Does Scripture Give Christians Dressing Code?

Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour is salvation-centred. So must any Christian that has embraced God’s mercy in Christ. It was not by coincidence that His message focussed on the Father’s love for us and His assignment to atone for our sins in order to reconcile us with the Father. When some Jews tried to drag Jesus into politics or their family feuds, He bluntly told them that He was not sent to deal with such issues (Luke 13:4, Luke 12:13). Throughout His earthly ministry, the Lord did not raise the issue of a dress code for His disciples.

If Jesus Christ, the head of the Church was not primarily concerned about a dress code, why is it a problem in Christendom? Some denominations have even elevated their own dress codes to the same level with Jesus’ atonement! They do not consider that you have been saved by God except you comply with these man-made codes. You are not judged by your fruits as Jesus said in Mathew 7:16. Your membership can only be confirmed when you look the part- wear what we wear or consider yourself an outcast!

          This is not to imply that a Christian can wear anything. What we are emphasising is that dress code is not the gospel of Christ. It is the gospel that sets people free. This is attested to in 1 Corinthians 15:1-3 “Now, brother, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures”.

The preaching of the gospel has been relegated to the background in many churches in favour of social issues like immoral dressing. Morality does not translate to God’s righteousness in Christ. Otherwise, Jesus did no need to die on the cross to atone for our sins. There are people of other faiths, especially Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus who dress more moderately than Christians. Some of them are also morally upright.

Does that give them access to the Father? Isaiah 64:6 declares that “Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind”. We are also told in Romans 3:23 that, “all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God”.

 The gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer to man’s depravity. Immoral lifestyle and immoral dressing are among symptoms of that depravity. It is therefore useless to target the symptoms or the fruits of the tree instead of the root which in this case is the nature of satan we inherited at the fall. Sin is not synonymous with immorality though immoral acts could constitute sin.

Christian believers should not therefore allow themselves to be side-tracked by the devil into pursuing a goal that would not further the interest of the Kingdom of God. Just as the enemy tried to use politics and family matters to distract the Lord, we face similar situations in our engagement with the society. The solution is always to remember that salvation is greater than morality as heaven is higher than the earth.

Having said that, we are not unmindful of the fact that there are some Christians who are immature in their disposition. They are still feeding on milk and therefore need close guidance, especially in terms of their general conduct. For such Christians, we point them to what Paul and Peter said about dressing in particular. Paul’s admonition touches on something more than clothing though. He told us in 1 Corinthians 6:9 that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. If we accept this as the word of God, it is incumbent on us to take good care of our body.

This would include dressing it decently and modestly. While addressing the issue directly, Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:9, “And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes”.

Peter gave the same admonition in 1 Peter 3:3-6, “Do not let your adorning be the outward adorning of braiding the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine clothing. But let it be the hidden nature of the heart, that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in the old times, the holy women, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You are her children as long as you do right and are not afraid with any terror”.

          In the Old Testament, God specifically condemned transvestism, which is dressing in a manner that is inappropriate for our respective sexes. Deuteronomy 22:5 declares that “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this” What this means is that a woman should dress in a way that everyone can tell that she is a woman. The same thing with a man. There should be no ambiguity as to what your gender is.

Before we wrap up this discourse, it is important to note that God does not want us to look ugly or to use our looks as evidence of spiritually. In fact, God desires for us to enjoy the works of His hands, including nature. If He made nature beautiful- both flora and fauna, He certainly expects us to love beauty as well. After all, we are made in His image. What gives me the confidence that God wants us to embrace beauty is Exodus 28:2 where He instructed Moses to “Make sacred garments for Aaron that are glorious and beautiful”.

While we pursue modesty in our dressing, we should also remember that this does not translate to shabbiness. It is ridiculous for a Christian to buy used clothes in the market that should have been thrown into the refuse dump in order to give the impression of super spirituality. There is one Person that can help us know God’s will at all times, including how we should clothe our bodies. He is the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 16:3, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.

He will not speak on His own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future”. Romans 8:14 is emphatic that only those who are led by the Holy Spirit are the children of God. So, if we have concerns about what we should wear, we should in confidence ask the Holy Spirit. James 1:5 says, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking”.