OceanSide church of Christ

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Modesty
by: Dalton Gilreath

I.              Introduction

A.   We live in a generation that absolutely ignores the principles of modesty

                                          i.    If the temperature rises the clothes come off

                                        ii.    Television is littered with half naked stars on every channel

B.   The New Testament addresses modesty in the sense of drawing attention to oneself

                                          i.    Primarily they would over do their outfits, piercings, etc

                                        ii.    Today people are drawing attention to themselves by wearing less instead

II.            The Package Principle

A.   At Christmas time you can see packages of all shapes and sizes

                                          i.    The look of the box gives clues as to what is on the inside of the box

                                        ii.    Likewise, what we wear reveals to others what is on the inside

B.   This concept is seen in 1 Timothy 2:9-10

                                          i.    Notice attire should be with shamefacedness (KJV)

1.    We should be ashamed to wear clothes that draw undue attention to ourselves

2.    It is like we have lost the ability to blush (Jer 6:15)

3.    We are not ashamed as we ought to be when practically naked in public

                                        ii.    The next term is sobriety which means self-control

1.    Our attire can tell others we are wild

2.    Have you ever seen someone half naked in Walmart and thought, “They sure are temperate”?

                                       iii.     Lastly, notice our attire should profess godliness

1.    That statement our clothes make needs to be one of godliness

2.    How can I teach someone the gospel when I am half naked and can’t be taken seriously?

III.           The Underwear Principle

A.   If your bathing suit covers the same amount of skin your underwear covers, then it’s underwear

                                          i.    Wearing only swimming trunks isn’t much better than walking around in boxers

                                        ii.    And ladies a bikini covers no more than a bra and panties

B.   Consider the concept of lust with this point (Matt 5:27-28)

                                          i.    Men are visual beings

                                        ii.    When we see ladies scantily clad we are tempted to look further and think inappropriate thoughts

1.    Men we need to remember Job 31:1 and make a covenant with our eyes not to look at women who are half naked

2.    This argument that we are immune to nudity and aren’t effected is a lie

a.    David had all the women who could want

b.    Yet, he still lusted after Bathsheba solely based upon nudity (2 Sam 11:2)

C.   Solomon said to drink water out of your own cistern and not to parade yourself to others (Prov 5:15-17)

                                          i.    We need to be selfish with our spouse and keep him/her to ourselves

                                        ii.    Do we really want others lusting after our spouse?

D.   We pick on women a lot with this topic but men ought to keep their shirts on as well

                                          i.    Remember when Peter was fishing with his outer garment off and saw the Lord (John 21:3-7)

                                        ii.    He put his “shirt” on because he knew he was naked

1.    This wasn’t about lust

2.    This was about what was appropriate/respectful

E.   Sometimes the rules get thrown out the window when we are around water or at a wedding

                                          i.    Why is it that beaches and pools mean nakedness is ok?

                                        ii.    Why is it that wedding day is a day of cleavage?

IV.          The Fig Leaf Principle

A.   God decides what is and isn’t modest as seen with the fig leaves of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:7-11, 21)

                                          i.    Adam and Eve knew they were naked and sowed a bundle of fig leaves together to cover themselves

                                        ii.    This wasn’t enough and God covered them with tunics or robes (Isaiah 22:21)

B.   We also see God’s rules for modesty in Exodus 28:40-42

                                          i.    For those who would be elevated God did not want people seeing up their garments

                                        ii.    His solution was under linens to cover their nakedness over their thighs (to the knee)

C.   God designed nakedness to be shown in and only in the marriage relationship

                                          i.    Society has deemed only the most private areas as secret

                                        ii.    However, God calls all this skin nakedness and sinfulness