The National Center for Family Integrated Churches welcomes Jeff Pollard with the following message entitled, Modesty in worship. It's a great blessing to be with you. If you have your Bibles with you, I would encourage you to open to 1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. And would you stand with me as we read the Word of God together?

I will be reading, for time's sake I will not read the entire chapter, but the portion that I will be looking at is in a context. It lies in this chapter. And I would urge you, perhaps some time today, to sit down and read the chapter in its entirety we will begin looking at verse 9 and read 9 and 10 Let us give our attention to the inspired and infallible Word of God. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array, but which becometh women professing godliness with good works. Amen.

May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his good word. Now let's unite our hearts together in prayer. Father in heaven, I praise and thank thee for a new day, a new day in Christ. I thank Thee that we arose this morning alive and in Thy service. I thank Thee that we did not open our eyes in hell.

But, O God, that we were refreshed and awakened to know thy love, to know thy gospel, to know thy holy son. Lord, this very morning we are gathered together in his name not in ours. And Father I pray that as we open the Word together Thou would come by the power of Thy Spirit. Come, Lord, rend the heavens and come down. Speak to the hearts of Thy people.

Lord, if everyone here goes away with just another lecture or message, they go away paupers. Lord, I pray with all of my heart that thou wilt come, open our hearts, open our minds, fill us with thy Spirit, bring thy truths home to our hearts, and help us to know thee and know thee in thy truth. May all that we say here bring glory to Christ and great encouragement and edification to thy people. I pray it in Jesus' name, Amen. Please be seated.

Now let us consider the following heavenly vision. The book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of the astonishing, glorious worship of God in heaven. Chapter 4 gives us a majestic vision of myriads of heavenly creatures crying out, holy, holy, holy. I mean heaven is a noisy place and I mean that in the very best sense. It's not like a library.

They are shouting the glorious praises of Almighty God. They see the heavenly vision and their hearts are captured. They've never seen anything to compare with the glory, the majesty and the beauty of Almighty God it is the great vision so they're shouting they're crying out as it were I can only imagine that the very sight, the very awesome specter of Almighty God can only draw out of creation its praise. He that sits upon the throne. Chapter 4 of Revelation is astonishing.

Then you go to chapter 5. Chapter 5 focuses on the worship of the Lamb of God. Thousands and millions of angels. And I get lost in numbers like that. I don't know about you but I...

One too many. I get lost. My brain cannot calculate this but that's exactly what it's intended to do is to make us understand our smallness and the immensity of glory, the immensity of those that are praising and shouting glorious blessing and adoration to the great Lamb of God. Thousands and millions of angels, heavenly creatures, elders erupt in the praise of Jesus Christ. He is the almighty creator of heaven and earth, the eternal Son of God come in the flesh, the blessed redeemer of his people and the sovereign head of the church as the sin-bearing substitute, the resurrected Lord of glory, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending.

Jesus Christ is worthy of our most earnest worship. Chapter five of Revelation makes that abundantly clear. It's there to help our little fallen minds fall into place and realize the extraordinary extraordinary presence of God, His holiness, His overwhelming immensity in goodness, kindness, love, purity, righteousness, without measure. He's the very definition of holiness. The Lamb of God, He suffered, He bled, He died, he rose again to save his people from their sins and to bring glory to his heavenly Father so heaven is full of praise Jesus is the glorious beautiful Jesus is the glorious, beautiful centerpiece of heaven.

He is the main attraction. And all Heaven's citizens love, adore, worship Him in the beauty and the splendor of holiness. Now Let's switch visions from the glories of heaven to earthly worship services. Short skirts and dresses, women's thighs exposed, acres of cleavage, bare backs and shoulders, skinny jeans and pants, skin tight, stretchy garments of every sort that bring the body underneath and its curves and crevices to the surface. And if this is a contemporary service, many of the young women are swinging and swaying and jiggling and dancing to the music.

Men of all ages are hungrily taking in this sensual delight with their pulses increasing or struggling against their lust with their guilt increasing. What's wrong with this picture? Compare these visions and ask yourself if there's anything remotely appropriate about the blending of these two images. Now consider the chapter in Paul's letter to Timothy that we're considering and the portion that we are looking at. The apostle speaks to three issues in this chapter prayer modesty and the prohibition of women teaching all three are about order in worship God's order not men now this should grip our hearts If you don't go away with anything else I hope we get this.

I hope you get it all but at least get this. The clearest passage in the Bible on the subject of modesty is given to us in the context of worship. We should worship God in holiness, purity, and without distraction. For God's people, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and made alive by his Spirit, This worship lies at the very heart of life. Therefore, let us consider Paul's command regarding modesty in worship, which is the title of our our message and may our gracious Heavenly Father grant us light we need light you don't need to hear me you need to hear from God you just hear me you can cast what I have to say far away.

But if you call yourself a Christian, you've got to deal with what God is saying. And it is your privilege to do so. So we want to consider these things here this morning. First, Paul's command regarding modesty. Secondly, His description of modest apparel.

And then number three, Paul's explanation of the most beautiful apparel. He gives us a little bit of a fashion show. I trust that we would like to be fashioned that way. That being the case then, may God in his mercy help us. May he grant us his spirit, divine heavenly illumination, as we consider Paul's command regarding modest apparel.

It's in verse 9. Now there's a carryover. Paul is given a command in verse 8. I will therefore. He's saying this is what I want you to do.

This is what I will. I will therefore that men pray everywhere." And then in verse 9 he says, in like manner. This is a command. And this is important for us to grasp. Modesty is not a suggestion.

Modesty, for God's people, is not an option. It is a divine command delivered by an apostle with apostolic authority. That means Christ commissioned him to say and do what he did. We are hearing Jesus from the mouth of Paul. So this isn't my deal.

I'm not trying to sell books. This is what Christ has said. Now this is a command then. You may not agree with how I or others understand this command. I accept that.

But what all of us have to get a hold of is that we're going to give account to the Christ who said, in my church, women dress modestly. Now, that goes for everything in the chapter. Men must pray everywhere with hands lifted up without wrath and doubting. And by the way, men can be immodest too. We're not here to see your, you know, your six-pack abs.

We're not here to see your you know your six-pack abs we're not we're not here to see your bumps and bulges either worship is not about us it is about our holy God we are to be approximating what we see in Revelation 4 & 5 adoring praising magnifying the Living God not giving a fashion show, not putting ourselves on display. Many professing Christians think that modesty is a non-issue. It has gone the way of all old foggy curmudgeonly ideas this is all legalism swept away and the beauty and and and brightness of grace no on the contrary this is a command given by the apostle of grace. Grace expresses itself in modesty because it's godlike. So these commands are for specific behavior in men and women in the worship of God.

In the worship of God. To ignore an apostolic command is to rebel against Christ himself. We should never then take this lightly. That brings us to number two, Paul's description of modest apparel. In this context, Paul speaks to all women professing godliness.

All women professing godliness. That means women that profess to be believers, followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. The problem in the Ephesian church was that women were dressing in splashy, extravagant, and sensual clothing. This is important for us to understand. And this is all revealed in Paul's very choice of words.

The UBS handbook on Paul's letter to Timothy and Titus says this, there is evidence in the literature of that time, Paul's day, that connected the behavior of women with the way they dressed Well, this shouldn't be surprising the Bible connects The way women are with things they wear It was believed that the more a woman wore attractive clothes and elaborate jewelry, the more she lived a loose sexual life and the less she submitted to her husband. And by the way, that's now been affirmed. I encourage you to read, if you're interested in that kind of matter, Bruce Winter's book, Roman Wives, tremendous book. But he documents that this is exactly the mindset. When women walked around in splashy stuff, It was a time when there was what was called the new woman.

That sound familiar? We heard that in the 60s. The new woman. There's always a new woman. What does the new woman mean?

The woman who does what she wants to do. And that's exactly the way it was. There were women that were making more money. They were having a little more freedom. If you want a patriarchal society, Rome could be brutal.

The Greco-Roman Empire was astonishing in its patriarchy. But it was a pagan patriarchy, not a biblical patriarchy. And so very often when a woman began to have just a little bit of independence, she would begin to dress a little more flashy, a little more sensually, and it would generally be considered even by pagans that this woman is loose in her morals and probably doesn't submit to her husband. And you say, well, you know, that's a long time ago. It was a long time ago, and I agree with that.

But there's an issue that has not changed. What you wear reveals your heart. That's always been the case. I'm not just saying that. Go sit down, read any of the books that are written on modern fashion and they will tell you that the idea is that you express yourself by what you wear so Paul chose some very important words here for us to take into consideration clothing is a kind of language that expresses the heart So these five important words begin with the word adorn here in chapter 2 verse 9 Paul in like manner wants the women to adorn themselves this word means to cause something to be beautiful by decorating.

That's just in a woman's heart. You can tell a guy's apartment and a woman's apartment. Men like to hang things on the wall like dead animals. Women like pretty little things and they like to, you know, they're not looking for the latest dead fish or animal head to hang on the wall. That to them is not beautifying the house, generally speaking.

And They're always examples of these kind of things. But the fact of the matter, the idea is that women are built that way. It's a lovely thing. Women beautify the world. They beautify most men.

I'm very thankful for that. And it's a word that Paul chose, that they should adorn themselves, beautify by decorating. Decoration in itself is not sinful. It can be. Anything can be.

During the time of the Great Awakening, the power of the Spirit was so powerfully falling on people, there were women who would be sitting or standing and hearing George Whitfield preach, and sometimes they would cover their ears and blush in shame because of their earrings. What's wrong with earrings? There was nothing wrong with earrings, but the power of God's pure Spirit was moving in men and women's hearts so plainly they saw their pride. They weren't adorning themselves for God. They were adorning themselves for themselves, for people to look at them, for people to desire them.

And they understood the symbols of their pride and their self-love. So in our day, we have a problem when it comes to this issue of adorning in a tasteful way, in an orderly way, and that's because the fashion industry, and this is documented again, I'm not making this up, the fashion industry believes that beautiful equals sexy so That's what they're always packaging you for. That's always, that's what they're thinking. They say this in their books. They don't think they're doing something wrong.

It's not like some fashion conspiracy. This is what they think. So, a Christian woman should not adorn herself to project her sensuality. She should adorn herself to project purity, holiness, the God she claims to serve. Purity, not sensuality.

Virginity, not availability. Holiness not promiscuity fashion column is is all about sensuality availability and promiscuity I think this is the word modest Paul wants women to adorn themselves in an orderly and in a tasteful way, and he uses the word modest. And the word modest means honorable, well-ordered, appropriate. And when applied to women, it means modest. Greek philosophers saw beauty in order, not disorder.

Beauty in order. And that's the world that Paul lived in. Paul used this word to communicate the sense of something appropriate, something honorable. Through the mouth of Paul, Christ calls women to dress appropriately to the occasion, worship, and appropriately to their profession, women professing godliness. That's built into the very words that he's chosen here if you profess to be Christ Then you are to adorn yourself to the occasion, worship, and to your profession, women professing godliness.

In other words, you should reflect the character of the God who made you, who saved you, who cleansed you, who is beautifying you with his spirit. The Lord believes in beauty. We'll talk more about that in a few minutes. Now, God is the very source of beauty, and he commands us to worship him in the beauty of holiness. The beauty of holiness.

In other words, in a certain sense, we're to clothe ourselves with holiness and purity to reflect him like those that stand in his presence. Thomas Oden says, he comments, the apparel of the worshiper, says Paul, is to be in good taste, well arranged, modest, respectful, for the adornment of the body is like God's adornment of the cosmos. Orderly and beautiful. I mean, it is tragic that we're given to extremes as human beings I know I get called extreme I have no idea why but I would say to you that we're given to extremes when we hear certain things we hear especially if it's delivered powerfully or intensely by some exploding preacher the notion is that well then we go 180 degrees in the opposite direction so if we say on one hand that we must be modest we figure that the way to then obey the scriptures is to be plain maybe even ugly that is not at all what he say adornment is not wicked God adorns and were made in his image and women far more than men reflect that tendency to adornment. My wife makes my life beautiful and I thank God for it all the time.

The idea is to project purity, to project what is right, what is good. There's the word apparel. Adorn, modest, and apparel the Greek word that Paul uses for apparel is very important It means clothing as a symbol of behavior. It's a very important term. It's a very interesting study.

In other words, Paul seems to link the internal behavior with the external clothing. And that is a Pauline trait. If you study his epistles carefully, Paul does not separate internal from external. Modern Christians do, but Paul never did, neither did Jesus. The idea is that the external is to be in harmony with the internal.

The internal needs to be right first, and then the external needs to fall in line with the internal. By his choice of words, Paul very skillfully moves from the literal sense of external garments to the internal sense of modesty and self-control. In other words, when your clothing is in view, so is your heart. The Apostle Peter describes exactly the same thing. He says that a Christian woman's apparel should not be that outward adorning of planting the hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on of apparel but let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price." Now this is important.

Some people have taken this, and I used to be one of them, and I repented of this false notion, but they take the idea that somehow the idea of plaiting hair is is is intrinsically evil and and the idea of wearing gold of any sort is intrinsically evil the putting on it that leaves us with a really serious problem and it's the last issue putting on of apparel if you're gonna say I'm not going to plait my hair and I'm not going to wear gold, you're gonna have to be consistent and say, well I'm not gonna put apparel on either. That puts us at the opposite of Paul's command here all right what he's saying what Peter is driving at here is that if this is your beauty if you put on your beauty you don't understand beauty your beauty is to emanate from your heart your beauty is what you are and what you do which includes what you wear should exude what you are There should be an inner loveliness that speaks the peace, the grace, the purity, the glory of Jesus Christ. That's what Peter's driving at, and that's exactly why Paul chose this unusual word.

It links the internal to the external. Commentator William Mounts says that the words adorn and apparel have a dual meaning, clothing and a person's general deportment. Paul says that they are to dress in a way that is in keeping with their Christian character and to concentrate on what is most important. While their dress is an issue, their attitude is Paul's true concern close quote now we must not miss this modesty is first and foremost and people have not always picked this up in my booklet if if and when I revise it which I've been wanting to do for a decade, even when I revise it, I want to get this up first and foremost, front of the line, so nobody misses it. Modesty is a matter of the heart, Beginning and ending.

Now, your heart is going to adorn your body. And how you choose to do that is an expression of your heart. Far too often, many people have indeed become so involved in the externals, what we actually put on, that they do miss the internal, the heart. And that's an error, no matter how well-intentioned it is. It's an error.

Paul doesn't start there. He uses a very word that draws us to the heart this is a heart issue but it's not the heart alone the heart will express itself and that brings us to the externals so then they can be distinct in our looking at them but they cannot be separated so by the way parents you must teach your children that their clothing expresses their hearts. It isn't just don't do that, don't wear that, it's start with the heart. Teach them about their hearts. Give them a God-filled vision of life, and that everything about their life is to be honoring and glorifying to the living God and that their clothing expresses their hearts he uses a fourth word shame-facedness and that means reverence awe respect for the feeling or opinion of others or for one's own conscience in other words the old word shame face same shame-facedness it's not a word we use anymore probably because we can't pronounce it well shame-facedness it's an attitude that knows where the boundaries are and desires to stay within that's the idea it's a wonderful word it knows where the boundaries are And it wants to stay within them.

It isn't trying to get outside the boundaries. And where do the boundaries come from? The living God and his word. I. Howard Marshall says, here it refers to the decency with which women should behave.

It includes the avoidance of clothing and adornment which might be showy and extravagant as well as sexually enticing. Now remember, don't forget, modern fashion says you have a body, we want to show it off. Come to us, we'll make you sexy. That's it. Number five is the word sobriety.

Sobriety means good judgment, self-control. Sobriety is one of those important words that Paul uses to express the visible Christian life. Thus, a woman exercising sobriety has understanding about practical matters and is therefore able to act sensibly. It's a word that really points to common sense. Why would you wear that?

Don't you have any sense? I mean, that's kind of the idea. Sobriety here does not mean being in a sober state, not an intoxicated state. It means self-control. Paul is describing the habitual inner self-government listen carefully it is the habitual inner self-government with its constant reign on all the passions and desires right self-control self-government on all the passions and desires which would hinder the temptation to immodesty from arising.

The temptations there, it's never going to go away, But by the gracious power of the Holy Spirit we can overcome things that tempt us. Self-control is a gift of grace, the product of faith, and an evidence of conversion. This sobriety simply does not arise from our natural state. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared. For the grace of God hath appeared, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly when in this present world, now, right now, in the now age literally is what it says everybody wants the new age we're living in the now age according to the Word of God and according to Paul but you see this is a fantastic thought in Satan has had a great time with Christians he's built he's burned into their minds that somehow the issue of modesty is legalism when in fact modesty is the product of the sovereign grace of God It is the expression of the grace of God in our hearts.

It can be made legalism, of course, but modesty is the outworking of the power of heaven and the glorious saving grace of God in a woman or a man's heart. So now, if we take these five words that Paul used, we can give this definition. We can give this definition. Modesty is the inner self-government, the inner self-government rooted in a proper understanding of oneself before God, which is outwardly displayed in humility and purity from a genuine love for Jesus Christ. It's not the pastor down on his knees with a ruler measuring your skirt when you come into the building.

Okay? But on the other hand it's a woman who has the godly common sense to cover her body in a way that's pleasing to God and edifying to others. It is the outworking of grace that is the mercy of God's saving power in the heart. Inner self-government. Well then, let's move on to four examples of immodest apparel.

The apostles said that a woman's modest apparel should not be broided hair, gold, or pearls, or costly array. Once again This has given people, God's people throughout the ages, the idea sometimes that any kind of adornment, especially on a woman, is sinful, prideful, she's the antichrist, she's a harlot, she's on her way to hell. I mean, I've heard her preach that way. Now brethren, this is to stretch the Scriptures past the point of their intended meaning. Once again, Paul is going for the notion that if your thinking is that you put your beauty on, you have missed it.

On you have missed it. We must remember that Paul wrote nearly 2, 000 years ago, standards of fashion and beauty come and go. So we must understand why Paul chose these four negative examples. Broided hair meant the elaborate hairstyles braided and piled up on top of the head. This is what he was dealing with in their culture.

Women were coming into the congregations of the Lord Jesus Christ with these virtually ridiculous hairstyles that were very elaborately braided. They were piled up high on the head. They were encrusted with jewels. Sometimes they had jewels all hanging up in them, and they would sprinkle them with gold dust. How do you heal the sermon with that sitting in front of you?

But it was more than just an elaborate, over-the-top display. It was more than that. That was a sexual signal in that culture. It wasn't just, hey, I've got money. It's, hey, check me out.

Your symbology is vitally important. Any Christian that reads the scriptures know that the Bible is full of symbol. Our world is full of symbol. We operate day in and day out understanding symbols. I mean, how do we figure out which bathroom to go into?

If you go into another country and you can't read their language, how do you figure it out? They always have a symbol. I mean, we live with symbols everywhere. And your clothing is a symbol. It's not simply your choice.

It is a language. It is the voice of your heart speaking. And you are giving some kind of symbol to others. You're saying something. And when Paul was talking about this hair and these gold braids and all of this stuff, he was saying, this is not for God's people.

Because it's saying, hey, I'm easy. Check me out. That isn't in our culture. And so it's easy for us to take it and misread this but it is a vital thing for us to understand women were making themselves the focus in the worship of God and worship is not about me or you as such we are engaged in worshiping the one it is about, the living Christ, our great and good and holy God. Paul is not condemning braids and gold pearls and expensive clothing per se.

He is condemning wearing these things that virtually shouted, look, look at me. Look I'm fashionable. Look at me. I'm wealthy. Look at me.

I'm sexy. I'm desirable. Paul says that has no place in the life of a Christian woman because she professes godliness. The tragedy today is many of our young people, and young people I say this with all affection to you, The religion of our culture is cool. Look at me.

I'm cool. Your life should say, look at me. I'm a sinner saved by grace, His Holiness as my robe. As my robe. Well, neither of these things fashionableness or sexiness are to be the tags for Christians.

The reason for Paul's prohibition of elaborate hairstyles, ornate jewelry, and extremely expensive clothing becomes clear when one reads the contemporary literature of the time. And it was inordinate. It was an inordinate and ostentatious display, but also is the mode of dress of courtesans. We don't use that word very often anymore but it what he's talking about is high-priced prostitutes this is the way women were coming into the worship of Almighty God it tragically has not changed we still have women that do this wasn't just in Paul's day it isn't just in our degraded day. It's in every generation because it is an expression of the sinful, prideful heart.

Not of hearts broken Taking up the cross and following after Jesus Well The reason Paul forbids this as I said is it's it gives the idea of high-class prostitutes. And we have this in the Scripture. Once again, we don't have to go to the literature of the day. It's helpful. But we have it in the book of Revelation.

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a cup, a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. And upon her forehead was a name written mystery Babylon the Great the mother of harlots Paul is saying that image doesn't belong in Christ's congregations. We get that? That's vital. Paul prohibits this ostentatious clothing for the express purpose of preserving Christian women, preserving their testimony as those who are pure and whose desires to honor Christ that cleanse them with his blood rather than looking like prostitutes and common women.

Number three, Paul's contrasting description of the most beautiful apparel. It's a contrast here. Paul says, but which become with women professing godliness with good works. Women professing godliness. What an important description.

What an important description of true beauty this is. Women professing godliness. This describes a woman who undergoes a transformation internally that expresses itself externally in a life of modest apparel, good works, learning in silence and submission. A woman like this is extremely rare today. And I praise and thank God that very often in meetings like these we see some we praise and thank God for the work he's doing I believe that you are the hope for this culture it's my opinion I may be proven wrong but I hope not That's why many of us are giving our lives to see God's Word moving in God's people, for there to be genuine reform.

And part of that includes how we look. Paul gives us a powerful contrast, not with broided hair, but with good works, but the word for contrast. We must not miss the significance of not with, but with. Not with, but with. Paul contrasts external wealth and sensuality with external works of holiness.

Isn't that interesting? He contrasts external wealth and sensuality with external works of holiness. He's saying, here's your wardrobe, Christian women. First of all, you should be tasteful, Appareled in a lovely way that covers your body adequately. You don't have to wear a pup tent.

We're not saying that. But on the other hand, we need to be wise and understand that we can wear clothing that is so tight that the body that's underneath is now prominently displayed. The contrast here is wealth and sensuality with works of holiness. He says here's your real fashion statement. You live a life that is gloriously beautiful as you follow Jesus Christ your words say it your attitudes say it and what you wear says it that it's pure you're following after what is right and good and clean And this applies in a crowd this big even though I know this is primarily home schoolers and all of that.

There are men and women here who have fallen into sexual sin. But you know you can live virginal in the grace of Jesus Christ, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, and your life can still speak the purity of heaven. That's what grace is all about. Well, I must press on. The worldly-minded woman dresses fashionably even to the point of dressing like a harlot.

The worldly-minded woman dresses fashionably even to the point of dressing like a harlot. And while the woman professing godliness avoids such display and covers herself with good works. That's what she wants people to see. This is what the Lord Jesus taught. Let your light so shine that others may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

That's the clothing you really ought to be putting your time into. I didn't just say be slovenly. I didn't just say oh don't care. You don't have to worry about adorning yourself. I'm not saying that.

What I'm saying is that be tasteful, be wise, be pure, be thinking that you want to bring glory to God and that you want to encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord. The women professing godliness is not in competition. Listen women, that the women professing godliness are not in competition with the harlots of the world. They're not the standard. When you go through that checkout line in Walmart, you've got those acres of flesh leering at you saying, if you don't look like this, you're not pretty.

Don't believe that lie. You are not in competition with the harlots of the world you are to show the glory of the one who loved you before the foundation of the world called you out of darkness into his marvelous light and you are to put on works to say that he's glorious that's beauty and men that haven't been poisoned by the world understand that and are looking for that kind of woman. Got a whole other message for men but that's another day. The woman professing Godliness wants Christ. She wants to exalt Christ.

She wants to obey Christ. She wants to magnify Christ. She wants to speak of Christ. She wants to worship Christ. She would not do anything in the world to give the impression that she was a follower of fashion rather than a follower of Christ.

And by the way, I'm not saying that if you are wearing something that happens to currently be fashionable that you are like the mother of harlots in Revelation. I'm not saying that. Don't draw that conclusion. But you know your heart. You know whether you're listening to the gods of fashion or the God of heaven now that's what you've got to get a hold of and I do too well let me race to make some applications if I haven't made enough already the very first one is this We must learn from Paul that modesty is first first first and foremost an internal condition As we have learned above the most important matter in discussing modesty is the heart and parents That's where you must begin as you teach your children, please please do not teach your children that the body is something sinful please don't make them ashamed of the body that God made we should be ashamed about the way we adorn it but not about what he's made that's very good men women boys girls your bodies are wonderful God made them there's nothing wrong with your body but there's something wrong in a sinful world of exposing your body the wrong way okay John Calvin and this heart issue says we must always begin with the dispositions with the heart what we are for where debauchery reigns within there will be no chastity and where ambition reigns within there will be no modesty in the outward dress your heart tells on you now some of you are wearing what you're wearing because your parents expected of you I understand that and I thank the Lord that you're honoring your parents' wishes.

Now the test will come when you're no longer under their rule. Then you'll find out what your heart's made of. Remember it's about Christ, not about us. Now let me do say while it is true that the heart is the most important matter, I'm not denying that, the heart is the most important matter, the Bible describes that this Christian life is in terms of internal and external modern Christianity says all that matters is your heart I mean I grew up with that many of you may have as well all that matter God just looks in the heart that's all God's concerned about that's a lie you read this book God's God's concerned about everything we do it is true that the heart is the most important yes that's where he looks first because that's the source of everything we think say and do but it works its way out into the life and God saves us so that our lives say to the world there's a God of grace who saves sinners number two a modesty does not make men lust men a modesty does not make you listen to the words carefully it does not make you lust but in modesty does invite lost and there's a difference.

I'm not playing a word game. Because men often say, oh, those terrible women, they wear all this stuff. Yeah, well, we've got to grow up and we've got to learn how to live and handle these things. It's difficult. It is the greatest challenge men often live through through their whole lives.

But let me say, Their immodesty does not make you sin. We must understand, we must even teach our children from the time that they're young that immodesty is a very important thing, but the heart is the issue. A man may look at a woman who's wonderfully modestly dressed and sin after her and that true it's true you don't have to raise your hand on that but the fact of the matter is that's the way it is but the woman's completely out of the picture on that she's honoring God But when a woman wears immodest clothing, she invites the sin. She's part of the sin. It's very clear.

Man's lust is his decision, but a woman's dress is her decision. And she can be either a part of the lust problem or she can help be a discouragement to it. Richard Bakker says, Though you say you intended not, it is your sin that you do that which probably will procure it. Yea, that you did not your best to avoid it. And though it be their sin and vanity that is the cause, it is nevertheless your sin to be the unnecessary occasion.

For you must consider that you live among diseased souls. Make not your ornaments their snares, but you must walk among sinful persons as you would do with a candle among straw or gunpowder now I want to say just a couple of things here that I've got to say this to you. Again, this is not a modern issue, that this is an old issue. The Reformers dealt with this. The Puritans dealt with this.

And they used language that makes me look like a wimp from the pulpit and in their writings. The Reformers and Calvin addressed this, Luther addressed this, John Bunyan, Guernol who wrote The Christian in Complete Armor, George Swinnock, Thomas Watson and others address this boldly. Listen to Bunyan, the attire of a harlot is too frequently in our day the attire of professors a vile thing and argued much wantonness and vileness of affection be dead wicked hearts doth in modest apparel with stretched out necks now I know this will be harsh sound for some of us I do not say this to be brutal I want you to understand how some of the Puritans even addressed this from the pulpit stretched out neck naked breasts argue mortification of lusts he's talking about cleavage walking out of a restaurant just last night and we have a picture of Amy Grant showing some of her Christian cleavage to us what a model I even made a collection of how many times these guys used that very two word term. It was common. And they constantly preached directly from the pulpit with words that would make us blush but there was a reason they did that it wasn't because they were mean hateful men it's because they understood worship that it was to be holy that it was to be pure that it was to be joyful that it was to be good that it was to show forth the glorious saving graces of God and that those who came into his presence should come dressed in a way that speaks of those who have been humbled and are thankful for the grace shown them whose hearts have been broken over their rebellions against God and who have come to Him loving Him, praising Him, thanking Him and not there to show themselves off but that in their worship Christ would be the centerpiece just like he is in heaven in Revelation 4 and 5.

Yes, modesty is a matter of gospel consciousness and new life in Christ. Our first goal must be love for God and love for his glory, pure worship in spirit and in truth. If you want to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, you must obey this passage of truth. Our second goal must be love for others. We must love others.

We're not there to show ourselves off. We're there to edify, to build each other up in the faith, to be encouragements and exhortations to one another in the things of the truth of Almighty God. And Mount Zion's got a lot of problems, but I can say that I've had visitors over the years come to me, men that would come to me and say, you know, this is the first time in five, ten, fifteen years I've been able to worship for two hours without having to guard my heart so much. I could just praise the Lord. That's what Paul's talking about.

Finally Christ's love must be our motive. Stomping and foaming preachers rarely get the job done. If I cannot persuade you with the glory and the beauty of Christ and his saving grace, throwing hell in your face is not likely to get you to respond. But love Christ and gather it like his people to bring him glory. Now modesty then is an important part of our worship of God.

Our children are being sexualized and sensualized in increasingly early ages in our culture. It is vital therefore that we have reform parents do this and teach your children about a heart that loves the living God and teach them to adorn themselves in a way that's honoring to Christ. And apart from clear biblical teaching, they will have no notion of modesty. And in our day of gender-bending and androgyny, we must remember God created man in his own image, male and female created he them. There has never been a more important time for us to worship God in modest and distinctly masculine and feminine clothing.

Let us worship God as modest men and women in the beauty of holiness and may the risen Christ grant us by His grace the strength and love for Him to do so. Amen. Father in heaven we praise and thank you for thy wonderful truth. May we worship thee in ways that bring thee glory. May we be modest men and women to the glory of the God who saved us.

We pray it in Jesus name. Amen. For more messages, articles and videos on the subject of Conforming the Church and the Family to the Word of God, and for more information about the National Center for Family Integrated Churches, where you can search our online network to find family integrated churches in your area, log on to our website ncfic.org.