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Post by Cindy on Jul 16, 2015 11:01:23 GMT -5
Today many people go to church in shorts and a tshirt or jeans and a tshirt; not because they don't have anything better, but because they don't feel like dressing up. There are some churches that have adopted a dress code for a number of reasons. If a church is trying to get people to dress appropriately, the way God tells us to, there's nothing wrong with that. It's just that people today hate being told that they're not living the way God wants us to. It's disgusting and very distracting to some members when other members wear outfits obviously designed to cause lust for example. If you read the bible, God told the people to prepare themselves before they went to worship Him. They were to make themselves clean, inside and out, including their clothes.
What people wear when they go to church, shows whether or not they think it's important to honor God in all things. When people go to church in shorts and a tshirt, it doesn't honor God at all. When they try to look their best, it does. Even in today's loose society most people wouldn't go to a job interview in shorts and a tshirt, so why would you go to worship God like that? It's a slap in His face. No, people don't have to go out and buy new clothes if they can't afford it. But they should wear whatever their "best" is and make sure it's clean and neat.
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Let me quote some of the early practices of the Jew's for temple worship:
Alike the ministering priests and the worshippers were to walk backwards when leaving the immediate neighbourhood where the holy service was performed, and at the gate of Nicanor each one was to stand with his head bent. It need scarcely be said that reverence in gesture and deportment was enjoined while on the Temple Mount. But even when at a distance from Jerusalem and the Temple, its direction was to be noted, so as to avoid in every-day life anything that might seem incongruous with the reverence due to the place of which God had said, ‘Mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.’1 Probably from a similar feeling of reverence, it was ordered, that when once a week the sanctuary was thoroughly cleaned, any repairs found needful should be executed if possible by priests or else by Levites, or at least by Israelites, and only in case of extreme necessity by workmen not Levitically ‘clean.’
Thus ‘no man might go on the Temple Mount with his staff,’ as if on business or pleasure; nor yet ‘with shoes on his feet’—sandals only being allowed; nor ‘with the dust upon his feet;’ nor ‘with his scrip,’ nor ‘with money tied to him in his purse.’ Whatever he might wish to contribute either to the Temple, or for offerings, or for the poor must be carried by each ‘in his hand,’ possibly to indicate that the money about him was exclusively for an immediate sacred purpose. It was probably for similar reasons that Jesus transferred these very ordinances to the disciples when engaged in the service of the real Temple. The direction, ‘Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves,’ must mean, Go out in the same spirit and manner as you would to the Temple services, and fear not—‘for the workman is worthy of his meat.’1 In other words: Let this new Temple service be your only thought, undertaking, and care.
Edersheim, A. (1959). The Temple, its ministry and services as they were at the time of Jesus Christ.
As far as what God Himself says about it:
“And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain.” After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations.”” (Exodus 19:10–15)
To consecrate yourself means to separate yourself from any possible impurity in your heart or in your life. In other words, God is Holy, He is to be feared, not to be treated as a familiar "buddy". Our dress and attitude should indicate our consecration when we go to Church, for Jesus has made us all priests of His Kingdom.
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Post by Cindy on Jul 16, 2015 11:08:09 GMT -5
I'd like to include a few quotes from other articles here about how we should dress for church;
Is it really sufficient to argue that when we come to worship all that matters is the heart? I Samuel 16:7 does read, "People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." I must say that during my twenty-year tenure as a pastor, I would have been mortified at the thought of some visitor avoiding church because a certain member had conveyed their clothing wasn't up to par. Yet, I would also add that because worship is a matter of the heart, which I believe is often reflected in our appearance, we cannot entirely conclude God doesn't care about what is worn to church.
Worship is essentially the offering up of our self to God as a sacrificial offering. This is the meaning of Paul's instructions when he writes, "Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1). In other words, New Testament worship in contrast to Old Testament practice requires we not only bring our best offering to the Temple, but that we bring ourselves, our entire selves in a hallowed manner, for now we are the Temple of God (I Corinthians 3:16,17). This means we should come before the Lord in reverence, presenting our best to Him – bringing our best gift – coming with our best attitude – making our best appearance.
In an insightful Christianity Today article, "Clothing Matters: What We Wear to Church," Duane Liftin contends that every Sunday service ought to communicate to others that worship is an important event. He writes:
"We all understand that the wrong clothes can distract our fellow worshippers. Elaborate, showy attire may reflect a prideful, elitist, egocentric display of wealth, status, and power…In this way our choice of clothing can be sinful. But this does not render our every day ('common') come-as-you-are attire as 'spiritual' or 'honest.' If we care for our fellow worshippers as we ought, we will take them into consideration as we dress for worship. We will clothe ourselves in ways that edify them and strengthen their own worship. We will attempt to avoid the nonchalant attitude that says this event is entirely routine; that it merits nothing special from me; that my only consideration in what I choose to wear is what is easiest and most convenient. Such a self-centered attitude is corrosive to a true spirit of worship. Instead, the goal in our choice of clothing should be to express to the Lord and those around us that this event matters, that I view it as a holy occasion, one which deserves our highest regard."
Liftin continues by asserting that we should avoid "the glib assumption that God does not care what we wear to church; or what I choose to wear for worship doesn't matter; or that how I dress is a purely personal affair; or that my own convenience or comfort are all that need concern me…Wittingly or unwittingly our clothing gives us away." In fact, the clothes we choose to wear for church, Liftin adds, may tell us a lot about our hearts that God already knows, but maybe we don't.
Read more at www.christianpost.com/news/what-we-wear-to-church-does-it-matter-126144
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2015 14:17:49 GMT -5
Cindy, since you didn't watch the video, as you stated on Facebook, it's not fair to categorize everyone into a nutshell. If a homeless person came into a church, they are most likely going to be unkempt and have whatever clothing they own, on their back. What would be distasteful and hurtful to our Lord, is if a person just passed on by a Church, just because they didn't bathe that day, or didn't have on their Sunday best.
I'm not talking about, and wasn't talking about an attendee deliberately disrespecting the Lord, by not at least trying to present themselves favorably before the Lord.
While I was in my pre-teen years, I had one dress and only one dress. I wore that dress every Sunday and it got mentioned by an elder. She was rude, out of line and mean about it. She didn't know me, and there was no reason for her to know. GOD knows me, and my heart and that is what matters, and all that mattered to me, back then. If I didn't have a dress, I would have probably worn the next best thing I had in my closet, and in those days, it probably would have been a pair of jeans and blouse that my Mother made for me. Later on, I wore a dress that had been meant to be a Prom dress, of which I never attended, so I wore that to Church a few times. That got mentioned too, noting that I'd finally worn something different. That was also rude.
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Post by Cindy on Jul 20, 2015 9:42:40 GMT -5
The reason I stated I hadn't watched it was because I didn't intend to put everyone in one basket. I was simply and only addressing the idea that what we wear to church doesn't matter. I didn't include the video here, because my post wasn't about that video. I've heard many people complain about dress codes or say that we "shouldn't have to dress up" etc to go to church and that is just plain wrong. It's being self centered and not God centered. I believe I stated clearly what I was speaking about in the very first line of my post and what I was not speaking about. Quite obviously if that's all a person has, then as I said, they should make sure it's as clean and as neat as they can make it - not in order to show off to other people, but to honor God.
I'm sorry I didn't see your post earlier, and I'm sorry that so called "Christians" treated you the way they did. It was wrong in God's eyes as you know and they will answer for what they did. However, that's not what I was talking about, I was and am talking about people who can do better and choose not to for whatever reason. You mentioned homeless people and yes, many only have the clothes on their backs, however most are also quite aware of the places they can go to get cleaned up if they choose to. This is obviously something no one can judge another human being on, because none of us can see what's in another person's heart, and none of us can know for sure what another person owns or doesn't own. What I wanted people to know is what God says about how we dress when we go to worship Him, so they can honor Him the best way they can. I was and am writing this for those who do care about what God says, but have heard all the excuses and may be unsure of what's really "right".
I was coming here now to add something I read about in Amos today that also addresses this. In Amos 4:4-5, God's basically saying, "Come to church and sin" which is a pretty serious condemnation. There are some folks today who do dress up for church, and they may be the only ones who do, but that alone doesn't mean they're "doing the right thing" in God's eyes. He looks at what's in our hearts, not just on what's outside. We often say that He looks on our hearts and not on the outside, but that's not true. That's in effect saying that God doesn't care how we behave or how we look, and yet He makes it very clear throughout His Word, that He cares quite a lot about how we behave and how we look. In today's world there's very little respect or honor shown for anyone, including God, and sadly, that's how God said it would be.
Today, because there's so much false teaching, and also because of our selfishness and sin nature, it's become quite easy for people to simply stop going to Church altogether, so this question doesn't bother them anymore. However, God wants us to continue to fellowship with other believers if there's any possible way to do so. We should never become complacent about not going to church for any reason, and should always be looking and asking God to lead us to where He would have us go. And when we do go, we should dress in such a way that it shows we honor God and His House. If all we have is a pair of jeans and a tshirt, or one dress, then so be it, that's what we will have to wear. As I said before though, we can at least make sure they're as clean and neat as it's possible for us to make them, again to show honor to God, not to show off to others. There are also many thrift stores which give clothes away for free or at a very low price however, and we should not be so proud as to not be willing to go there to see if we can find something more fitting to wear to God's House. Pride is a sin and not something to use to avoid obeying God in all things.
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Leigh
Living With Pain
Posts: 663 
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Post by Leigh on Jul 22, 2015 15:44:03 GMT -5
I'm sorry I didn't see your post earlier, and I'm sorry that so called "Christians" treated you the way they did. It was wrong in God's eyes as you know and they will answer for what they did. However, that's not what I was talking about, I was and am talking about people who can do better and choose not to for whatever reason. You mentioned homeless people and yes, many only have the clothes on their backs, however most are also quite aware of the places they can go to get cleaned up if they choose to. This is obviously something no one can judge another human being on, because none of us can see what's in another person's heart, and none of us can know for sure what another person owns or doesn't own. What I wanted people to know is what God says about how we dress when we go to worship Him, so they can honor Him the best way they can. I was and am writing this for those who do care about what God says, but have heard all the excuses and may be unsure of what's really "right". Today, because there's so much false teaching, and also because of our selfishness and sin nature, it's become quite easy for people to simply stop going to Church altogether, so this question doesn't bother them anymore. However, God wants us to continue to fellowship with other believers if there's any possible way to do so. We should never become complacent about not going to church for any reason, and should always be looking and asking God to lead us to where He would have us go. And when we do go, we should dress in such a way that it shows we honor God and His House. If all we have is a pair of jeans and a tshirt, or one dress, then so be it, that's what we will have to wear. As I said before though, we can at least make sure they're as clean and neat as it's possible for us to make them, again to show honor to God, not to show off to others. There are also many thrift stores which give clothes away for free or at a very low price however, and we should not be so proud as to not be willing to go there to see if we can find something more fitting to wear to God's House. Pride is a sin and not something to use to avoid obeying God in all things. Amen and amen! I'm just now reading this whole thread and it's very interesting!! I don't even know what video you're talking about (didn't see it in the opening post, so it must've been discussed and/or linked on FB). Cheryl it's terrible you were treated that way about your clothes when you were a teenager -- SO wrong, but that seems to be another issue (pride on the part of the people treating you that way). What to wear on Sundays is something I think about a lot... every seven days as a matter of fact  , and we've seen huge changes over the years as people have become more casual in their Sunday attire. I have gotten a little more casual myself; for example, during the winter I am grateful to wear long pants and not freeze in a dress. Hopefully that is okay and I do try and at least wear my nicer clothes and not jeans (although I have a time or two worn jeans). (I don't wear fancy or expensive things anyway.) It's bad seeing ladies dressing immodestly at church, and even worse when they're over, say, 60 and dressing that way!  If they are a new Christian, or maybe unsaved, they probably don't know better and hopefully they will learn as they grow in their walk with the Lord. Of course, a believer should be modest everywhere, not only at church on Sundays. In fact just this afternoon our youth pastor sent out a reminder for how the youth girls are to be dressing for church functions; sometimes even the parents don't realize. As a mother of sons I do appreciate when the girls dress in a God-honoring way.  {Cindy, it was a blast from the past reading your second post. I was pleasantly surprised when you quoted a CT article by Duane Litfin. He did a revival (I think it was, or maybe it was a several-day Bible study) at my church 20+ years ago and it was excellent! He taught from 2 Timothy and we learned so much. (The article misspells his name, which is Litfin, not Liftin.) }  |
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Post by Cindy on Jul 27, 2015 9:47:37 GMT -5
Lorrie, whenever you talk about your church, I wish I could go there! It sounds like a church that's really living what the Bible teaches, or at least trying to. Thanks for letting me know the article misspelled that pastors name. I really liked what he said too. It's so hard these days to even talk to people about how they dress or don't dress for church because they get so defensive. I remember one lady that I invited to go to church with me. She was wearing a dress and it wasn't immodest or anything, which I thought was nice. I felt good about bringing her until I heard her whisper that she wasn't wearing any underwear! Talk about disgusting! One day she'll face God and answer to Him for that. I was so embarrassed, even though no one else knew. I too have worn pants in the winter, although like you said, they're always my nice dressy ones, not jeans or casual wear. I don't think the Lord minds that at all when it's freezing outside lol. I'm sure He'd rather have us warm enough to be able to concentrate on the sermon.
I think part of the problem is that society seems to equate casual and sloppy with comfort and good. Since society is very into self comfort and self satisfaction, (and self everything else) even standards such as what people wear have lowered greatly. I was raised to consider that ladies said and didn't say certain things, acted certain ways, dressed certain ways etc and I was raised to want to be a lady. Although I was usually called, "Cindy", my mother even chose my name, "Cynthia" as one a lady would use one day. I don't think the word "lady" or that image even has a place in today's society. Nor does the idea of being a "gentleman" have a place for guys today. The only times I hear those terms used in today's world are as terms of derision, not something to attain to. I guess it's just part of what God means though when He told us that people would call evil good and good, evil. It sure seems to be the norm today about everything.
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, and we've seen huge changes over the years as people have become more casual in their Sunday attire. I have gotten a little more casual myself; for example, during the winter I am grateful to wear long pants and not freeze in a dress. Hopefully that is okay and I do try and at least wear my nicer clothes and not jeans (although I have a time or two worn jeans). (I don't wear fancy or expensive things anyway.) 
If they are a new Christian, or maybe unsaved, they probably don't know better and hopefully they will learn as they grow in their walk with the Lord. Of course, a believer should be modest everywhere, not only at church on Sundays. In fact just this afternoon our youth pastor sent out a reminder for how the youth girls are to be dressing for church functions; sometimes even the parents don't realize. As a mother of sons I do appreciate when the girls dress in a God-honoring way. 
!!
