Transcript Overcoming Worldliness: Immodest Dress Philippians 2:14-16 Matthew 5:13-16 Romans 12:1-2 Examine Yourself! • If I learn that my clothing is immodest, will I change in order.

Overcoming Worldliness:
Immodest Dress
Philippians 2:14-16
Matthew 5:13-16
Romans 12:1-2
Examine Yourself!
• If I learn that my clothing is
immodest, will I change in order to
be right in the sight of God?
• If I have a doubt about the modesty
of my clothing, will I change in order
to be modest beyond all doubt?
Ephesians 5:1, 8
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Examine Yourself!
• If my clothing tempts others to sin,
will I change in order not to cause
them to stumble?
• If my clothing brings reproach upon
Christ and his church and damages
my influence, will I change?
Ephesians 5:1, 8
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Clothing Reflects…
Ungodliness
Godliness
Prov. 7:10
Gen. 38:14-15
1 Tim. 2:9-10
• Internal modesty is reflected by
what we wear, 1 Pet. 3:3-6
• The world admits clothing reflects
attitudes
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Every bra is not appropriate for
summer show” By: Kelly DeGarmo
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM (S.L. TRIBUNE, 22May92, A24)
It’s not a sin to show some skin. But before
you dare to go bare this summer, get the
latest on decent exposure.
Ten years ago, something as revealing as a
lace bra worn under an open jacket would
have been considered impossibly risqué.
Not any more.
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Every bra is not appropriate for
summer show” By: Kelly DeGarmo
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM (S.L. TRIBUNE, 22May92, A24)
Thanks to Madonna, many of the lingerie
looks now are showing up under suits as
acceptable alternatives to silk shells.
However, that doesn’t mean every bra is
appropriate for show.
As with the season’s halter tops, short skirts,
clingy knits and hot pants, there are basic
ground rules for wearing skimpy clothing.
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Every bra is not appropriate for
summer show” By: Kelly DeGarmo
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM (S.L. TRIBUNE, 22May92, A24)
Attitude is one key prerequisite.
“You have to mentally get yourself prepared
to wear an outfit that shows some skin,”
says Susan Huston, fashion consultant and
director of Dillard’s Charm School. “If you
feel self-conscious, you’ll be uncomfortable
and that’s going to come through in the way
you carry yourself.”
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Every bra is not appropriate for
summer show” By: Kelly DeGarmo
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM (S.L. TRIBUNE, 22May92, A24)
Not only should a woman feel confident to
wear revealing clothes successfully, but she
must also act like a lady. You’ve heard the
cliché, “Actions speak louder than words.”
It’s never been more true.
“If you’re not ladylike in your actions and
you’re wearing a little sexy number, then
you’re going to send off certain negative
signals,” Huston warns.
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Clothing Reflects…
Ungodliness
Godliness
Prov. 7:10
Gen. 38:14-16
1 Tim. 2:9-10
• Internal modesty is reflected by what
we wear, 1 Pet. 3:3-6
– Overdressing (vain extravagance)
Isaiah 3:16-24
– Underdressing (exposure) 1 Tim. 2:9
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First century immodesty
“…silk had caught Rome’s fancy. An edict
of AD 14 forbade Roman men to wear it
because “silk degrades a man.” Actually
the women were causing more uproar
than men, and it all had to do with Pliny’s
reference to ‘transparent garments.’”
East to Cathay: The Silk Road
Robert Collins, McGraw Hill, 1968, 44-46
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First century immodesty
“Silk in its natural state clung to the
female form in a way that was infinitely
more pleasing to the eye than Parthian
banners. But Roman ladies did not stop at
that. For one thing, there was not enough
pure silk to go around at first.”
East to Cathay: The Silk Road
Robert Collins, McGraw Hill, 1968, 44-46
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First century immodesty
“And anyway, it was not sexy enough for
those freewheeling days. So, they
unraveled the close-woven Chinese fabric
and rewove it into a flimsy gauze which
left little to the imagination.”
East to Cathay: The Silk Road
Robert Collins, McGraw Hill, 1968, 44-46
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First century immodesty
“For the average Roman girl-watcher
those were golden years, but the moralists
raised a fearful outcry. ‘I see clothes of
silk, if clothes they can be called,’ wrote
the philosopher Seneca (4 BC-AD 64),
‘affording neither protection to the body
nor to the modesty of the wearer,
East to Cathay: The Silk Road
Robert Collins, McGraw Hill, 1968, 44-46
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First century immodesty
and which are purchased for enormous
sums from unknown people.’ Pliny told of
garments that ‘render women naked.’
Other writers waggishly referred to clothes
‘made of glass.’”
East to Cathay: The Silk Road
Robert Collins, McGraw Hill, 1968, 44-46
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Defining Modest Dress
• Modest: “Orderly, well-arranged,
decent...” (Vine)
– “Respectable, honorable” 1 Tim. 3:2
– Used by 1st century writers to
contrast with revealing clothes
1 Timothy 2:9
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Defining Modest Dress
• Shamefastness: “A sense of shame,
modesty” (Vine)
– “That modesty which is ‘fast’ rooted
in the character” (Jer. 8:12)
– In Gk., the opposite of promiscuous
1 Timothy 2:9
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Defining Modest Dress
• Sobriety: “Soundness of mind...
sound judgment”
– “It is that habitual inner selfgovernment, with its constant rein
on all the passions and desires, which
would hinder the temptation to these
from arising...” (Vine)
1 Timothy 2:9
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Defining Modest Dress
We must see immodest dress as
shameful (not attractive),
as indecent (not cute)!
1 Timothy 2:9
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Defining Modest Dress
• Meek: “Denotes gentle, mild, meek”
– “It is that temper of spirit in which we
accept His dealings with us as good,
and therefore without disputing or
resisting.” (Vine)
– Humble heart that does not fight
against God
1 Peter 3:3-4
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Defining Modest Dress
• Quiet: “Tranquility arising from
within, causing no disturbance to
others” (Vine)
One’s adornment must come
from a meek and quiet spirit
1 Peter 3:3-4
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Biblical Nakedness
• Lacking a full complement of clothing,
John 21:7
• Adam and Eve were covered but not
clothed, Gen. 3:7, 10, 21
• Nakedness is seen if the thigh is
revealed, Exo. 28:42
• Uncovered thighs: “Nakedness” and
“shame” Isa. 47:2-3
– Symbol of shame, Isa. 20:2-4
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Immodest Clothing
• Lacking a full complement of
clothing
–Revealing and shameful
(Isa. 47:2-3)
• Prideful display of extravagance
by one’s clothing (Isa. 3:16-24)
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A Telling Contrast
Modest Dress
Immodest Dress
•Covers the shame
of nakedness
•Exposes nakedness
without shame
•Well-arranged,
reflecting godly traits
•Reflects a worldly heart
bearing the works of
the flesh
•Reveals an impure
and irreverent spirit
(Gen. 3:7, 10, 21)
(1 Tim. 2:9-10)
•Reveals the spirit
that God values
(1 Pet. 3:3-4)
(Jer. 8:12; 1 Tim. 2:9)
(1 Pet. 3:3-4)
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Applications…
• Some clothing is always immodest:
– Revealing (see through, skin tight)
– Lacking a full compliment of clothing
that exposes nakedness (including thigh)
– Provocative, sensual and sexually alluring
– Showy, ostentatious, extravagant
Are you prepared to defend from the Bible
clothing that “covers” but does not
“clothe” your nakedness?
1 Ths. 5:21-22
Applications are Possible
• Must be able to prove my clothing is
authorized by God, Col. 3:17; 1 Ths. 5:
21; 1 Cor. 10:31
• Clothing must not provide an opportunity
for another person to sin, Lk. 17:1-2
• Clothing must have a godly influence,
Matt. 5:16; 1 Pet. 2:11-12, 15
• Clothing teaches others, 1 Pet. 3:1-6
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Compromising Excuses
for Immodest Clothing
• “You can’t draw a line showing
where modesty ends and
immodesty begins.”
• Modest clothing never has to be
defended – it speaks for itself!
• Not so with cheerleading uniforms,
swimsuits, plunging necklines…
Compromising Excuses
for Immodest Clothing
•
•
•
•
•
Hot weather
Everybody does it and nobody cares
Popularity (cheerleading, sports, etc.)
Fashionable
Nobody will notice me
Do everything we can to be modest!
1 Pet. 2:9-10; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1
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