The following article is rather lengthy and has been included on this blog only because it is a subject of great interest for many religious people.
Introduction
How
should we dress for worship? Is there such a thing as inappropriate church attire? Must we “dress our best” for God? To show God reverence, must we dress
a certain way? These are all very common…and yet controversial questions.
Let
me first of all say that from my standpoint, I believe this is a personal
issue. If one feels compelled to dress up for church, and especially if it’s a
matter of conscience for them, then they really should dress up (Romans 14:23).
Certainly, there’s nothing wrong with
dressing up for church. There are even certain biblical principles that might
be applied to our choice of church attire. But the question is this: does God’s
word teach us that we show our reverence for God by “dressing up” for public
worship? And is this something that we can bind?
In this article, I’d like to first
of all make the case that God’s word does not teach that our clothing
has anything directly to do with our
reverence for Him. Then, I’d like to address the common arguments that are
often made for the other side. Please enter into this study with an open mind,
and let all of us ultimately submit to the standard of God’s holy word (2 Tim.
3:16-17).
Examples From
the First Century
If we’re going to equate our attire
(clothing) with our reverence for God, we must first of all make this
connection in the Scriptures. If the Scriptures teach us that we must dress up
for worship as a sign of reverence for God, then we all must comply.
However, if the Scriptures do not teach this – whether by command, approved
example, or necessary inference – then we must relegate this to personal choice
and refrain from judging others who do not meet “our” standards.
When I read through the New
Testament, I learn about Jesus, His disciples (during His ministry), and the
church that was established following Jesus’ resurrection. As I review all of
the details of the “Christian movement” of the first century, I never once see
any emphasis being placed on the way they dressed for worship (or on many other
things that we so cherish today).
During
the ministry of Christ, Jesus and His disciples really didn’t have a home to
stay in. Jesus Himself said that “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”
(Matthew 8:20). I don’t get the impression that Jesus and His disciples felt
the need to dress up or be well-shaven on the basis that they revered the
Father and wanted to properly represent Him through their appearance. Do you?
The
same is true with the church of the first century. Most of these churches met
in homes (Rom. 16:5; Philemon 1:1) or in central places such as upper rooms
(Acts 20:7). We know, historically, that the Christians in Rome often would
sneak through the city to assemble together in the catacombs. I have a really
hard time believing that these saints dressed up in their “Sunday best” before
heading to worship in the catacombs or in a home. History will bear out that
church worship became a much more formal affair in the evolution of the
Catholic church, and that this formal view of worship carried over into
Protestantism. Fancy church buildings, rigid worship, well-dressed worshipers,
etc. – all of this has become quite traditional for churches today, but this
was not the norm in the first century.
To
provide some actual historical evidence, consider the following, rather lengthy
quote, from Frank Viola’s work, “Pagan Christianity”:
“The practice of dressing up
for church is a relatively recent phenomenon. It began in the late-eighteenth century with the Industrial Revolution, and it became
widespread in the mid-nineteenth century. Before this time, “dressing up” for
social events was known only among the very wealthy. The reason was simple.
Only the well-to-do aristocrats of society could afford nice clothing! Common
folks had only two sets of clothes: work clothes for laboring in the field and
less tattered clothing for going into town.
Dressing up for any occasion
was only an option for the wealthiest nobility. From medieval times until the
eighteenth century, dress was a clear marker of one’s social class. In places
like England, poor people were actually forbidden to wear the clothing of the
“better” people.
This changed with the invention
of the mass textile manufacturing and the development of urban society. Fine
clothes became more affordable to the common people. The middle class was born,
and those within it were able to emulate the envied aristocracy. For the first
time, the middle class could distinguish themselves from the peasants. To demonstrate their newly
improved status, they could now “dress up” for social events just like the
well-to-do.
Some Christian groups in the
late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries resisted this cultural trend.
John Wesley wrote against wearing expensive clothing to their meetings. The
early Baptists also condemned fine clothing, teaching that it separated the rich from the
poor.
Despite these protests,
mainstream Christians began wearing fine clothes whenever they could. The growing middle class prospered,
desiring bigger homes, larger church buildings, and fancier clothing. As the Victorian enculturation of the middle class
grew, fancier church buildings began to draw more influential people in
society.
This all came to a head when in
1843, Horace Bushnell, and influential Congregational minister in Connecticut,
published an essay called “Taste and Fashion.” In it, Bushnell argued that
sophistication and refinement were attributes of God and that Christians should
emulate them. Thus was born the idea of dressing up for church to honor God. Church members now worshiped in
elaborately decorated buildings sporting their formal clothes to honor God.
In 1846, a Virginia
Presbyterian named William Henry Foote wrote that “a church-going people are a dress loving
people.” This statement simply expressed the formal dress
ritual that mainstream Christians had adopted when going to church. The trend
was so powerful that by the 1850s, even the “formal-dress resistant” Methodists
got absorbed by it. And they, too, began wearing their Sunday best to church.
In response to this excellent quote
from Frank Viola, I’d like to clarify one thing so as not to offend any of my
readers. While I do believe that the concept of “dressing up” for worship has
the aforementioned historical origins and that folks mainly dressed up in the
past to show their social status, I do not necessarily believe that this is the
motivation for every finely-dressed person today. I do believe that many “dress
up” to show their respect for God and that their motives are pure. My point in
citing history here is not to judge motives today, but to show that the notion
of “dressing up” for church has historical, not biblical origins.
To be fair, one who is a strong
proponent of “dressing up” for church (as a sign of reverence for God) and who
believes the Bible supports their position most likely believes that God’s
people have always dressed up for church whether history bears that out or not.
In other words, if it’s a scriptural principle, than those who have respected
the Scriptures throughout history certainly would have submitted to this
principle. Right? Well, we’ll come back to the alleged scriptural evidence for
this concept later in the article, so please bear with me.
“Judges With
Evil Thoughts”
Not only did the Christians of the
first century NOT have such a formal approach to worship, and not only did they
NOT “dress up” for worship (that we have record of), the New Testament actually
seems to strongly discourage the practice of equating reverence with attire.
In 1 Timothy 2:9-10, Paul writes,
“…in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with
propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly
clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness.” Apparently,
there were some Christian women in the first century who were “dressing up” to
show off their wealth. They were trying to stand out in the crowd. Paul
admonishes such women to place more emphasis on their inward appearance – to be
godly and pure first and foremost. While Paul isn’t saying that jewelry or
expensive clothing are wrong, he is discouraging that image. Notice that Paul
doesn’t tell these women to dress up, but to dress themselves with a better,
more spiritual motive. He stresses the inward appearance. We see these same
instructions in 1 Peter 3:3-4.
In James 2:1-4, we read the
following: “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a
man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a
poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing
fine clothes…have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges
with evil thoughts” (James 2:1-2, 4). We generally assume that James here is
speaking about visitors, not mature Christians, but in all fairness, we do not
know. Perhaps this was a fellow brother who was visiting from out of town, or
even a member of that same church. However, it really doesn’t matter, because
the point is still made that we shouldn’t look at a person’s outward appearance
– specifically, their clothing – and judge their heart. What this has to mean
is that a person can still be totally sincere and reverent toward God without
“dressing their best.” In fact, when we make such judgments, we are called
“judges with evil thoughts.” I do not want the Lord to say that about me, do
you?
First Samuel 16:7 says, “But the
Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his
stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man
looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Jesus echoed
this principle in John 7:24 when He said, “Do not judge according to
appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
Defining Reverence As God Does
If
we are going to say that we must “dress our best” to show reverence for God,
again, we must have scriptural precedent. How does God define reverence? Does
God connect our attire and reverence?
To
revere God is to respect, fear and venerate Him. After all, He is our Creator
and is so far above us. More than this, we are accountable to Him and will one
day have to stand before His judgment seat. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:10-11,
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may
receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether
good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”
We should fear and reverence God by choosing “good” works as Paul here says. In
other words, our obedience is a sign of our reverence. And “good works” are
defined solely by God’s word (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Through our obedience to the
teachings of Christ, we are showing that we fear God and respect His will. If the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9) does
not define “dressing our best” as a “good work,” then we cannot equate it with
reverence and we certainly cannot judge others as irreverent who do not dress
up for worship.
In
Hebrews 10:26-30, the inspired writer speaks about the consequences of those
who “sin willfully” after having received the knowledge of the truth. Then, in
verse 31, he writes, “It is a fearful thing to fall in to the hands of the
living God.” To fear and reverence God is defined here is living righteously
and obediently. Later, in Hebrews 12:28-29, we read, “Therefore, since we are
receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may
serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a
consuming fire.” Once again, the Scriptures define reverence as “[serving] God
acceptably.” God defines what it means to serve Him acceptably…in His word!
Even
in the Old Testament where God’s covenant was very physical and outward in so
many ways, Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 that we’re to “Fear God
and keep His commandments, for this
is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including
every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
A
person shows their reverence for God by identifying who He is, what His will
is, and by sincerely doing His will. With this in mind, the person who
understands the importance of assembling with the church regularly is showing
their reverence for God (Heb. 10:24-25). The person who seeks to bear the
“fruit of the Spirit” in his life is showing his reverence for God (Gal.
5:22-23). The woman who submits to her husband as she submits to Christ, and
conversely, the man who loves His wife as Christ loves the church, are showing
their reverence for God (Eph. 5:22-25). The person who seeks to live
blamelessly in the world so as to be that “shining light” is truly reverent
(Phil. 2:15). The person who loves the Lord with all his heart, soul and mind
reveres Him (Mt. 22:37-38). I could go on here, but I’m sure you get the point.
If
we’re going to say that folks must revere God by “dressing their best,” we must
show how this is a “good work” in the Scriptures. Otherwise, we must relegate
this to private choice and refrain from binding our standard on others.
The Danger of Binding Human
Traditions
As I’m sure you can tell by now, I
do not believe that the Scriptures connect our attire with our level of reverence
for God. Therefore, if this is not a biblical requirement, it can only be a
human tradition. Now, as I’ll explain later, I do believe that as individuals
we have the right to dress up for worship…and if one believes in their heart
that they must, then they must (Rom.
14:23). However, when we begin to bind a “dress code” or judge others’ hearts
based on their dress, we have crossed a line.
In Matthew 15:1-2, we read the
following: “Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to
Jesus, saying, ‘Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?
For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.’” These Jewish leaders
were binding a human tradition on others, weren’t they? But did they not have
reason for such a tradition? After all, those who entered the Temple were to
wash their hands (Exodus 30:18-21). And can’t we see that, symbolically, we
want to appear clean before God? This all sounds reasonable, and we might be
able to see their logic, but the fact is, the Law of Moses didn’t require that
the Jews wash their hands before eating. They even acknowledged as much by
referring to this as a “tradition of the elders.” And yet they bound their
extra-biblical tradition on Jesus’ disciples.
How
did Jesus respond? He said, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because
of your tradition?” (vs. 3). He infers here that what really matters is
God’s commandments, not human traditions. Then He said in verse seven,
“Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw
near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is
far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the
commandments of men” (vs. 7-9).
First
of all, Jesus defines for us once again what true reverence is all about. True
reverence involves sincerity and obedience. Our hearts must be “near” unto God,
and we must be in obedience to God’s commandments. Isn’t that what Jesus here
is emphasizing?
Secondly,
and more to the point, Jesus plainly says that when we take a human tradition
and make it a commandment, we are worshiping in “vain.” Please notice that
their “tradition” wasn’t even connected directly to public worship. They were
mandating that the Jews wash their hands before they ate, and yet from that,
Jesus concluded that their worship was “in vain,” or empty.
If
the concept of “dressing our best” is a human tradition, and if we’re binding
our subjective standard on others, are we any different from the scribes and
Pharisees in this text? And what are the consequences? This is a very serious
matter, as I’m sure you can see. As I’ve written many times already in this
article, we need to relegate this matter to private choice and not bind our
subjective standards on others in the church lest we be guilty of “vain”
worship, and lest we be called “judges with evil thoughts” (James 2:4).
The Other Side of the Issue: Principles
Relating To Our Dress
I have striven in this article to
prove that we cannot equate our dress with our reverence for God and that we especially cannot bind a human tradition
on others. However, I am not opposed to “dressing up” for worship and actually
believe that there are some scriptural principles that can be applied here.
First, I’d like to relate to you these principles, and then I’ll discuss the
nature of principles.
First of all, there is the principle
of our influence. In Matthew 17:24-28,
we learn that the Jews expected Jesus to pay the Temple tax. It’s clear in
verse 25 that Jesus didn’t feel compelled to pay it, and yet for the sake of
influence and keeping the peace, He said to Peter, “Nevertheless, lest we
offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up
first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take
that and give it to them for Me and you” (vs. 27). Jesus sacrificed His liberty
to avoid offending the Jews He was trying to teach and influence.
In Acts 16:3, when Paul decided to
take Timothy along with him on his missionary journeys, “he took him and
circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew
that his father was Greek.” We know that circumcision is not required by the
New Testament, but Timothy sacrificed his liberty for the same reason that
Jesus had sacrificed His; it was about influence.
Likewise, if we live in a society
where NOT “dressing up” will hurt our influence, we ought to individually make
the choice to sacrifice our liberty and dress up...for the sake of influence.
We see this in 1 Corinthians 9:22 as well when Paul says, “I have become all
things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” When it’s essential to
maintain our influence, we ought to dress up.
It is worth pointing out here, that
while we have the example of Timothy, we also have the example of Titus in
Galatians 2:3-5. Here, Paul recounts, “Yet not even Titus who was with me,
being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And this occurred because of
false brethren secretly brought in…to whom we did not yield submission even for
an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.” Timothy chose
to be circumcised so that his influence would not be hindered among those he
and Paul were trying to convert. However, Titus did not sacrifice his liberty
in this area; he refused to be circumcised when false brethren made it a
requirement. By comparison, we might choose to “dress up” for worship because we
want to maintain our influence with certain ones, but when the matter is forced
upon us, a line has been crossed and a difference response is appropriate.
A second principle worth considering
here – and this one is similar to the first one – is the principle of modesty. Earlier, we read 1 Timothy
2:9-10 where Paul encourages women to dress in “modest apparel.” The word modest is from the Greek word kosmios which means “orderly, that is,
decorous: - of good behavior, modest.” The root of kosmios is kosmos which
refers to the world. To make a long story short, when Paul commands us to be
modest, he is telling us to recognize the world’s standards of dress and
fashion and to dress appropriately so that we do not stand out. There are
limits to this, for we cannot allow ourselves to be insufficiently clothed, or
“naked” no matter what. However, to apply this principle to our current
discussion, if our society dictates that we ought to “dress up” for
worship to show our reverence for God or for the occasion, then we should. If
society says “dress up” and we are seen going to church in shorts or
sweatpants, then we are being immodest, or inappropriate.
In response to these few principles,
I’d like to make a few quick points.
First of all, I think we all
understand that this is societal anyways. Brethren who worship in small, rural
churches often wear blue jeans and (maybe) a nice, button up shirt. Brethren
overseas, especially in warm climates, might wear shorts and flip flops to
church. Historically, we know that there were times when standards were very
high, and times when standards were much lower. Even in the 20th
century, standards were much higher fifty years ago than they are now. Do we
condemn these brethren who have lower standards than we do? Generally, we do
not, and rightly so. In fact, if we were to worship with these brethren, I
doubt we would insist on wearing our suits and ties or “Sunday dresses.”
Furthermore, we know that these traditions are societal because we do not apply
the same standard of “dressing our best” to Sunday night and Wednesday night
services. If it were really a matter of reverence, we would have the same
standard for all services. But we do not…because society says that this is
okay.
Second, I truly believe that society
no longer has the belief that we must “dress our best” for worship. Certainly,
there are many churches out there who do have this belief, but by and large, we
have shifted as a society to a point where blue jeans and even shorts are
acceptable. There are a lot of very popular, contemporary churches that are
highly respected by Christendom and by society, who have absolutely no
standards of dress. This wouldn’t have been the case a few decades ago, but it
is now. So I don’t know that this principle of modesty or even the principle of
influence really apply anymore like they once did.
Okay, the third and final principle that
I’ll mention is that of sacrificing
rights for weaker brethren. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul makes the point that
while there was nothing wrong with eating meat that had been sacrificed to
idols, some brethren did not have that same knowledge (vs. 7); for them, eating
that meat was an act of worship to the idol. Therefore, Paul said to the
stronger brethren (who felt comfortable exercising this right), “But beware
lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are
weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will
not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered
to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for
whom Christ died? But when you sin against the brethren, and wound their weak
conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother
stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (vs.
9-13).
Does this principle apply to the
issue at hand? Is Paul saying that if there are certain folks in the church who
feel that we must “dress our best” to show reverence for God that we must all
therefore sacrifice our liberty and just dress up to appease these brethren?
While the issue may apply, I would suggest to you that the above scenario is
not a proper application. Allow me to explain.
Paul is NOT saying here that we must
sacrifice our liberties and conform to the traditions or opinions of certain
brethren in the church. He is specifically encouraging us to sacrifice our
liberties if and only if the exercise of those liberties will embolden a
weak brother to violate his conscience and sin against Christ. So let’s say
that there is a person in the church who believes that they must “dress up” for
worship. First of all, they are the weak brother, by definition. But let’s say
that they are so weak in this area that when others do not dress up as they do,
they themselves are emboldened to dress down in violation of their own
conscience. If this is the case, then we all ought to choose, out of love for
that brother, to forego our liberty and “dress up.” In the meantime, we ought
to teach this weak brother.
But this is not usually the case.
Usually, it is a matter of mature Christians who have an unbiblical definition of
reverence and who are binding their opinion on their brethren and judging their
hearts. This is where Romans 14 comes into play (which has a different message
than 1 Corinthians 8). Here, Paul is still talking about the manner in which we
deal with issues of liberty, but here, the situation is a bit different. Paul
says in Romans 14:1-4, “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to
disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he
who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not
eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has
received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master
he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make
him stand.”
So
we must tell both sides of the story here. While it’s absolutely true that we
must sacrifice our liberties in the event that we are emboldening a weaker
brother to violate his conscience, when it’s simply a matter of different
opinions being held within the church, both sides are instructed not to judge
the other. In regard to “dressing up” for worship, those who wear their “Sunday
best” should not be judgmental or critical of those who do not “dress up,” as
if they are somehow less reverent, nor should those who come in more casual
attire judge the others as “holier than thou.” The importance of this point
cannot be overstated!
But
I will say this: in the case where the “formally-dressed brethren” force or
intimidate the “casually dressed brethren” to “dress up” for worship to appease
them, the problem is not with the “casually dressed brethren” who chafe against
such pressure; the problem is with the “formally-dressed brethren” who judge
the hearts of the “casually-dressed brethren.” Romans 14 isn’t teaching the
“casually-dressed brethren” to forego their liberty and “dress up,” but rather
that brethren from both sides need to refrain from judging the others.
The Nature of Principles
Having stated the above principles,
there is something that we must understand about the nature of principles.
While commands are clear, specific and must be bound upon others, principles
are generic…and while the principles can be bound, we cannot necessarily bind our application of them.
For example, Romans 13:14 says, “But
put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill
its lusts.” This is a principle that we can and must teach to our brethren, but
can I bind my application of it? Let’s say that, based on this principle, I decide
that I’m not going to watch TV because of all the filthiness and immorality it
promotes. Can I then judge my brethren who do choose to watch some TV? Of
course not.
In Ephesians 5:16, we’re told to
“[redeem] the time, because the days are evil.” Let’s say that I interpret this
to mean (for me) that I’m not going to
watch TV or be a sports fanatic or play golf…because, after all, these
things take up a lot of time and have little to do with God. I’m permitted to
make these decisions, but can I then criticize my brother who golfs 18 holes
every Saturday? No.
Likewise, with the aforementioned
principles regarding our dress, we can teach and bind those principles, and we
can even encourage others to consider our application of those principles, but
we cannot turn our conclusion into a commandment and then bind it across the
board. Because ultimately, while the principle is clearly stated, the
application isn’t, and when I bind that which isn’t specified on others, I am
adding to God’s commandments and am no different than the Pharisees of old.
Does that make sense? I hope it does.
Personally, I might choose to wear a
suit and tie on Sunday because the aforementioned principles compel me to do
so, but (1) my reasons have nothing directly
to do with reverence for God, and (2) I cannot and must not bind my practice on
others and/or view them as less reverent.
Addressing Arguments For the Other
Side
I do not believe that there is any
scriptural precedent for equating our dress with our reverence for God.
However, those on the other side of this issue do have their reasons for
believing what they do. Before I conclude this study, I’d like to respond to
these arguments.
“I Still Believe That We Should
Dress Up to Show Our Reverence.”
There are those who, despite
everything I’ve explained in this article, will still make the above statement.
Listen, we have to allow God to define what is and what is not truly reverent.
Wouldn’t you agree? So if God does not tie our dress with our reverence, then
neither can we. God defines reverence as obedience to His will from the heart.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
But again, if you believe that you
must dress up to show your reverence for God, even if that’s not taught in the
Scriptures – if, for you, it would violate your conscience to show up on Sunday
morning in a pair of blue jeans, then don’t do it. Romans 14:23 says that
“whatever is not from faith is sin.” Just don’t bind your opinion on others.
“The Priests of the Old Testament
Had a Dress Code.”
The argument is sometimes made that
the priests of the Old Testament were expected to wear holy garments when they
came into God’s presence in the Temple (Exodus 28). Then the connection is made
to 1 Peter 2:9 where Christians today are called a “holy priesthood.” Therefore,
the conclusion is drawn that we must “dress our best” when we come into God’s
presence…as a sign of our reverence for Him.
While it is true that we are priests
today, we cannot assume that every dictate given to the levitical priests of
old is applicable to us. For example, God also stipulated, “They shall not make
any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards
nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy to their God and not
profane the name of their God, for they offer the offerings of the Lord made by
fire…for the priest is holy to his God” (Lev. 21:5-7). Moses goes on to say in
verses 18-20 that “any man who has a
defect shall not approach: a man blind or lame, who has a marred face or any
limb too long, a man who has a broken foot or broken hand…” Must we then
conclude that men cannot have goatees, mustaches or physical defects because,
after all, we’re God’s priests today? Of course we don’t believe this. But if
we’re going to be consistent with this argument, we have to forbid these things
as well because Moses is very clear that these things violated the priest’s
“holiness” before God.
The fact is, dear reader, the Old
Testament defined holiness much differently than does the New Testament. The Old
Testament was very physical and overwhelming in terms of what it required (Acts
15:10). Jesus nailed it to the cross (Col. 2:14-16) and has provided us with
the spiritual fulfillment. In 1 Peter 5:5, Peter provides us with a spiritual
fulfillment of this principle when he writes, “Clothe yourselves, all of
you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble.’”
Finally, the only reason that we’re
called priests today is because we “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to
God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5). What are these spiritual
sacrifices? Doesn’t God define them? If God doesn’t define “dressing our best”
as a spiritual sacrifice, neither can we.
“The Saints Wore White Robes
Before God in Revelation.”
The argument is sometimes made that
because the elders and saints wore white robes when they came into God’s
presence in the book of Revelation, that we must show our reverence by
“dressing up” for worship today.
It’s true that this occurred in the
book of Revelation. In Revelation 4:4, we read that “Around the throne were
twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting,
clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their head.” In
Revelation 6:10-11, the martyred saints were given white robes when they came
before God.
This argument doesn’t work for the
simple reason that the book of Revelation is a book of symbolism that draws
upon Old Testament imagery and language to make its points (Rev. 1:1). We
cannot take a detail from this book and bind this symbolic detail in a literal
way upon Christians. These white robes likely represented purity, not the
importance of wearing a suit and tie or dress for Sunday worship.
Furthermore, the elders also sat on
thrones and wore crowns. Must we do the same? They also offered incense (Rev.
8:3-4), played harps (Rev. 5:8) and fell prostrate before God in reverence of
Him (Rev. 7:11). Should we require that worshipers today fall on their faces
when they sing as a sign of reverence?
“We Are to Sacrifice for God.”
Jesus has told us in Matthew 16:24
that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Certainly, this
principle of sacrifice is taught throughout the Scriptures. We must be willing
to be uncomfortable and do that which isn’t easy for the sake of our Lord.
Some
have even cited the example of David and Araunah’s threshing floor in 2 Samuel
24:18-24. Here, to stop God’s plague, David was told to “erect an altar to the
Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah” (vs. 18). When he informed Araunah of
this, Araunah replied, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems
good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements,
and the yokes of the oxen for wood. All these, O King, Araunah has given to the
king” (vs. 22-23). But David replied, “No, but I will surely buy it from you
for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that
which costs me nothing.” Many have used this story to teach that we must
sacrifice for our God by “dressing up” and wearing nice clothes to church.
First
of all, as I have stated time and again in this article, we cannot redefine
holiness or reverence…or even sacrifice for God. Nor can we take a general
principle and bind our application of that principle. If you believe,
based on this story, that you must go out and buy a $200 suit or dress, I’m not
going to stop you or even discourage you, but you can’t redefine reverence for
all of us.
Furthermore,
based on Romans 12:1-2 aren’t we each to be “living sacrifices” for God? Isn’t
our entire life to reflect our worship, our adoration, our sacrifice and our
reverence toward God? Therefore, if we truly believe that our dress is a matter
of reverence, then we must dress up all the time, and especially when we pray,
sing, teach, or do anything for our God. If not, why not? By what standard can
we bind “dressing up” for public worship, but not for private worship?
“We Would Dress Up for the
President, So Why Not For God?”
This argument isn’t always backed up
with Scripture, but many will turn to Malachi 1:6-8 to make their case. Here,
God speaks through Malachi to the spiritually apathetic Jews, saying, “A son
honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is
my honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts
to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised
your name?’ You offer defiled food on My altar, but say, ‘In what way have we
defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’ And when you
offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and
sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he then be
pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?’ says the Lord of hosts.”
At first, this argument in
connection with this passage seems to make a very compelling case. The Jews
were offering better sacrifices to their governor than to God. Therefore, how
can we believe that we must dress up for the President, but not for worship?
Please notice in the above text that
God wasn’t concerned with arbitrary things; He specifically used the example of
“offerings.” We all know that the Law of Moses required that the Jews not only
make offerings/sacrifices to God, but that they offer sacrifices “without
blemish” (Ex. 12:5; 29:1, et al). These Jews had abandoned this command and
were more concerned about their societal reputation than the judgment of God.
Therefore, if God doesn’t care about our clothing (by defining it as
reverence), then this text doesn’t apply. This text would apply only to issues where God has asked for our
obedience/sacrifice.
A
proper application of this text would be to our singing. God commands us to
“sing…with grace in our hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16), and yet many sing
halfheartedly in church all the while singing wholeheartedly at a concert or along with the radio.
Having said that, it’s true that we
would all dress up if we were to meet the President, or go to a wedding or
funeral. However, we would dress up because this has been society’s
standard…not God’s standard. To prove the point, the Jews of old would wear sackcloth
(far from being “nice” clothing) when they were in mourning. We also know – and
this is seen in John 11 – that when someone died, Jews would comfort the family
by wailing and mourning for the bereaved. They didn’t have formal funerals like
we do where everyone shows up in black attire, sits quietly and listens to a
“funeral sermon.” So societal standards change.
In the end, we cannot bind a
societal standard as a biblical standard, nor can we define reverence for God in
light of societal standards. Otherwise, what do we do with all the brethren in
rural churches who wear blue jeans to church even though they wouldn’t before
the President? And what do we do with the large segment of history where
Christian did not dress formally for worship? Were they irreverent? I don’t
think any of us would make such a charge.
“Our Clothing Communicates Our
Attitude To Others.”
I do not wish to devote a lot of
time and attention to sharing with you the secular research that has been done
on this point, but suffice it to say, our clothing does communicate
something to others. Of course, different professions require a different type
of attire (e.g. lawyer vs. janitor). But more than that, our clothing does
often reflect our attitude or personality. A person who always wears black
clothing, who dyes their hair black, and so on, is conveying something about
their personality, and we judge those who dress this way, don’t we? A person
who has a more relaxed, laid-back attitude is probably going to be more apt to
wear shorts and a t-shirt, even to more formal events. On the other side, the
person who is always wearing slacks and a tucked-in shirt probably has a more
ordered life, is more wealthy, or simply cares more about his appearance.
While our clothing can communicate something about our
character, it is wrong to assume that because a person does not “dress up” for
church, they are not as inwardly reverent as you might be. The person who shows
up to church in a pair of shorts may have as much zeal and passion for the Lord
as the next person. In other words, these are generalizations that we cannot
make into absolutes.
More importantly, I would point out
to you that while our clothing may communicate something to others, we as
Christians have an obligation to shut out this communication. As we have seen,
we are told, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous
judgment” (John 7:24). So maybe a person’s more casual attire reflects a more
casual spiritual outlook, but then again, maybe it doesn’t. In any event, do
not assume that you know the person’s heart because of what they’re wearing.
Otherwise, you become a judge with evil thoughts (Jas. 4:4). If you see
spiritual apathy, deal with that, but don’t make an issue out of the way a
person is dressed.
The Problem of Subjectivity
The concept that we must “dress our
best” for worship is either a clearly taught biblical standard that we can and
must bind, or it is not. If it is not – and obviously, I believe it is not – then we are certainly permitted to
have our own private convictions or feelings about the issue, but we cannot
redefine reverence for others or bind our subjective standard on others.
And, you know, there is so much
subjectivity involved here. We’re to dress up for Sunday morning worship, but we’re allowed to dress more casually for
Sunday night and Wednesday night assemblies. Are blue jeans good enough, or
must we wear slacks? Can women wear pants? Must men wear a suit and tie, just a
shirt and tie…or is a collared shirt good enough? Do these dress codes apply
only to the men who are leading in the service? Should the elders, deacons
and/or evangelist be held to a higher standard? Can we wear shirts that have
logos and/or messages on them, or should our shirts be solid color? Must we
“dress up” for public worship when we do not “dress up” for small group
studies, singings, etc…even though Jesus is in our midst “where two or three
are gathered together in My name” (Matthew 18:20)?
A Serious Matter!
This is a serious matter for
multiple reasons.
First and foremost, when we redefine
reverence and holiness, we are redefining God Himself and how others perceive
Him. I’m reminded of how a husband might joke that his wife is “the real boss.”
How does this portray the wife? As domineering. He may be joking, but such a
statement may present a false image of his wife. Or sometimes a teenager will
tell her friend that “Mom and Dad are so unfair; they don’t understand me at
all!” Would this be an accurate representation of her parents? Probably not.
When
we tell others that God requires that we all dress up to show our reverence for
Him, we’re saying that God cares about our “outward appearance,” when in fact
“the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the
Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). And while we may not intend to convey
this message, in that person’s mind, we may be taking away from the true nature
and definition of reverence…which is all about inward devotion and obedience.
And
while it’s true that society may
expect church-goers to “dress up” for worship, there are also many people in
society who see all the finely-dressed people at church and are intimidated…to
the point that they do not come to church. “I can never look like them or be
like them,” they say. This happens more than you’d think.
Secondly, this issue is important
because, while it’s okay to have private opinions or convictions, the second we
begin to teach others that they must dress a certain way, or the second that we
make “laws” where God has not, we have become Pharisaical (Mt. 15:1-9) and
judges with evil thoughts (James 4:4).
In the end, instead of making our
own laws and “dress codes,” we must leave this issue to personal judgment. As
Paul says in Romans 14, “Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil;
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking (or how we “dress” for
worship, CH), but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he
who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which
one may edify another” (vs. 17-19). Neither side should judge the other.
Instead, let’s focus on what God has commanded, and let’s set aside these
divisive traditions in favor of God-centered unity.
A Few Final Thoughts
Imagine with me a world where we
didn’t feel pressured to “dress up” and prepare our outward appearance for
worship on Sunday. Instead of spending an hour ironing clothes, putting on
makeup, styling hair and getting children dressed and primed for worship…just
imagine with me a world where we could spend much of that time praying,
studying, singing and meditating…to prepare ourselves spiritually for worship!
Wouldn’t it be so nice to show up at church spiritually-prepared and tuned-in…not
frazzled and stressed? And wouldn’t it be nice to not have to worry about what
others think about our clothes? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all came
together to truly show our reverence for God by singing with our whole hearts
(Eph. 5:19) and giving God our spiritual best?
I understand that this is a
controversial topic and that there are varying opinions. I’m sure that I
haven’t addressed every passage or argument for and against my position. Much
more could be said. But I hope and pray that what I have said makes sense to
you.
And again, please understand that I
am not necessarily maligning the motives of those who “dress up” for worship. I
believe that many, if not most worshipers, have pure motives. Furthermore, I’m
not teaching against the notion of “dressing up,” nor am I encouraging you to
wear sweatpants to church. Again, there are those principles (cited earlier) to
consider. In fact, as an evangelist, I wear a shirt and tie on Sunday simply
because I don’t want a non-issue like this to hinder my influence with anyone,
whether they be Christians or not.
Finally,
if you feel that I am wrong, please contact me and let me know. Until then,
pursue your own convictions on this issue while leaving the judgment to God.
Thank you so much for wading through this material. It shows that you are
sincerely interested in spiritual matters.
