Sunday night was my VLB service. It turned out real well. All my VLB's were there. The lesson went well. I was a bit nervous when God laid this subject on my heart, but there was good discussion and a good spirit through it all. Praise the Lord! I learned a few new things when studying this out. I like learning new things of why we believe the way we do. Hope you all enjoy it too. It was exciting to be able to share it with the church. After our lesson, we had a fun game of bible trivia. Boys vs Girls. The boys won by 2 points. Go Boys! lol

Something happened when I copied it over to blogger, so please forgive if it don't look perfect. :)

What is God’s Dress Code?

Modesty

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Once we come to God and give our lives to Him, we are no longer our own. Our bodies are God’s, as well as our spirit. From that day on, our hearts goal should be to please God in EVERYTHING that we do, including how we dress.

I. A HeI. A Heart of Modesty

A. Modesty - By definition modesty means not to put one's self forward, not brash or bold but quiet, and not wanting to attract attention to one's self.

1. 1 Peter 3:3,4 -- “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” (1 Peter 3:3,4).

a. Here in 1 Peter, God is telling us that our adorning should be of the “hidden man” the “heart”. What do we need to adorn our heart with? A “meek and quiet spirit”, which is of great price to God. Daily, as God’s sons and daughters, we should be to putting more effort into putting on a meek and quiet spirit, instead of concentrating too much on our outward appearance.

b. Our heart’s longing should be one of drawing attention to God and not to self. God greatly values men and women who don’t try to draw attention to themselves (in their words, deeds, or dress), but rather those who seek only to be a true and clear reflection of the Spirit of God that resides within them!

c. Clothing that draws attention to YOU is not demonstrating a meek or quiet spirit.

B B. Shamefacedness - Simply means not drawing attention to one’s self.

1. 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; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works”

a. This verse isn’t only for women. Men don’t need to be drawing attention to themselves but instead to God.

b. God wants us, His children, to be known for our good works, not for what we do or do not wear.

c. Shamefacedness is to be dressed in such a way as not to draw attention to the figure. ie- tight or reveling clothing

II. II. God’s Standard

A A. In the Beginning - When it comes to clothing, what one should or should not wear, it seems logical that we start at the beginning where it all began – Genesis.

1. Gen. 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

a. Man and women do want to naturally “cover” their nakeness, they just don’t want to cover enough of it. As we see in this verse they sewed fig leaves together to “cover” themselves.

b. Notice what God called their “clothing” – aprons. We all know what an apron looks like. Aprons have no sleeves, no back, very little in the front and are short.

2. Gen. 3:21 “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

a. In Genesis, both Adam and Eve were made clothing by God Himself to cover their nakedness. That is, to hide their bodies. You will recall that Adam and Eve had already made themselves some coverings of leaves. Why were they not appropriate? One reason is that they did not suit God, because they did not adequately cover body parts that God knew would become a temptation to sin for mankind. It is a picture of our inadequacy to save ourselves and a picture of what it means to be properly clothed in God's eyes.

b. Coat - an item of outdoor clothing, with sleeves, that covers from the shoulders usually to the knees.

c. Jacket - A short coat usually extending to the hips.

d. We see here, that there is a difference between a coat and a jacket. A coat 1.) Covers the shoulders and chest, 2.) Has sleeves, and 3.) Goes down to the knees.

e. A Study of the Greek and Hebrew words used in the Bible, reveal that a coat in Bible times fell between the knees and the ankles.

B. Nakedness -- Being naked means more than revealing our private parts, as we will see in the following verses.

1. John 21:7 “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

a. In John 21 when Peter went fishing with the disciples we are told that he was naked (21:7). When he went on to meet the Lord, he put his coat around himself. His chest and thighs were uncovered, and this is why he was said to be naked. His bare chest and legs were uncovered.

2. Isaiah 47:2,3 (God was judging Babylon when He said…” Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen:

a. God was saying it is a SHAME to show our thigh and consider it nakedness. We cannot show these parts of our bodies and still think of ourselves as modest. Scripture shows us other wise.

b. In order to adequately cover out thighs when we sit, we need to wear clothing that extends at lest a couple of inches below the knee.

III. III. What about Fashion and Pretty clothes?

A A. The Bible says we are not to be conformed to the world, in Romans 12:2. And in Proverbs 25:29, the Bible teaches us that "the fear of man bringeth a snare." We don't have to have the latest style. We do not have to be afraid of fashion. But at the same time, First Corinthians 7:31 says, "And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away." So we don't want to be a slave of fashion. We don't want to necessarily spend all of our money, time and resources making sure we have the latest styles and fads, but at the same time, we don't have to throw away our clothes because they happen to be fashionable. The Bible says it is okay to use the world, as long as you do not abuse it. It is okay to be in fashion, as long as you are not a slave of fashion. The command of God is to be modest, that women be shamefaced and dress with sobriety, or with moderation. So if a garment is modest, if it is shamefaced and in moderation, and happens to be in fashion, go for it.

B B. What about pretty clothes? It is the same thing. There is no sin in wearing pretty clothes. In fact, God wants your clothes to be beautiful. God wants a woman to be beautiful. God wants a woman to be beautiful for her husband. We read in Proverbs chapter thirty-one that the "virtuous woman will wear pretty clothes. It says, "She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple (Proverbs 31:21-22). So we read here that a virtuous woman wore very beautiful clothes.

IV. IV. Verses

A A. Rom 12:2 “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.”

b B. 1Co 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

C C. 1Th 4:4-7 “That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”

V. V. Read the advice to Members page 2 , paragraph 3

Conclution : If our heart is a heart of modesty and is only wanting to please God and bring attention to HIM and not us, we will dress modesty. We will not wear tight clothing (that stimulate the imagination and draw attention to certain parts of our bodies) but instead wear clothes that truly cover our thighs, chest and shoulders.