An Introduction to Modesty Part II

*If this is your first post of mine you reading, head on over here to read Part I.


As promised my posts on modesty will be beginning soon, however, I feel I need a few more Introductory posts before I can get there.  In the next few posts I will be dealing with certain passages from scripture that are frequently wrenched out of their context and used as proof-text.  My goal is to nestle these little gems back into the context and then we can go from there.

I want to first of all give credit for this post to all the people I looked to in order to form my views.  The Bible, Calvin's Commentary, Matthew Henry, R C Sproul, and Alistair Begg, and most importantly the Father of the Queen (my daddy).

Romans 14:13 "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way."

This passage deals with a plethora* of ways that we can cause our brother to stumble  One of them would be for a man or woman to blatantly dress immodestly.  This passage tends to be over-used and abused.  But it does clearly deal with how we are to treat each other in areas of non-essentials to the Christian faith.  I hope that we can all agree that matters of dress are an area that would be a non-essential to the Christian faith.  There is so little in the Bible that deals precisely with how we are to dress (an outward thing) that it cannot be an essential.  So, in the sense that it is a non-essential that people in the church are disputing over, then yes, this passage deals nicely with that issue.

In the context, Paul is speaking about holding to days and eating meat offered to idols (both are non-essentials to the Christian faith).

Romans 14:2-3 "For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.  Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him"

So there were arguments in the church over eating and observance of days and Paul is saying we need to not despise or judge in these areas.  So we are to accept each other in Christ BECAUSE they were first accepted BY GOD!

That's the first thing.  We are to accept one another in Christ.  Regardless of where you stand on the issue of outward, clothing related modesty we are to accept one another in Christ!  Do you despise your sister who holds to a more strict view of how she dresses?  Do you doubt your sisters salvation because she isn't dressed according to your standards?  If so then let's move on to the following verses::

Romans 14:10-12 "But why do you judge your brother?  Or why do you show contempt for your brother?  For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  For it is written: 'As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us shall give account of himself to God."

Paul is telling us that we are wrong to judge and show contempt because ALL of us will stand before God and give an account for ourselves!  Alistair Begg put it this way, "I will not have to answer for the position my brother may have held, but I will have to answer for the position I took on the position that he held."  You will have to answer to God for judging your sister for not holding to the standards that are man-made, that you have elevated to the standards of the Bible.  And your sister will have to answer for the contempt she showed to you for holding to those standards.  Is that a scary thought to you?  It should be.  It should make you simmer down just a bit in your zeal for things that are not central to the Christian faith.  But I will not shy away from the next verse so let's scurry onward.

Romans 14:13 "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore,"

EEK!  Right at the beginning of this oft misused, and almost never quoted in its entirety verse it REPEATS that we are not to judge each other!  I think that means it is a pretty important concept to grasp.

Romans 14:13 "Therefore let us not judge on another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way."

We are to RESOLVE!  Resolve means a firm determination to do something, and here it is a firm determination to NOT put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in anyone's path.  here is where it is useful to remember that Paul is dealing, not with things of the heart, but with outward indifferent things, or as some are often called, liberties.  The way this verse gets used in the case of modesty is that the man who is lusting is the weaker brother and therefore the stronger? sister should dress herself in accordance so that he does not lust.  Do you see how this does not fit with the context?  First of all, lust IS a sin.  It is not a matter of liberty.  Secondly, lust is a heart issue that is not discerned by a person unless you share that knowledge with her (which by the way is inappropriate, and I will go into why in another post).  So the sister, so long as she is not knowingly dressing immodestly CAN NOT purposefully put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in her brother's way as is the case in the passage here.

So then if the scripture is not discussing this subject, but it IS discussing how we are to love one another even though we differ on non-essentials, how are we to live at peace with all men?  Here are some thoughts::

• Galatians 6:4 "But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another."
• 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 " But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside and that you may lack nothing."  I find it interesting that he includes to mind your own business.
• Galatians 5:13 "For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another."
• Colossians 2:16-17 "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Christ...Therefore if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations, do not touch, do not taste, do not handle, which all concern things which perish with the using, according to the commandments and doctrines of men?  These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."
• In essentials, unity; In non-essentials, diversity; In all things, charity.  This quote seems to be attributed to many, but through my research I have decided to attribute it to Tom Chantry.  

                                Are you remembering what the actual essentials are?  

*word used for the sake of all the Duchesses along with the Father of the Queen.