There is a need for enterprising Christians to create clothing that is both biblically modest and elegant.  Christ is Lord of our lives and our wardrobes, so let us joyfully submit to that lordship.  We belong to Christ as His precious Bride, which our clothing should reflect.

For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
2 Corinthians 5:2-4, ESV

We recently examined our identity in Christ through the examples of Job’s wife, the woman who anointed Jesus, and the bride of Psalm 45 adorned with modest yet elegant clothing that reflects her status. Since she represents the Church, her modesty indicts the immodesty so prevalent in our churches. Under the influence of feminism, liberal mainline Protestant churches, most evangelical churches, and even some “Reformed” churches have become very effeminate and created idols in that effeminate image. They cater to womenand echo the culture’s glorification of women and subsequent demonization of men, quick to call out sins prevalent among men—like aggression and lust—but not sins more prevalent among women—like gossip, disrespect, quarreling, and dressing immodestly.  Men and women can commit all of these sins but are prone to some more than others, which is certainly true of immodesty.  This post will examine what Scripture—not culture—says about modesty so that we can all bring our wardrobes under the lordship of Christ.

My Body, My Choice?

As a single man, I approach this topic with the same trepidation as other topics primarily affecting women, like the roles of wives and submission in marriage.  Nevertheless, Scripture actually has much to say about modest apparel—more than most American churches do.  One reason churches don’t address it is that we have been so thoroughly infected by our culture that modesty elicits a visceral reaction.  People counter any attempt to place biblical boundaries on clothing by calling it legalistic and essentially saying with abortion supporters “my body, my choice”.  How can I make that parallel since abortion is about another person’s body whereas clothing is only about our own bodies?  Scripture clearly teaches that our bodies do not belong only to us.  In marriage, both spouses’ bodies belong to each other (1 Corinthians 7:3-4), but all of us belong to someone else: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  We emphasize our adoption as children of God—and rightly so, for it is glorious—but we often neglect the fact that Scripture also refers to us as slaves: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16).  Every person is a slave to sin or of God.  As Christians, we were set free from slavery to sin in order to be not only children of God but also slaves of righteousness.  Jesus Christ is not only our Savior but also our Lord, so we are to do everything for His glory (Colossians 3:17), which includes what we wear.  Therefore, it is just as absurd to say “my body, my choice” with clothing as with abortion.

Biblical Theology of Clothing

Clothing is a central issue in Scripture.  Before the Fall, Adam and Eve did not require clothing (Genesis 2:25), but immediately afterward they were keenly aware of their need to cover themselves and their shame—and nakedness has been shameful ever since.  Thus clothing was mankind’s first invention (Genesis 3:7).  God judged their hastily-created clothing inadequate, so He made garments that adequately covered them at the cost of another creature’s life (Genesis 3:21).  Thus it is also shameful to be inadequately clothed, which is especially evident in the prophets who link even partial nakedness to judgment (eg. Isaiah 47:2).  Jesus Christ as the perfect sacrifice took on shame hanging naked on the cross just as Adam and Eve were naked and ashamed in the Garden.  The risen and reigning Christ is no longer naked but fully and elegantly clothed—and the Holy Spirit conforms us that image.  Thus we see the glorified saints in heaven fully clothed (Revelation 7:9.13-14), so we too will not be unclothed but further clothed in glory (2 Corinthians 5:2-4).  In our lives we must therefore not only put off sin but put on righteousness (Romans 13:12, Ephesians 4:22-23, Colossians 3:9- 10).  Christ has removed our sin and covered us with His righteousness, but that does not change the fact that we have sinned, meaning even in eternity we will require clothing.  Therefore, any desire to cover less skin is regressive and contrary to sanctification.  The necessity of clothing also makes it absurd for a Christian to use clothing pridefully to display wealth, status, or prestige.  A. W. Pink observed:

If we duly considered the proper and principal end of apparel, we should rather be humbled and abased when we put it on, than pleased with our gaudy attire. Clothing for the body is to cover the shame of nakedness that sin brought upon us….Raiment, then, is a covering of our shame, the ensign of our sin, and we have no better reason to be proud of our apparel than the criminal has of his handcuffs or the lunatic of his straitjacket; for as they are badges of wrongdoing or insanity, so apparel is but the badge of our sin.  
Arthur W. Pink, “A Crying Sin of Our Age” in Free Grace Broadcaster Issue 216: Modest Apparel, Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library: 2010: 8.

Modesty Defined

Therefore, Scripture commands modest attire for all, but particularly women: “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Peter 3:3-4) and “likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works” (1 Timothy 2:9-10).  At this point, some will argue that these passages are prohibiting ostentatious displays of wealth and have nothing to do with how much of the body is covered.  But the historical context does not support that view:

This instructed Christian women not to imitate the outrageous dress and hairstyles that were commonplace among the Roman nobility…the unofficial uniform for Roman court women, a uniform that was distinctive and attention grabbing. At the same time, these Roman courtesans were notoriously immoral when it came to sexual matters. These women did not dress properly, modestly, and discreetly.
Robert G. Spinney, “Thinking Like a Christian About Modest Apparel” excerpt from Dressed to Kill, Tulip Books: 2007 in Free Grace Broadcaster Issue 216: Modest Apparel, Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library: 2010: 3.

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