being wheeled into the operating room what they would think if the Dr. had a mohawk and studs all in his face? Uhh Uhh well, um, I might be a little concerned. Really? Why is that? Uh, well, em, (clear the throat), I just would. Are you JUDGING him! Uh, no! Well then whats the problem? "I get your point."Does it really matter? Is it more than a heart issue? The guy wearing the cowboy hat was a good Dr.! The man wheeling the teen into the operating room may well have been the best and most qualified surgeon in the world. What was the issue in both cases? People have an expectation of what the part 'ought' to look like. And no excuses can change the unsettled feeling that rises up in the conscience of a person who sees a Christian not dressing the part. The believer may not mean anything by it. But when they got dressed they intended that day to send some sort of message. What part or 'role' were they dressing for? if picked out of a crowd- what would the average person perceive?God Bless,-Robert

I'm enjoying reading the topic.KingJimmy, I agree with you on keeping more clothes on at the beach than most - good expression of modesty.Early you said that even a woman in a 2-piece bathing suit could be modest. I would have a hard time listening to a lady witness to me if she were in a 2-piece bathing suit. As far as the Isaiah passage goes, in context Isaiah was picturing the judgment of God upon Egypt. He was commanded by God to walk naked and barefoot. He said they would be carried away naked into Ethiopia to their shame.Anybody have more Bible verses on the subject and personal thoughts that we can discuss?Kendal

Indeed Robert, we should consider "looking the part" so to say. For example, it is generally expected by heathen that it is a sin for Christians to drink alcohol in any amount, thus, if they saw a Christian drinking, they'd probably think, "hypocrite." However, I'm not so sure how much we should get into this "looking the part" business. Isaiah walking around naked hardly looked the part. Hosea taking a wife of harlotry hardly looked the part. John the Baptist with his odd behavior hardly looked the part. Then when it was all said and done, Christ eating with sinners, tax collectors, and riding into Jerusalem on a beast of burden hardly looked the part either. Perhaps he should have at least ridden in on a nice but modest horse, more fitting for a king? These men hardly looked the part, and were not quite what was expected. Reminds me of:Luke 7:31 To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 "They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, `We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.' 33 "For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, `He has a demon!' 34 "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, `Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, F180 a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' 35 "Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children."Just some thoughts...

Early you said that even a woman in a 2-piece bathing suit could be modest. I would have a hard time listening to a lady witness to me if she were in a 2-piece bathing suit.How much more difficult do you think it would've been to be witnessed to by Isaiah in the buff?