1 Peter 1:14-16
14 "As obedient
children, not fashioning
yourselves according to
your former lusts in
your ignorance:
15 But as He which hath
called you is holy, so be
ye holy in all manner of
conversation;
16 Because it is written,
Be ye holy; for I am
holy."
God is holy. He demands
holiness from those that
desire fellowship with
Him. God wants His
children to be inwardly as
well as outwardly holy.
This means not only is our
inward attitude, but also
our outward appearance
is important to God.
Exodus 20:26
"Neither shall thou go
up by steps into My
altar, that thy
unclothedness be not
discovered."
God does not want our
sensitive body parts to be
exposed to the view of
public eye. Exposing
sensitive body parts to the
public causes defilement
among men and
dishonours God. The Bible
reveals that some
adornment, designs and
dressing styles do not
belong to God's children
but to the ungodly and
sinners.
Proverbs 7:10-12
10 "And, behold, there
met him a woman with
the attire of an harlot,
and subtil of heart.
11 (She is loud and
stubborn; her feet abide
not in her house:
12 Now is she without,
now in the streets, and
lieth in wait at every
corner.)"
2 Kings 9:30
"And when Jehu was
come to Jezreel, Jezebel
heard of it; and she
painted her face, and
tied her head, and
looked out at a
window."
Believers are bought with
the precious blood of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Our
bodies are the temple of
the Holy Spirit. To expose
the sensitive parts of our
body to the public
through rough and
improper dressing is to
defile the body, the
temple of the Holy Spirit.
To put on the attire that
makes us look like harlots
or rascals is to grieve the
Holy Spirit and incur His
wrath.
1 Corinthians 3:16, 17
16 "Know ye not that ye
are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the
temple of God, him shall
God destroy; for the
temple of God is holy,
which temple ye are."
When God instructed
Jacob to go up to Bethel,
the place he first met with
God, he told his household
to cleanse themselves
from evil and to change
their dressing.
Genesis 35:1-4
1 "And God said unto
Jacob, Arise, go up to
Bethel, and dwell there:
and make there an altar
unto God, that appeared
unto thee when thou
fleddest from the face
of Esau thy brother.
2 Then Jacob said unto
his household, and to all
that were with him, Put
away the strange gods
that are among you,
and be clean and change
your garments:
3 And let us arise, and
go up to Bethel; and I
will make there an altar
unto God, who
answered me in the day
of my distress, and was
with me in the way
which I went.
4 And they gave unto
Jacob all the strange
gods which were in
their hand, and all their
earrings which were in
their ears; and Jacob hid
them under the oak
which was by
Shechem."
Encounter with the holy
God must produce not
only inward visible
change, but also outward
visible change. Encounter
with the holy God by
anyone, male or female,
should lead to removal
and destruction of
ungodly clothes and
change of dressing style
to conform to His nature
of holiness. Right from the
Old Testament time God
warned His people against
make-ups and ungodly
attire.
Deuteronomy 22:5
"The woman shall not
wear that which
pertaineth to a man,
neither shall a man put
on a woman's garment:
for all that do so are an
abomination unto the
LORD thy God."
In our day there are
women that wear
trousers and put on shirts,
looking like men in
appearance. Some argue
that the trousers are
feminine in design. There
is no excuse in that. True
children of God know that
such are attires of harlots.
No child of God who
knows the holiness of God
and claims to be walking
on the narrow way to
heaven will put on such
attires. All that do so are
abomination to God and
will never enter into
heaven. It is unfortunate
that some preachers
permit or encourage their
members to put on these
ungodly clothing. Some
are silent about the
ungodly outward
appearance of their church
members. They shall go
with their members to
hell. There is no respect of
persons with God.
Isaiah 56:10, 11
10 "His watchmen are
blind: they are all
ignorant, they are all
dumb dogs, they cannot
bark; sleeping, lying
down, loving to
slumber.
11 Yea, they are greedy
dogs which can never
have enough, and they
are shepherds that
cannot understand:
they all look to their
own way, every one for
his gain, from his
quarter.