Godly Apparel Part II

I Samuel 16:7 "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."

So many people take this verse and use it to fit their belief that God looks on the heart so it doesn't matter how they dress on the outside. What they fail to realize is that man looks on the outside. This verse even says that. But they overlook that part of the verse. Since man sees only the outward, and since our responsibility is to reach and influence people for Christ, our outward appearance is important.

II Timothy 2:9-10 "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array: But which becometh women professing godliness with good works."

We're going to do a word study on this verse. Apparel in the Webster's Dictionary is a covering for the body, dress. It is an outer garment (as for a woman or girl) usually consisting of a one piece dress and/or skirt.

Garment in the Strong's Concordance is simlah in the Hebrew. It means apparel, clothing, a dress, raiment. It tells me in the concordance to compare to the Hebrew word salmah which means a dress.

Raiment in the Hebrew is beged. It is a covering...for example clothing, apparel, garment.

Modest in the Webster's Dictionary is defined decent, long and flowing. God is commanding women to wear decent dresses that are long and flowing that cover the body.

Modest means modesty in all things including skirts and dresses long enough to cover the legs. Pans and even tight or short dresses and skirts cannot fit the definition of the words here.

If by what you wear you cause a man to lust after you, you will be held accountable. I Timothy 5:22 "...neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure."

God has set up a dress code for us in His Word. Do you realize the world even sets up dress codes for people to follow? They are set up in the work place and in schools. People are accepting of this yet when they're told the dress code God has set for us in His Word they are not as easily accepting of it. The dress codes the world has set up identifies them with their job or what they are. A soldier wears a special uniform because he or she is a soldier in the USA. You know when you see them in their uniform that they are a soldier. And they don't have a choice as to whether they are to wear their uniform. They are made to comply with orders. When you see a nurse in her uniform you know she is a nurse. I could go on and on with this part but I think you get the general idea. I will stop right here though and tell you that I can't begin to tell you the number of times that I have been stopped in the store or out somewhere with my children and someone ask me if we are Christians. When I tell them yes they tell me they could just tell because of how we were dressed. We stand apart from the world and how they dress. So how we dress does make a statement of who we belong to.

The Bible speaks of the day that would come when women would be wearing what they're wearing. Isaiah 4:1a "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel." This day came in 1942 during WWII and women had to go out and get jobs because their husbands weren't coming home from the war and they had to support their families themselves. That is where this nation began to go downhill in the home with dress and with authority in the home. That was free...just thought I would throw that in there too.

Deuteronomy 22:5 "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God." It's pretty self-explanatory what this verse is saying. The word pertaineth here means to pertain to. I really don't think a dress pertains to a man. So if a dress doesn't pertain to a man what does? Pants do!! We think it is a sick thing to wee a man in a dress but we are accepting of a woman wearing pants. I'll be going into this thing of the pants later. But I just wanted tot give you something to think about in that word "pertaineth". That is the word that got me!!

An abomination is something abominable, it means extreme disgust and hatred, loathing. We react in disgust to Sodomites but we accept women wearing pants. Both are an abomination to God. It is no more an abomination for a man to wear a dress than it is for a woman to wear pants. Many will use the argument that God is talking about that in the Old Testament, it doesn't apply today.

Leviticus 18:22 "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."

Leviticus 20:13 "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed and abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."

Both of these Scriptures speak of sodomy or homosexuality. Are they not still an abomination today?

People play pick and choose with what they want to believe. If we believe the Bible to be God's Word then we should believe that every word is His Word. II Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."