Thank you for joining us this week on Cultivating Growth. Jeremy and I are going to be discussing what the Bible has to say about modesty this week. The Bible speaks a lot about not only modesty from the perspective of what we wear, but just the type of person that we are. And so we're going to talk about what the Bible has to say and what it wants to teach us about living a modest life.

And so with that, let's get to it. 

Well, John, just in your intro you made, you made the point that, and I think in a lot of ways for our discussion here over the next couple of minutes, we'll have a big part of, because when we talk,  generally when we talk about modesty or we're going to talk about, you know, issues surrounding modesty, people's minds directly go to what it is that we wear.

And that's not a bad thing. I mean, that is, that is a part of it. There's no, there's no question about that. It is a part of it. But when we think about just modesty in and of itself, and certainly if we were just to You know, kind of you know, define the term. It means respectable or honorable, and that's certainly going to come into play with how it is that we dress, but really it is our behavior as well.

That comes into play, but I think also it comes down to a mindset. I know we're going to be in. You know, we'll certainly read 1 Timothy chapter 2, you know, here in just a moment. But I think one of the points that Paul is ultimately making as he writes that letter to Timothy is that if the mindset is where it needs to be, that, you know, these things kind of flow out of that.

This is what this kind of having a modest mindset, what that then looks like on the outside. Specifically, in that passage, he'll make mention of, you know, what You know what we are putting on. It's interesting in that context. It's talking about overdress and, you know, generally we're talking about underdress.

I think that point is, you know, to be made as well, but, you know, it is. It is interesting that, you know, immediately we're going a very specific kind of thought process when it comes to this point. And in reality, it's really a much bigger It's a bigger concept than we allow it to be, I think, sometimes. I think you're right.

And let's just read that passage that you're referencing in 1 Timothy chapter 2. I think this is where most conversations around modesty begin, and I think it's an important passage when discussing this topic. And I think from here, we can start to build out really what leads us to think about what we wear and how we present ourselves, because you're right.

It's more than just checking the box that says, My clothes are appropriate, but it's really the heart and the motivation behind why we choose to present ourselves to the world the way that we do. So in first Timothy chapter two, Paul writes this beginning in verse number eight, at the beginning of that sentence, I desire, therefore, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting.

In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety in moderation, not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works. And, and you pointed out, as we were getting ready to begin recording,  That it's really verse 10 that points to why this is so important.

It's not just that God wants to give regulations about what can or can't be worn, but it really comes down to doing things which are proper. And professing godliness with good works. And that is really at the crux of what we think about when we think about how we present ourselves to the world. Are we presenting ourselves in such a way that all attention is going to be drawn to me, that I'm going to be the flashiest one in the room, that I'm going to be the trendiest one in the room, that everybody's going to be envious of me in some way.

Or is everything about me, including what I wear, intended to profess godliness through my good works? That mindset is really what's going to then govern how I dress and how I act around people, and doing so in a modest way. allows me to truly put God first and profess Him in how I  and how I conduct myself.

Listen, we communicate to people in all kinds of different ways. And that's a reality that each and every one of us understand. I mean, we communicate certainly, you know, to people with our words. And so we've got to be mindful of that. We communicate with people in our actions and the way that we conduct ourselves.

And so we've got to be mindful of that. But yet there's also reality. We communicate with people through our dress and we've got to be mindful of that. And if we try to convince ourselves that we don't. That, you know, well, you know, what I wear doesn't, isn't communicating. We're, we're mistaken on that.

It's not just biblically that point is made, whether it's talking about someone that is in mourning and they put on sackcloth and cover themselves in ash that you see throughout scripture, that then you're able just to see how someone is dressed and they are communicating something to you.

Certainly the proverb writer will use a passage Proverbs chapter 7 when he's talking specifically about the harlot, and he spends so much time in description specifically about what she's wearing, that you can look at what she's wearing and then immediately know that she's communicating harlotry, just simply because of what she's wearing.

But we, we have that again today. I mean, even in the funeral sense, it is, we're communicating that morning with wearing black. Our brides wear white. That communicates things. I mean, we are communicating things all the time with what we wear. Policemen wear a uniform that is noticeable because they need to communicate that, you know, to people and what they wear.

And so, we need to be thinking about that. And so, you take a passage like this of 1 Timothy chapter 2  And Paul is making sure that when, that we're thinking, that with our dress, that we're not  communicating something we need not to be communicating. We're communicating sexual things, or we're communicating pride, or we're communicating greed, you know, in some way.

He says that's not what we're looking for. We're looking for propriety. He uses that word in verse 9. We both use the New King James. You know, the King James version uses Shame facedness, for that word, which is not like. It kind of helps us to understand what that is. But you're right, verse 10 is the key.

That we are to profess godliness. We are to do that with the way we talk. We are to do that with the way we act. We are to do that with the way that we dress. You know, another passage that I really like is When discussing this topic is in Romans chapter 12, and it's a passage that you've probably heard before it says, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable and per and the perfect will of God.

And that passage of scripture makes me think about what you just said. When it comes to communicating to the world through how we present ourselves, how we act, how we dress, et cetera. Am I communicating to the world that I am like the world, or am I communicating to the world that I am like God,  that I am being transformed from the world's image into that of God?

Which is good and acceptable and perfect in the eyes of God. What am I communicating to the world? And you're exactly right. We would be foolish to think that we aren't communicating something to the world by how we act. We always are. And if I'm communicating to the world, look at me. It's all about me, and I'm doing that again by how I act, how I talk, how I dress, etc.

I'm not being transformed, I'm being conformed to the world. I am making sure that the world doesn't see me as anything different from the rest of the world around me. And Paul points out that's not the way a Christian is supposed to live. We are supposed to stand out. We are supposed to be different.

And so we take on modesty. We become unassuming in the way that we present ourselves. Virtuous, decent in the way that we present ourselves. And that is a way of standing out from the world and truly demonstrating that we have been transformed. from the world. Yeah. I mean, listen, there is simply no question that at least in our country, and that's this and this is the culture we live in.

And so, you know, here in the United States of America, so it's the culture we have to talk about, but there's no question that in our culture, specifically with the way that we dress over the last several decades, we are marching. More towards nakedness than towards being covered up. That is just a reality.

And so to take your point from Romans chapter 12, if we fall prey to the trap, and it is one of the greatest temptations of the Christian, it is to not to stand out, to be like the world, right? To speak like the world, To walk like the world, to look like the world, it is one of the greatest temptations that we have to not stand out because when we stand out, people take notice.

Mm-Hmm. . And, you know, and that's ultimately a lot of times where ridicule or finger pointing, you know, or, or those such of things, you know, happen. And, and so when it comes to our dress, if it is that  we're going to dress like the world.  Which is creeping towards nakedness.  If we don't do that, now we're dressing differently, we're looking differently, and we're concerned by that.

And you take the reality that you could go through scripture, and it's very clear that, you know, God, certainly with our nakedness, that there are parts of ourselves, there are parts of our bodies that other people shouldn't have view of or shouldn't have knowledge of, simply for our spouse and our spouse alone.

You could go back even to the book of Genesis and read, you know, certainly the way that Adam and Eve were. walked about even naked themselves, but when sin entered the world, they were certainly concerned, you know, about all of those things. And so we have to be careful. I think you're right. Romans 12 is a powerful passage.

We have to be careful that even in our dress, we're not conforming to the world, that we're still professing godliness, not professing worldliness. There is a  negative connotation. Associated with the word shame,  and I would contend that that should not always be the case. In fact, as you look through scripture, there are times where people are condemned because they have lost the ability to feel shame.

Jeremiah talks about that as he condemns Israel for what they have done and God speaking through him says, you guys have lost, you guys have lost the ability to feel shame. And that was a bad thing that they had lost that. Now, certainly we are not intending to always feel shame in a very negative way.

way that is destructive to who we are, but if we are unable to feel shame, then we are in a very dangerous place because shame is a safeguard for us that keeps us from dangerous areas in this world that God wants us to steer clear of. And he has given us the ability to feel shame in a positive way to protect us and allow to remain unassuming and moderate and modest in our lives.

And unfortunately, I think this world, and certainly here in the United States many have lost the ability to feel shame, certainly when it comes to how they work. And it is something that we need to get back to in a healthy way, in a healthy way. We need to use shame in a way that God intended for it to be used to protect us and to move us In a more unassuming direction so that we can live the quiet, peaceable life here on earth that God intended for us to.

Yeah, and I think sometimes, you know, kind of as we're closing and kind of, you know, maybe making some applications of certainly some way that we can, you know, be thinking about this,  I think, listen, we've got to allow ourselves just to be honest. I mean, we've got to be honest with ourself and we've got to, we've got to live in the reality that everybody is familiar with.

I think, you know, we.  We are lying to ourself  if we are confused by, let's say, the various parts of the body that are more sexually driven than others, right? When we're like, I'm surprised anybody would want to look into that area. We all know what those areas are that need to be covered up. All of us. And we need to be honest about that.

And we need to be cognizant then of that. And that's, in that passage there in 1 Timothy chapter 2, and we'll read it again here in just a second, it's causing us to be, we're being thoughtful. That, you know, the way that I speak, I'm being thoughtful about that. The way that I act, I'm being thoughtful about that.

The way that I dress, I'm being thoughtful about that. And what I'm thinking about is not myself, I'm not looking to draw attention to myself, I'm thinking about God. I'm thinking about God in the way that I speak, I'm thinking about God in the way that I act, I'm thinking about God in the way that I dress.

That is the idea that of modesty. And that's really the idea that Paul is pushing at in 1st Timothy, and he's pushing really in Romans chapter 12. Yeah, I agree. And there's one other passage that came to mind in 1st Corinthians chapter 10, and again, another well known passage, where Paul is talking to a church that's going through a lot of troubling issues, and they're struggling Jews and Gentiles to get along. 

And he says in verse 31, therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. And I would say we can read a passage like that and, and apply that certainly to how we dress, how we act, how we conduct ourselves. When I get dressed, am I dressing to the glory of God? Now that may seem kind of silly when you're throwing on a pair of jeans and a t shirt in the morning. 

But again, to your point, are we giving consideration?  to what we wear. Are we giving consideration to what we wear when we come to worship? Are we giving consideration with what we wear to school or to work or whatever it is? There should be thought given to that because everything that I am and everything that I do, I should be thinking about how I can bring glory to God.

And that certainly includes how I cook. Present myself to the world around me. Yeah, very similar passage of that in 17, right? Whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus And so we got to be thinking about the way that we speak the way that we act the way that we dress Is this honoring Jesus?

Is this something he would be proud of? Is this something that would be acceptable to him? And we've got to be able to think about that Of him on that level that he consumes then all that we do and say and so, you know in a lot of ways that ultimately has to be the key. So we'll close right there. I want to we'll close again with reading one more time from 1st Timothy chapter 2 just to kind of put it into our minds, you know, once more specifically verses 9 and 10.

He says in like manner also. The women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women confessing godliness with good works.  Thank you for listening this week. If you haven't already done so, we'd appreciate it if you would take just a second to subscribe to the podcast on whatever platform you're listening and rate and review the show so we can continue to spread the good news of Jesus as widely and effectively as possible.