Many modern churches are getting more and more casual. The generation that grew up during the public-formal dress era is passing away. Generally speaking, it just ‘wasn’t right’ to wear casual clothes in certain places, like church. When young people started wearing casual clothes in churches filled with the older, more formal generation, it was looked down upon as disrespectful and wrong. But is casual dress, Biblically speaking, wrong? The younger generations tend to view casual dress as being more “authentic”. Their line of reasoning says something like, “We are coming to God as we are, because God loves us, right?”

Personally, I don’t buy either argument. “Wearing casual clothes is no more de facto spiritually authentic than formal clothes are de facto spiritually respectful.” (John Bloom, DesiringGod). Both arguments are culturally based and generationally influenced. It isn’t something that is necessarily talked about in terms of how God desires us to be dressed at corporate worship.

 

Questions for reflection:

  • Should the way we dress be based on changing cultures?
  • How much should be consistent throughout time and how much is naturally going to change not only based on time, but location?

 

There’s a tension between having certain expectations around attire and creating a law where there is no law. It’s so easy to dress in the ways that the culture deems best for me. It is tempting to keep up with the latest fashion trends and run the particular rat race. So when it comes to church attire, I think there is always going to be tension between modesty, self control, and what the latest and greatest fashion trend is. The hard part is that it is so subjective. We aren’t going to church in robes and tunics like the first century church did. It would have been super difficult for the church fathers to make a law based around specific attire thinking about how much clothing has changed over the last 2,000 years. I believe the Bible gives us some principles to guide our decision making, but i don’t think there is a specific law for this issue.

God gives us certain levels of freedom, but does not allow us to “run wild” and take our freedoms too far in either direction.

The Bible is our ultimate authority and should be what we go back to as we sort through these issues. But there is an element of Christian liberty here where things, such as attire, can be based on culture or many other various circumstances. Attire, Christian or not, has varied throughout history due a host of reasons. On top of that, what we wear changes on where we are in the world. Of course, we initially tie western dress with Christian dress because that is the culture we are raised in, but pastors around the world don’t always wear a suit and tie to preach. Further still, there are other practical circumstances that affect how we dress (the weather is a big one). While there are so many things that affect how we dress, there is nothing new under the sun. I think the Scriptures rather beautifully and perfectly allow us the freedom to dress in ways that allow for these varying circumstances, while at the same time addressing the root problems that are always present when it comes to how we dress (regardless of the circumstances or our preferences). When it comes to Christian Liberty, God gives us certain levels of freedom, but does not allow us to “run wild” and take our freedoms too far in either direction. Like the topic of drinking alcohol, He does not forbid us from drinking, nor does he allow us to abuse the freedom and use it in a sinful way however we want. There are constraints. I think the same is true when it comes to how we dress. Our sinful tendencies are always there ready to:

  1. Push the limits and abuse the freedom God has given us,
  2. To limit or take away the freedom that God has given us, and
  3. To consider our freedom above the freedoms or needs of our fellow believers. 

The Scriptures allow us the freedom to dress in ways that allow for varying circumstances, while at the same time addressing the root problems that are always present when it comes to how we dress

 

Is there anything Biblical about dressing nicer in order to be more respectful to God?

Outside of the Levitical Law, I could not find any scripture that specifically mandates a dress code for New Testament Church. However, there’s much that mentions modesty and self control, and how our hearts should be positioned for worship. I would put it this way, God may not have given us a strict dress-code, but he has given us clear guiding principles.

  • 1 Timothy 2:9: 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 Corinthians 6:19-20: 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 Peter 3:3-4: 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.

God may not have given us a strict dress-code, but he has given us clear guiding principles.

Therefore, here are some questions to think about when deciding how to dress for Sunday’s church service:

 

1. Who is God?

Thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.” (Isaiah 57:15)

God is:

  • Transcendent
  • Immanent
  • Thrice Holy
  • Almighty
  • Righteous
  • and so much more…

God is not our ‘homeboy’ that we just pay respect to on Sunday mornings. God is to be feared and respected. When deciding on our attire, we must think about WHO we are worshipping. 

 

2. What are we expressing to God?

“Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28–29).

  • When we approach corporate worship, we must express reverence and awe to our almighty, holy, transcendent, immanent God.

 

3. Is our attire a source of pride?

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

  • Are we exalting ourselves or humbling ourselves? If we are, that is sin.
  • Are we wearing the latest and greatest fashion trends so that we can be noticed?
  • Are we being distracting to others?
    • John Piper – “I want to be totally non-distracting in my presence in worship today. I will not, as a man or a woman, try to stand out, not by style, not by expense, not by cleverness, not by offensiveness, not by sexiness, not by what I reveal or how tight my clothing is, not by how elegant or trendy my hair is, not by how perfectly coordinated my colors are, not by how free from taboos I am, not by how solemn I am. My aim will be to dress and act in a way that simply does not attract or distract from what should be happening here.”
  • Are we dressing to “out-dress” the others?

 

4. Is our attire modest?

  • We may not always agree with what is and what is not modest. However, modesty matters. 
  • Anything that emphasizes our sexuality is inappropriate for anyone but our spouse. And this goes for men as well as women.

Anything that emphasizes our sexuality is inappropriate for anyone but our spouse. And this goes for men as well as women.

 

5. What seems most fitting before God?

  • We may need to come to terms that our attire may be decided by what is fitting and proper biblically, rather than mandated directly.
    • John Piper – When the father in the parable of the prodigal son invited his oldest son to join the feast, he didn’t say, “Get in here. It’s my command, for goodness’ sake. I’m your dad.” He said, “Son . . . it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:31–32).
  • If the only criterion you are using right now in deciding how you act and dress in corporate worship is that you believe God is gracious and accepts us just as we are, then you have a hold of something wonderful — you do. And it’s lopsided and needs supplementing with more truth.
    • John Piper Illustration – If you’re married to the most wonderful woman, the most patient, most kind, most forgiving, most gracious woman in the world, who loves you as you are and accepts you as you are, and you show up on your twenty-fifth wedding anniversary celebration at a nice restaurant, where she has gone ahead of you because you’ve been at work and she has made some nice plans for you, and you show up at this restaurant in a T-shirt and tennis shorts because you’ve just come straight from the tennis court, she will accept you and she will love you. That’s the kind of woman she is. And you will have not done well because that was unfitting for the occasion. All these things and many more are shaped and guided by your vision of what God is like and what you believe should be happening in this service. What is fitting before this God?

 

So…. What should I wear to church? Should I dress up?

Well, it depends! Process the questions we provided above and make that decision for yourself. It is okay to have your own convictions, as long as your basis for those convictions is Scripture, and not the values of your culture. Don’t make clothing a source of pride and shame others for not feeling the same. Once this happens, your pride is a lot worse than wearing a pair of ripped jeans to church.

Your pride may be a deeper spiritual issue than wearing a pair of ripped jeans to church.

 

“It is always the heart God is looking at, rather than the exterior. However, what we wear to worship our holy, pure God may be an indication of where our hearts are. If you have never considered it before, ask yourself, “Does it matter to me how I look when I am going to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? More importantly, does it matter to Him?” We must all be the judge of that for ourselves. It’s a personal choice, keeping in mind that having a proper attitude toward God Himself is important preparation for worship at church.” (GotQuestions.org)