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Introduction:
One of the most amazing statements to me regarding the
creation can be found in Genesis
2:25. “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not
ashamed.” When the world and mankind existed in perfectness,
nakedness presented no problem. However, in Genesis 3:6-7, all of this changed. I do not fully understand the
metamorphosis Adam and Eve went through. I do not understand why
it had the effect that it did. But the very first recorded change
wrought in their lives was that their eyes were opened and they
knew they were naked. Sin had entered the world and along with
sin, shame entered. To protect them from their shame, Adam and Eve
attempted to clothe themselves with fig leaves. Interestingly, in Genesis
3:21, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his
wife, and clothed them.” We find in Genesis
3, the first three-point sermon on clothing and modesty. Discussion: I.
We need to have shame. A.
In the beginning, the Bible explained that Adam and Eve
were naked and unashamed (Genesis
2:25). But when sin came, their eyes were opened and shame
entered their hearts. Shame is the guilty feeling of doing
something wrong, the embarrassment that comes when your body or
your heart is laid bare for all to see. So strong was their shame
that they did not have to wait for God to try to clothe them. They
attempted to cover and hide themselves. B.
We need that sense of shame today. Like Adam and Eve, we
are full of sin. Our eyes, therefore, ought to be opened. We ought
to be able to look at our bodies and know when we are exposing
ourselves and be properly ashamed. We ought to be driven by our
own consciences to cover up and hide our flesh. But regrettably
too many of us are unashamed. Too many of us have been dumbed down
and demoralized by the extreme immodesties of our world that we no
longer feel ashamed of our own immodesty. C.
Having said that, I am amazed at the inconsistency with
which people today feel ashamed. Men and women who would be
ashamed if we accidentally walked in on them while they were still
in their underwear, will walk around before multitudes on beaches,
at pool sides and while cutting their grass in bathing suits that
expose just as much. If we were to walk into a room and
accidentally happen upon someone who had just stepped out of the
shower and wrapped themselves with a towel, we would find someone
extremely ashamed and embarrassed. But, we find ladies in the mall
with skirts that do not go much lower than the wrapped towel,
unembarrassed and unashamed. Regrettably, sometimes we even find
that in the church. Gratefully, at least the ladies here might be
ashamed enough to cover up with a sweater. Why not make it easier
and come already covered? D.
When Adam and Eve recognized sin, shame entered the world.
It is no surprise then that as our society finds it harder and
harder to recognize sin, shame is vanishing from the earth. It
must not vanish from us. We must have a healthy sense of shame
regarding exposing our bodies, no matter what the modern pop
psychologists tell us. II.
Clothing is intended to cover and hide. A.
Why did Adam and Eve stitch together fig leaves? They were
trying to cover up. When God provided them with garments of animal
skin, the intent was the same. If we are going to dress modestly
and godly we need to remember God’s purpose for clothing.
Clothing, from the beginning, was for the purpose of covering up,
not revealing or accentuating. This is Peter’s point in I Peter 3:1-4. The way we dress is supposed to call attention to our
chastity, purity and godliness, not our wealth, prestige or
sexuality. B.
Consider the following quote: “Luxurious clothing that
cannot conceal the shape of the body is no covering at all. Such
clothing, clinging close to the body, takes the body’s shape and
adheres to the flesh. It outlines the woman’s figure so that the
whole shape of her body is visible to spectators, even though they
cannot actually see the body itself…Such clothing is meant for
looking, not for covering” (Clement, The Instructor, quoted from Will The Real Heretics Please
Stand Up, David Bercot, Scroll Publishing, Tyler, TX,
1989, p. 29). C.
That second century quote still applies today. Form fitting
clothes are the norm for men and women today. Even many Christian
men and women are not dressing to conceal their bodies from others
but to reveal them. Low cut blouses and high riding skirts are
everywhere. Men cutting the grass shirtless and wearing skimpy
shorts. We ought to be ashamed. Parents who allow their children
to dress in the latest revealing fashions need to gain control and
teach their sons and daughters some modesty. We need to remember
why we are dressing—to cover up. III.
We must clothe ourselves using God’s standards, not our
own or the world’s. A.
One of the most interesting aspects of the Genesis text is
that Adam and Eve, being ashamed attempted to cover themselves.
They made loin coverings or girdles (Genesis
3:7). The garments that God gave are much more concealing. The
term used to describe the garment, coat or robe (depending on
translation) is the same one used to describe the coat of many
colors given to Joseph and the tunics of the priests. In other
words, man’s standards for covering himself were not enough. God
had higher standards. As we dress ourselves, we need to consider
God’s standards. B.
I wish I could present to you actual measurements. But I
cannot. Despite the attempts of some to find measurements for
modest clothing in the Bible, there simply are none. God did not
list His dress standards in inches but in intentions. C.
We have already read I
Peter 3:1-4. Also read I
Timothy 2:9-10. When we dress what do we intend to draw
attention to? Our wealth, our prestige or sexuality? Or do we
intend to draw attention to our chastity, purity and godliness?
Which are your intentions? D.
We also find passages such as Galatians
5:19-21 and I Peter 4:3.
We must intend to avoid sensuality (lasciviousness, licentiousness
or lewdness, depending on your translation). This term refers to
that which indicates, expresses or arouses sexual interest or
desire. No doubt, this is an issue for women more than men.
Ladies, though you will probably never fully understand how men
see and think, you must come to understand that blouses that are
cut low, revealing part of your breasts; shirts that form tightly
around your breasts and then fit close to the stomach; low-riding
pants with short cut shirts that expose part of your stomach;
skirts that stop above your knees and tight fitting dresses with
slits up to the thighs are all designed for one reason—to
indicate and express to men or arouse in men sexual interest and
desire. Does your dress do that? By the way, somewhere along the
line somebody came up with the increasingly popular but unbiblical
definition of modesty as dressing in a way that does not attract
attention to yourself. The definition then gets extrapolated to
say that if a Christian finds themselves on a California beach
with a bunch of people in thong bikinis, they would need to dress
the same way so they don’t stand out. First, a Christian has no
business in some place where lasciviousness and immodesty abounds.
Second, I Peter 4:4
demonstrates that we will stand out and will attract attention to
ourselves. But remember to what we should be attracting
attention—not our bodies or sexuality but our godliness and
purity (I Peter 3:1-4). E.
With that in mind, we also have God’s standard for dress
revealed in passages such as Matthew
18:6-7 and Romans
15:1-2. We must intend to build others up and intend to avoid
casting stumbling blocks that will knock them down. Provocative
clothing that arouses sexual desires and promotes lust, which is
sinful (Matthew 5:28),
is a stumbling block. No doubt, some will say that people should
control their thoughts and minds. I absolutely agree. However,
Paul said that we are supposed to bear with the weak and help
build them up. We should not disregard their weaknesses and then
cast stumbling blocks to make it hard for them to stay pure. We
need to make it easy for them. We are to dress in ways that do not
cast stumbling blocks but builds others up. In which way do you
dress? Conclusion: Regrettably, when it comes to dress, it seems that Satan is winning. All around me I see the world getting worse and worse. But what saddens me more is that too many Christians do not stick with God’s standards. Instead, they simply stay a step or two behind the world. But what saddens me most is too many churches have given up the fight for modesty. We must not give up this fight. We must call one another to God’s higher standards. We must stand out from the world, not be governed by it, even in our dress.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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