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There was a
time, not too long ago, when you could not only see a Christian
coming a mile away, but you could even tell which denomination they
were from. At a glance, you could determine if someone was from the
Assemblies of God, Church of God, or some other church.
Some Christian
and quasi-Christian groups are still quite distinguishable: the
Amish, with their characteristic beards, clothing, and lack of all
things modern; their less conservative “cousins” the Mennonites,
with their modest dress and prohibition on anything that they have
determined to be too prideful, such as chrome; the United
Pentecostal Church, a “Jesus-only” sect whose women have long hair
and long dresses; Mormons, who claim to believe in Jesus, but are
arguably not Christian, whose “missionaries” go from house to house
in dark pants, backpacks, and white shirts with their typical black
name tag on the left pocket that says “Elder so-and-so;” etc.
In contrast,
“mainstream” Christianity has become nearly indistinguishable from
the ungodly. At some point, the religious folk, who had previously
been consumed with the idea that “the clothes make the Christian,”
decided that the outward appearance was irrelevant. Virtually
everything was fair game. Not everything became acceptable at once,
and not in all Christian circles, but over time, the number of
previously prohibited things that had become permissible has
continued to grow. Now, whatever your style, there is a church,
somewhere, where you will fit in.
That is not to
say that the unbeliever should be shunned because of their
appearance, but the Bible admonishes that the believer should be
Christ’s representative in every thing: conduct, speech, work ethic,
appearance, etc.
Jesus
confronted the Pharisees and scribes about their hypocrisy, as
recorded in Matthew chapter 23. In verses 25-28, Jesus said “Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the
outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of
extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which
is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean
also. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are
like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward,
but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye
are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Because of
these words of our Lord, it is often promoted that God is not
interested in outward appearances in the least, but only in the
condition of the heart. Jesus clarifies His position in verse 23,
“…these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
God dedicated
much of the Scriptures to how His people should act and look. Those
who would have us believe that it is an outmoded faith that requires
some outward expression deny the impact of the sacrifice of Christ
on Calvary on the life of the believer. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees
for having only an appearance of holiness. If one truly repents,
and is converted, then is the heart made pure. The result, then,
must indeed be a change in the lifestyle of the convert. The outer
man cannot help but reveal the regenerated nature of the inner man.
So, where is
the line between holiness and legalism? Is it out of line for a
Bible-believing body of believers to instruct its people that God,
while first considering the status of the heart, does indeed have a
position with regards to our outward appearance?
Does God care
how we dress? How would we know? Many Christians today like to
say, “The Holy Ghost is my guide. If there’s something I need to
do, the Lord will tell me.” True, the Holy Ghost is now given, and
Jesus said that it would lead us into all truth. But where is the
truth into which it will lead us? It is in the Bible, as Jesus
prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” John
17:17.
Jesus said
that, when the Spirit of Truth is come, when His is guiding us into
all truth, that “he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he
shall hear, that shall he speak.” John 16:13. Would the Spirit,
while guiding Holy Ghost-filled believer’s along life’s path, speak
contrary to the Word of God? God forbid! Especially since it is He
that inspired men on the content of the Holy Scriptures. “All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works,” “For the prophecy cam not in old
time, by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost.” II Peter 2:1; II Timothy 3:16-17.
In our zeal to
fulfill the “great commission” to go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature, we must be careful to do the rest of
what our Lord commanded, and teach them to observe all things
whatsoever He has commanded us. Furthermore, we must remember that
the words of our Lord are not limited to what is printed in our
Bibles in red ink, but encompasses all of the Scriptures from
Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21. He said it all. It is all
true. It is all relevant to you and me today.
Does the Bible
address the subject of clothing? What should we, as children of
God, wear? To answer this, we must ask yet another question: what
is clothing for?
Immediately
after the account of the creation of man, in Genesis 2:25 we are
given this piece of information, “And they were both naked, the man
and his wife, and were not ashamed.” After they had eaten of the
forbidden fruit, “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew
that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made
themselves aprons.” Genesis 3:7. When Adam and Eve lost their
innocence, having obtained the knowledge of good and evil, God did
not have to tell them that they needed to be ashamed of their
nakedness. This they knew instinctively. They looked at
themselves, and decided that if they covered certain parts, it would
be sufficient to hide their shame. Likewise, in modern times,
people believe that a bikini swimsuit or spandex shorts are
sufficient to satisfy the requirements of modesty. This is the
syndrome mentioned to the church at Laodicea, in Revelation 3:17,
“thou…knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor,
and blind, and naked.”
God, however,
felt that barely covering certain parts was simply not enough. The
aprons they had made were not going to cut the mustard. So in
Genesis 3:21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make
coats of skins, and clothed them.”
Today,
Christianity often gets caught up in the latest fashion fad, and
simply goes with the flow. Mini-skirts, baring as much of the leg
as possible, and short shirts, and low-rise jeans, baring the
midriff, are just a couple of examples of clothing that is intended
to be provocative. The Bible deals with the evils of sensuality in
great detail. In fact, there is very much said in God’s word about
sex, and all of its pitfalls, when it occurs anywhere outside of the
bonds of matrimony. All revealing clothing is a trick to draw the
eye, and incite lust. Having achieved that goal, the inevitable
progression is given in James 1:15, “Then when lust hath conceived,
it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death.” The devil uses clothing as a means to achieve his end,
keeping mankind in slavery to sin. God has called upon us to dress
modestly, that we, in no way, would cause one another to sin.
Some
Christians teach that the Scriptures forbid the use of any jewelry,
even going so far as to prohibit the wearing of wedding rings. No
such blanket prohibition can be found in the Scriptures. Gifts of
jewelry are mentioned in Scriptures for various reasons: to show
political status, Genesis 41:42; Daniel 5:29, to show joy at
someone’s return, Luke 15:22, as a gift for a betrothal, Genesis
24:22, etc. God, by the prophet Isaiah, declared that, as a result
of their disobedience, He would remove His glory from their midst.
He went on to tell them that would be a visible sign that He had
removed their blessing, “In that day the Lord will take away the
bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet,...The chains,
and the bracelets,…and the ornaments of the legs, and the
headbands,…and the earrings. The rings, and nose jewels. The
changeable suits of apparel…” Isaiah 3:18-23.
Apparently,
God was indeed concerned with the inner beauty of His people.
Because they had become wicked, proud and perverse, God was going to
cause the things that enhanced their outward beauty to be removed so
their outer man would be in line with their inner being. So, too,
is it with God’s people today. Peter said, “Likewise, ye wives, be
in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word,
they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the
wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with
fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of
plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of
apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is
not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which
is in the sight of God of great price.” I Peter 3:1-4. Peter was
not informing us that it is a sin to wear jewelry, to set our hair,
or to wear fine clothing. What is meant here, is that our real
beauty, that which will really affect others for Christ, is what is
inside. Our true beauty is not what we wear, but who we are by the
grace of God.
Of course, our
outward appearance can certainly hamper our testimony, and we become
less effective if we allow ourselves to do things, such as wear
jewelry, to excess. We must always be aware of our own motives, and
whether what we do, say and look like will advance or deter the
cause of Christ.
As to the
current trend to do what can only be described as mutilation, it is
troubling that the Christian community has been shown to offer
little resistance to it. Piercings in the tongue and face, tattoos,
and other similar actions appear to go contrary to the Christian
walk. The Lord said, “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh
for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.”
Leviticus 19:28. Obviously, many who have had tattoos have later
turned to God. Without enduring a painful procedure, they will have
that permanent reminder of a part of their life before they received
the great gift of eternal life. However, after having been
delivered from the bondage of sin, we are called to be as Paul, who
said, “From henceforth let no ma trouble me: for I bear in my body
the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Galatians 6:17. It is the
righteousness of our risen Lord which should be prominently
displayed in every aspect of our lives. In all things we must
remain pure: unspotted from the world, and cleansed from all the
filthiness of the flesh and spirit. James 1:7; II Corinthians 7:1.
Historically,
church leaders have hinged religion on a set of rules of conduct.
It is necessary to know what the Lord wants us to do, and yet,
religion – true religion – is not something you do, it is something
you are. James said, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and
the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James
1:27.
John William
Jones, in his short article “The Character of Lee,” described Gen.
Robert E. Lee as “a Christian without hypocrisy.” No greater
testimony to our regenerate lives by the blood of Jesus could ever
be imagined. If we are claiming that something is at work on us on
the inside, and displaying a contradicting message on the outside,
the ungodly will quickly recognize the hypocrisy , and reject our
message. Meanwhile, we may also cause our brethren to stumble and
fall.
What does
a Christian look like? A Christian displays the love of Christ from
within, and the life-changing, overcoming power of Christ without.
A Christian is not subject to the capriciousness of passing fads,
nor to the need for self-gratification. A true Christian pursues a
godly path, with a godly attitude, being mindful of others, and
behaving in, and displaying, the will of God in speech, dress and
action. A true Christian does not limit God’s involvement in his or
her life to Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights, but includes Him
in every part of every day, and every decision.
“See then that
ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the
time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but
understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17.
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