Rev (Dr) Quek Suan Yew

Modesty – Conform Not to the Fashions of the World
1 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; 10 But (which becometh women
professing godliness) with good works.”

Introduction – Adam and Eve were not ashamed before there was sin in the world. Why did they cover their nakedness when sin entered their hearts? They were ashamed because as a result of their sin, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life were found in them. These emotions of sinful feelings captured their heart and soul in ways that they had never experienced before. Shame is a feeling that causes sinful man to dress decently and behave in an orderly manner. Sinful man does not want to be humiliated by others and therefore he behaves accordingly. No one likes to be shamed at all.
However, today man suddenly feels like he does not care anymore what others think. Shame is ignored and dies inside the person’s soul. The result is what we see in our society today in many parts of the world. The first evidence is found in the projection of intimate behaviours through the mass media via the internet and movie theatres and life theatres as well. The second is the societal influence. The modern behaviour of people whereby public display of affections is bandied about even within the church as if it is “no big deal” has become the way of life in many of these so-called modern western societies. Parents have given in to the carnal behaviour because these are seen in their children’s lives and they are too lax to do anything about it.
These kinds of shameful behaviour are enhanced and encouraged by the third influence which is the fashions of the world. The dressing of both men and women are designed by the same people who control the mass media and who want lasciviousness and the debauchery lifestyle to cover the face of the earth so that their multi-billion “garment” industry might be sustained and flourish. The agenda is to keep this way of life growing so that the society will become from bad to worse. The Sodom and Gomorrah way of life is what the god of this world desires and had planned for millenniums since the fall of man. Every era has been controlled by the evil one but never before with such great speed and global influence and control as in the 21st century via the internet! All believers are affected by this influence in one way or another. We need to be very consciously aware of this diabolical and deadly influence so that the image of Christ that we bare will not be defiled. It is Satan’s agenda to defile Christ’s image and name!
These influences do impact the external behaviour of the believer because through the external behaviour the witness for Christ is seen and known by others. Therefore how we dress and look physically is just as important as what we say and do. The whole life and appearance of the child of God will certainly impact the perception of the people around us – either for Christ or against Christ. Therefore God is very clear on the importance of the conduct and appearance of His disciples who are witnessing for Christ. As children of God we must consider this to be very important, for Christ’s sake!
I. Right Way to Dress (v. 9a) – The phrase “in like manner” refers us back to the preceding verses which emphasize the importance of the witness of male believers. The Lord Jesus Christ came to die for the sins of the world. He wants all mankind to be saved. He wants sinners to know Him. This truth will not change. There is only one God and He has declared that the only mediator between God and man is still only the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore it is of the utmost importance that believers (male) be spiritual and prayerful. 1 Timothy 2:3-8 “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” The word for “men” here refers to “male.” They are to lift up holy hands. This means to live a holy life whereby their prayers will not be hindered by any form of sin or carnality. God will not hear the prayers of sinful man (cf. Psalm 66:18). They must do so in faith. Therefore the phrase “in like manner” means that the women (female) believers must also be holy as they are also witnesses for Christ.

The women must “adorn themselves in modest apparel” as they witness for Christ. This means to dress in an orderly manner. The woman must demonstrate shamefacedness and sobriety. The word “shamefacedness” means “to be bashful.” No Christian woman ought to dress in a manner that is shameless. This may seem very hard to do when we are surrounded by a shameless 21st century society. The garments that are “the latest fashion” are shamefully immodest. Those who try to stay modest may be frowned upon as old-fashioned by their family members or friends or working colleagues. The pressure to conform to this shameless society is great and very real. It is an incessant and also very subtle assault on the Christian’s psyche to conform to the fashions of the world regardless of its immodest nature. This attack is manifestly compounded by the many professing believers who are more carnal than spiritual. Their dressing is very much like the world, for only their lips say they bear the image of Christ but not their bodies. They defile the name and image of Christ without an ounce of guilt. Truly born again Christians would naively or perhaps foolishly use these carnal lip service believers as their examples. They hope to sear their own conscience which continues to convict them that such immodest dressing is a sin against the thrice holy God almighty and Jesus Christ their Lord and Saviour who died for them! This has to stop! Truly born again believers must be modest in their dressing. They must be ashamed of any carnal way of dressing.

This must be done with sobriety, i.e. soundness of mind. Those who are truly born again have the mind of Christ to guide them. The Lord Jesus Christ must be the only person in their lives that they have to please at all costs! The ways of the world where carnality is emphasized must stop. The woman who dresses herself must evaluate with the mind of Christ to ascertain if a garment is appropriate or not. If it draws attention to the flesh, then it must not be worn. Short and tight fitting garments that accentuate carnality must not be worn by believers all the days of their lives because they are to point people to the Saviour by the way they look as well. Even expectant women are wearing fitting clothes that accentuate! The carnal believer will present a carnal Saviour! Some examples of inappropriate dressing are flared short skirts/dresses, and blouses that are revealing. It is difficult to list out the details like the length or design of an outfit in such cases, but it is important that all Christian women and men dress appropriately. The Christian men who are husbands and fathers must be holy and spiritual to be able to discern wisely and advise their wives and loved ones accordingly. Modest dressing that is accompanied with shamefacedness and sobriety must be the norm for all Christian ladies every day of their lives and not for Sundays only!

II. Wrong Way to Dress (v. 9b) – Broided or braided hair and the wearing of gold or pearls or costly array are considered wrong dressing in the Bible. Obviously there is nothing wrong with the braiding of hair or the wearing of gold, pearls or costly items. Abraham gave to the family of Rebekah much precious jewels as dowry for the hand of Rebekah in marriage to his son Isaac (cf. Genesis 24). If this understanding is not according to the biblical context, the danger, as seen in some instances, is that the more drab and unkempt the Christian women look the more spiritual and biblical they are in the sight of God. This way of reasoning and understanding this verse is utter nonsense. There is nothing Christ-honouring in looking dreadful and drab. The external dressing and look is important as people around us will “judge the book by its cover”. Why do you think Christ taught that when the believer is fasting, he does not let others know that he is fasting? Christ taught that he is to clean and freshen himself and look proper as if he is not fasting. People will look at the Christian’s behaviour and dressing and will make judgements all the time even though they might not want to admit it. But they have every right to! That is why it is also important that the Christian does not emphasize or focus on how he looks outwardly but how he looks inwardly. This is true of both men and women!

The issue is one of emphasis and focus. The Christian men and women must not allow their focus to be on their external whereby they spend much time and money in the “decoration” of their looks, thus neglecting their inward beauty which is one of holiness and godliness. This is also emphasized by God in 1 Peter 3:3-4 for the Christian women, “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 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.” The Christian men ought to do the same in their focus. The vanity in man is true for both genders. They express it differently in some ways but in other ways they are also similar. The amount of costly products that men and women pay to “beautify” themselves is mind boggling. According to Forbes, it is a US$445 billion industry for women products alone. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2017/05/18/self-made-women-wealth-beauty -gold-mine/#2adf8ee52a3a] The emphasis of the women of the world is the carnal self. This is a reflection of the inward carnal depraved nature. On the other hand, Christian women have an inward beauty given to them by God through Christ when the Lord baptized them with the Holy Spirit who dwells in them. They have an inner spiritual beauty that increases in beauty with every passing day that will never fade away. It increases in beauty as they draw closer to Christ in holiness and godliness. No matter how much is spent and how much women try, the outward earthen vessel will grow old and decay until it dies. The beauty of youth will decline with age. This process cannot be reversed or stopped until death ends it all. Death cannot touch or slow down the inner beauty of every Christian woman. The inward beauty is seen in the way they dress in modesty and sobriety as well as in their speech and conduct! This is what God wants all Christians and especially Christian women to focus on as they witness for Christ.

III. Best Way to Dress (v. 10) – God expresses the best way to dress in verse 10, “But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” The image of Christ is at stake. God is appealing to all who profess themselves as Christians. Godliness versus carnality is the argument presented by God. All women who call themselves Christians must know that they are godly in Christ and are therefore required by God to be congruent in their conduct and claim. If they claim to be godly as all believers are, then they must continue to do good works. The good works referred to here are the intrinsically good and not just externally good. They are deemed good and righteous works because they originate from Christian women who are good in heart, soul and mind through the gracious work of Christ who has transformed them from carnal to spiritual and unholy to holy! In short, the evidence of their salvation is seen in their modest apparel coupled with shamefacedness and sobriety.

Conclusion – All believers are to reflect the godliness and holiness of Christ Jesus our Lord. This is the only reason all believers are left behind on earth after salvation. We fail Him when we live in carnality and reflect a carnal Christ. Our dressing must be modest as this is the way that God has determined for His children who are to represent Him. Paul also pleaded for the same in Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

We are ambassadors for Christ on earth. It is important that we represent Christ as godly and holy as He is still the light of this world. Modest dressing is a true reflection of this godliness. We are no longer citizens of earth living in sin and carnality. Our image for Christ is determined by how we dress, speak and act. We are children of God who must bring glory to God in all that we do. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” Let us come to church for worship in appropriate attire because we approach God as a gathering of His beloved and sanctified children. Let us not dress modestly on Sundays only but all the days of our lives, for we are godly and holy for eternity. The world needs us to show them a holy Christ as we preach Christ in order to save them from their sin. Let us not stumble anyone anymore in all that we do and wear. This applies to all believers regardless of gender.