Hypocrisy - Clothes.

[ollie]

why yes ollie,  I think we can even worship WHILE slopping the hogs!

Sigh. So do I, but I might clean up to meet with the saints or preach/teach Jesus. I think my post is misunderstood.

The outer self is a reflection of the inner being

ah...not what Jesus said...but if that were true...what finery many poor saints  should be attired in!  

My thoughts are misconstrued!

 Matthew 23:25.  "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
 26.  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
 27.  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
 28.  Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

I realize Christ is not talking of clothes here, but every thing we do should be in unity with our inner man in Christ including dress. It does not mean we have to try and outdo one another in dress. Modesty, cleanliness, and moderation should be our guide. A pure and holy heart in Christ will be reflective in all we do including dress. There are example of prostitutes being known by their dress, given in the OT.  My point being that we are judged by the unbeliever by the first impression of appearance, then actions. It is the unbeliever we are trying to reach. Paul was all things to all men in order to bring Christ to them.
We do not have to prove ourselves or should not have to to the saints in assembly. Although the assembly will be full of the puffed up well dressed hypocrite as well as the humble well dressed doer of Christ's word. Also the not so well dressed puffed up hypocrite and the not so well dressed doer of Christ's word.


Sigh, I pray I have cleared up the misunderstanding,
ollie


 

[ollie]

What if your *best* doesn't meet the standards of *good enough* for the rest of the congregation?  

Should a believer not attend services until they have the finery that the congregation deems acceptable? Or do we patronizingly accept them until they *can do better*?  

Why is it that we KNOW that Christ says clothes don't matter but we say, "I think... and I believe..."  

Are those that are better dressed more saved?  

Are we to only worship on only ONE morning?  

Must we also *dress-up* in our "prayer closet"?  

What of those Christians in other countries who are imprisoned for sharing the Good News? Are they dressed-up enough for Christ?  

Are we really worshipping on Sunday morning if we're worried about the clothing of others?  

Matthew 23:27-28
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Sounds like the outside just isn't what's important!  

Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves with
compassion,
kindness,
humility,
gentleness and
patience.

 

"What if your *best* doesn't meet the standards of *good enough* for the rest of the congregation?"

Then remind them of this:

 James 2:1.  "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
 2.  For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
 3.  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
 4.  Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
 5.  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
 6.  But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?"

ollie
 

[ollie]

Sincereheart:
But the Bible establishes that our *best* has nothing to do with our attire.

Could you accept my best in Christ with my jeans almost down to my hamstrings and my shirt up around my breast? I thinking that attire scripturally has nothing to do in reflecting my best in Christ.  Would it be in accordance with establishmed scripture?

ollie

[ollie]

The outer self is a reflection of the inner being and they should be in unison unless one is a hypocrite and shows substance on the exterior while being shallow in the interior.

Hmmmm..... Sad. While Christ walked on earth, what did He wear? I don't remember mention of Him having the finest clothing from the finest materials. Jewels sewn into the hem, maybe?  

I am not talking of fine expensive clothes just for the purpose of getting attention. I am talking of clean, modest, in moderation clothing reflecting a pure, holy clean heart.  Christ probably wore the clothing of the average Jew of His time. John 19:23 tells some about His garments. They might have reflected Mary and Joseph's Jewish heritage.

So with so much substance on the INTERIOR of Christ, why wasn't He clothed outwardly in the same fashion? I know He isn't a hypocrite.  

Sigh, No, He isn't a hypocrite, He is the Son of God. The way, the truth, and the life. There never has been a human whose inner man matched His outer man as His did/does. He was/is sinless.

Another thought about His garments:

Mark 5:25.  "And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
 26.  And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
 27.  When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
 28.  For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
 29.  And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
 30.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
 31.  And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
 32.  And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
 33.  But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
 34.  And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."
 

ollie

[Patzt]

As far as this subject is concerned, it will never be finished being debated by Christians all over the world.  

My thoughts are:

If I was invited to visit the Queen of England, the President of the USA or our own Prime Minister, I'd wear my best.

How much more should I consider this when going to the house of worship to worship the King of Kings.

[ollie]

As far as this subject is concerned, it will never be finished being debated by Christians all over the world.  

My thoughts are:

If I was invited to visit the Queen of England, the President of the USA or our own Prime Minister, I'd wear my best.

How much more should I consider this when going to the house of worship to worship the King of Kings.

Yes,
 

[Allinall]

I haven't read everyone's posts yet, so if I'm expressing what someone else already has, forgive me.  I'll just say this: a faith expressed by a suit on Sunday is a faith that remains on Sunday.  I've seen many dressed up folk that saw that as a highly important representation of what God's done in their lives.  It's God's day, in God's "house" and the feeling is that we dress our best when approaching God.  Problem:  We aren't approaching God.  We have Him in us.  We aren't coming into His house.  We are His house.  We are gathering to corporately worship Him, and what we wear is as unimportant to Him as how color coordinated we are.  I've seen a biker, clean and well kept, but with leather, jeans and long hair, that many would not want in their church.  But when I saw that man, and listened to him, I didn't see him.  I saw Jesus.  I've seen pastors dressed in suit and tie.  What I saw was a man dressed in suit and tie, not the God he preached about.  It's about time we stopped wearing our faith in our fashion, and started living the faith that's out of fashion, but attractive nonetheless.

Man looks on the outward appearance.  God looks on the heart.  I'll take my Sunday jeans, flip-flops, t-shirt and a heart transformed by the love of Jesus Christ over my former suits and ties, dress shoes and a heart not seeing, or reflecting that love.

Just a thought...

[Soldier4Christ]

Hmmmm... So is it 'modest' (i.e. 'in moderation') to spend money on new clothing while so many are in need?

This is an excellant point. This is why my wife and I go yard selling. We can find good bargains(sometimes even brand new clothes), give money to the sellers who are usually in bad need of it and have more money left over to give to someone else that needs it. We have also used this method to help others get clothing they wouldn't have (homeless, fire victims, etc).

One of the places that we purchase from is an elderly lady that uses the proceeds to help her missionary son.

Just a thought to perhaps inspire.

[sincereheart]

I realize Christ is not talking of clothes here, but every thing we do should be in unity with our inner man in Christ including dress.
Exactly! So my problem comes when people try to dress *differently* than they normally do. They don't fool Christ- only the others in attendance!

But Shylynne has a valid point. Going by the 'unity with the inner man' standard; there are many believers who are *under-dressed*. Some of the Godliest people I have ever met have been dressed *down* by the world's standards. Yet, they were too busy walking with Christ to notice. There hearts were beautifully attired with Him. But most 'church' people would say they weren't attired correctly.

Modesty, cleanliness, and moderation should be our guide.
Agreed! Then it won't matter what the style is or what the material is!

My point being that we are judged by the unbeliever by the first impression of appearance, then actions.
And that is exactly why so many unbelievers see the hypocrisy! Not to mention the fact that believers tell them that Christ accepts them as they are but they have to dress up to worship Him.  

Then remind them of this:
James 2:1.
See Page 1.  

Could you accept my best in Christ with my jeans almost down to my hamstrings and my shirt up around my breast? I thinking that attire scripturally has nothing to do in reflecting my best in Christ.  Would it be in accordance with establishmed scripture?
Uh.... that would be ignoring 'modesty' if taken to that extreme.   But as far as the style itself, it's a passing fad that I personally wouldn't wear. But I have seen folks wear that (with the exception that all body parts were covered) and feel that they were dressed up. Brand new clothing that they were thrilled to have. The flip-side of that is if a woman wears a formal gown to services. Not Scripturally wrong, just not what I'd wear.  

[sincereheart]

As far as this subject is concerned, it will never be finished being debated by Christians all over the world.

Sad but true!  

My thoughts are:

If I was invited to visit the Queen of England, the President of the USA or our own Prime Minister, I'd wear my best.

How much more should I consider this when going to the house of worship to worship the King of Kings.

And that's fine for you to make that personal choice. I, however, would wear my usual attire to meet the QoE or Bush (who would most likely be in jeans ) or anyone else. If I'm good enough for the King of Kings -just as I am- then I'm sure not going to stress over any human. They're just people - same as we are.

[sincereheart]

I haven't read everyone's posts yet, so if I'm expressing what someone else already has, forgive me.  I'll just say this: a faith expressed by a suit on Sunday is a faith that remains on Sunday.  I've seen many dressed up folk that saw that as a highly important representation of what God's done in their lives.  It's God's day, in God's "house" and the feeling is that we dress our best when approaching God.  Problem:  We aren't approaching God.  We have Him in us.  We aren't coming into His house.  We are His house.  We are gathering to corporately worship Him, and what we wear is as unimportant to Him as how color coordinated we are.  I've seen a biker, clean and well kept, but with leather, jeans and long hair, that many would not want in their church.  But when I saw that man, and listened to him, I didn't see him.  I saw Jesus.  I've seen pastors dressed in suit and tie.  What I saw was a man dressed in suit and tie, not the God he preached about.  It's about time we stopped wearing our faith in our fashion, and started living the faith that's out of fashion, but attractive nonetheless.

Man looks on the outward appearance.  God looks on the heart.  I'll take my Sunday jeans, flip-flops, t-shirt and a heart transformed by the love of Jesus Christ over my former suits and ties, dress shoes and a heart not seeing, or reflecting that love.

Just a thought...

Amen!   And beautifully stated!

[sincereheart]

Hmmmm... So is it 'modest' (i.e. 'in moderation') to spend money on new clothing while so many are in need?

This is an excellant point. This is why my wife and I go yard selling. We can find good bargains(sometimes even brand new clothes), give money to the sellers who are usually in bad need of it and have more money left over to give to someone else that needs it. We have also used this method to help others get clothing they wouldn't have (homeless, fire victims, etc).

One of the places that we purchase from is an elderly lady that uses the proceeds to help her missionary son.

Just a thought to perhaps inspire.

Definitely inspirational!  

[sincereheart]

This whole subject just breaks my heart!  

The phrase "wolf in sheep's clothing" keeps coming to mind.  

Does anyone realize that their *best* is NOT good enough? It is only through the righteousness of Christ that we are saved! No matter how much we spend on clothes, no matter what styles we buy, no matter what we wear, we will never be worthy! Christ wants our hearts! If our hearts are clean before Him then nothing else matters! If we worry about what we wear, what will happen when persecution comes? What if we are wearing prison garb yet stood strong in our faith? Will we not be dressed well enough for Him? Or will be better dressed than all the church-goers?

Worship is NOT a Sunday morning only thing. Being honest with ourselves might just be the first step to being honest with Christ!

[Pilgrim]

http://www.nlbchapel.org/clothing.htm

[Patzt]

My thoughts are:

If I was invited to visit the Queen of England, the President of the USA or our own Prime Minister, I'd wear my best.

How much more should I consider this when going to the house of worship to worship the King of Kings.

And that's fine for you to make that personal choice. I, however, would wear my usual attire to meet the QoE or Bush (who would most likely be in jeans ) or anyone else. If I'm good enough for the King of Kings -just as I am- then I'm sure not going to stress over any human. They're just people - same as we are.

I'm sorry but you wouldn't.  There's definitely a dress code and it would be on the invitation and if you didn't abide by that, you wouldn't be allowed in.

It's very true that God looks at the heart and man looks at the outward appearance.  I would never say differently but I still think that we should dress as if worshipping the King of Kings.