Immodesty is still sin and modesty is still commanded – Feminine Fidelity

For us to feel ashamed, we must understand we have something to be ashamed of. To blush, we must realize that we have a reason to blush. For there to be a reason to blush, there must be a standard that we are breaking. That standard is the inerrant, infallible, authoritative, and sufficient Word of God.

Luke 6:46, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

When we hear the word modesty, our first thought is usually about how women should or shouldn’t dress. While modesty does address the way we choose to clothe our bodies, it isn’t just about clothing. It’s a reflection of who we are in Christ, and it’s about far more than wearing enough clothing. We can be immodest while fully clothed because we are dressed to draw undue attention to ourselves, because we are inappropriately dressed for the situation, because we are expensively adorned, through words or actions that reflect immodesty, or through sensuality in our clothing choices.

For this article, we are going to focus on sensuality.

Sisters, we have an obligation to honor the Lord in all we do, including how we dress. We also have an obligation to our brothers to dress appropriately so as not to be a stumbling block to them.

God designed men to be visually stimulated by women. While some women are also visually stimulated, overall men are more so. God designed them this way so that they would be attracted to their wives. In marriage, a man’s desire toward his wife is good and holy. Outside of marriage, such desire is sin. If we have a part in enticing such desire, we are in sin.

Sisters, to the world, living and dressing flamboyantly and saying or doing things to draw undue attention to ourselves are encouraged and admired. But it is not so for the child of God. Jesus declared to us that if we love Him, we will obey Him. And in His Holy Word, He commands us to be modest.

We can’t willingly dress sensuously, ignoring that men are more visual than women, causing them to stumble, and still think that God is somehow pleased with us or doesn’t hold us accountable.

When we flaunt our bodies, we’re not proving our supposed freedom in Christ—a phrase greatly misused and misunderstood. Our willful immodesty proves our defiance toward Christ.

1 Timothy 2:9-10, “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But which becometh women professing godliness with good works.”

Modesty matters because God calls us to be modest.

Read that again.

Our modesty matters to God because God tells us to be modest. We mustn’t forget this.

Without Christ, we’re all self-focused. We want attention. We desire to be admired, praised, and applauded. But when we’re part of the body of Christ, that can no longer be our goal.

John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

To be Jesus’s follower means we do the things He commands us to do. We act as He would have us act. We speak as He would have us speak. And, yes, we are to dress as He would have us dress. If we find ourselves justifying doing otherwise, we need to repent.

It just might be that we’re more relevant to the world—and it to us—than we might have thought possible. No child of God should ever want to be in this situation.

Men have their part in this, and God will hold them accountable for it: protecting their minds and hearts, not looking at anything inappropriate, and not giving in to lust. We have our part, and God will also hold us accountable: dressing to please God and protecting our brothers, showing wisdom in our choice of clothing and how we present ourselves.

But we are talking about women. Us. How we choose to display ourselves and whether we are honoring our Lord or giving place to the devil.

Richard Baxter: “You little know what you have done, when you have first broke the bounds of modesty; you have set open the door of your fancy to the devil, so that he can, almost at his pleasure ever after, represent the same sinful pleasure to you anew; he hath now access to your fancy to stir up lustful thoughts and desires, so that when you should think of your calling, of your God, or of your soul, your thoughts will be worse than swinish, upon the filth that is not fit to be named. If the devil here get in a foot, he will not easily be got out.”

How we choose to adorn ourselves can either be a blessing to our brothers or a cause of stumbling. If we are modest and men still lust after us, they are sinning and the fault is theirs alone. But if we fail to dress modestly and they sin, we are also to blame. If we light a match and knowingly throw it onto something flammable and it catches fire, we’re responsible. So it is with our appearance also.

If we define our beliefs by culture rather than the fullness of Scripture, we become unfruitful because we have become unfaithful. And unfaithfulness is sin.

1 Peter 1:15-16, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

As Christian women, it is important that we ask the correct questions and that we understand what we are asking. God has commanded us to be holy, to obey Him, and to be modest. If we seek to get around these commands by asking questions designed as loopholes, we are in sin. When it comes to God’s commands, the question, “I know…but what about…?” can easily become an attempt to find a way around obedience.

“Why can’t I?” is the wrong question for Christian women to be asking concerning modesty or anything else that our Lord has commanded us. Rather, our questions should reflect a heart bent on loving and obeying God.

Appropriate questions are:

“Does this bring glory to the Lord?”

“Am I honoring my brothers in Christ through my appearance?”

“Is my husband—or future husband—honored by my clothing choices?”

Seeking to please ourselves leads us to seek to fit into the world around us. It is then that we ask, “Why can’t I?” and “Did God really say?” The latter is the question the serpent raised in the Garden of Eden.

“Why can’t I?” is the heart of rebellion against God.

Immodesty is still sin.

Soli Deo Gloria!

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