Dressing for Church

Dressing for Church

Nearly everybody in America has heard of the Tony Award® winning musical Fiddler on the Roof.  The major theme in the book by Joseph Stein is Tevye’s attempt to maintain his family and Jewish traditions while modern ideas lure those around him away.

This theme works well because of its universal appeal.  This is the age-old battle between generations.  Life in the Church is not immune to the pull of this battle.  However, we owe it to ourselves, our progeny, and The Lord to make sure we break from the cycle and make our decisions based on a proper, Biblical perspective.  Remember, “We’ve always done it that way” is no reason to do something, and no reason to not do something either!

The following is the first installment of an open-ended series of topics that follow this vein.

There is a movement well underway to reverse the historical custom of “dressing up” for church.  Many cite comfort for their bent while others insist that being “too formal” could drive away prospects by making them feel uncomfortable.  Still others say that this habit is outmoded and irrelevant.  Let’s take a brief look into the matter.

You may be too young to remember that in “olden times” we called the place that we gathered for worship the “Sanctuary”.  Obviously, it was understood that the individual Christians gathered together were “the Church” but the term, obviously, bears the idea of sanctification.  Sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man.²  Romans 6:13  To sanctify is “to make holy, to set apart as sacred, consecrate”.¹  Consecration is the devoting or setting apart of anything to the worship or service of God. In the New Testament, Christians are regarded as consecrated to the Lord.²  1Pet 2:9  “As we dedicate our church buildings, we set them apart for sacred uses, the service and worship of God.  As the vessels of the Temple were dedicated or sanctified for special and sacred purposes, so of God’s people.³  Naturally, with the idea of sanctification, the concept of quality follows closely behind.  Weren’t the Children of Israel chided for making a practice of bringing blind, halted, and diseased sacrifices before Him?  Are we not instructed to present ourselves “…holy, and acceptable unto God…”?  Rom 12:1  Perhaps I have missed something, but I can’t find the passage in Scripture that says: “Oh, don’t make a fuss!” 

Many folks will say:  “I’m just not comfortable dressed up.”  Well, I would point out that, if worship is about your comfort, then it really isn’t worship at all.  I remember very clearly when I got myself to a church because God had revealed Himself to me through the wonder of creation.  I got my appearance together as best I could, but I would not be dissuaded from surrendering to God. I didn’t know what to do and had never seen a Baptist service or any invitation before.  None the less, when the pastor extended the invitation, I immediately, and almost running, got down that aisle and, in spite of my lack of knowing the “lingo” indicated what I had come for. I didn’t know or care what anyone thought.  Furthermore, it’s plain to see to anyone that if a seeker is at all serious, he will not be intimidated by anybody’s dress.  If we’re kind, and winsome, any awkwardness that they might have felt will be instantly dispelled in the face of our welcoming spirit.

When The Lord commanded the building of the tabernacle and later the temple, He was painting an elaborate picture of His plan to be with His people.  Everything in the temple had meaning and pointed to and honored the Lamb to come, The Christ.  The varying substances and materials speak of his purity, holiness, etc..  Likewise, the priests made elaborate preparation following complex instructions to the letter.  However, at Jesus’ death, the veil was torn signifying our access to the Holy of Holies eliminating the need for an intermediary.  The “priesthood of the believer” that resulted allowed for direct and personal access to the very throne room of God.  However, there was no corresponding incident indicating that what would take place as we met God would be any less important than it had been in the past.  The gold did not turn to rusty iron, nor the bronze to clay.  The veil was the only “casual-ty” that day.

Finally, for all of you students of culture, intellect and understanding who mistakenly take the phenomenon of dressing up as purely western or American, I would like you to consider that every people group that has ever existed on this planet either dressed up or did something special with their appearance for important occasions.  It is deep within who we are to honor what is important with how we dress.  Even if somehow one has escaped the bonds of his humanity (which he cannot), and no longer need to dress for what’s important, he remains a witness of Christ, and, as such has an obligation of a clear testimony regardless of the happenings within popular culture.  You see, the rest of humanity may fight that inner voice, the urge, to honor the important and not want to dress up for anything, but our testimony must still point to a Holy God, worthy of honor.  Our Lord still desires our sanctification. 

Thomas Aquinas provides one more model for engaging clothing. He believed we have a moral obligation to compose our outward manners—including our dress—in light of the person we are addressing, the company we are with, the business we are pursuing, and the place we are in. He claimed that a truly virtuous life includes the art of savoir faire—“a sense of occasion discerning differences of situation”—and that this should inform the clothing we wear.⁴

He still desires to be glorified in the Temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20  To defy this represents an agenda outside of what we are, focused on self, juxtaposed to scripture and, therefore dishonoring to God.

So, in this case, at least, the problem seems to have been that we forgot why “…we did it that way”.  The tradition wasn’t wrong at all, we just forgot to keep teaching the “why” of it.

1  Dictionary.com

2  Easton’s Bible Dictionary

3  What Baptists Believe and Why They Believe It  JG Bow, D.D.

4  “The Biblical Meaning of Clothing” In Christianity Today Robert Covolo/ August 28, 2015