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God’s Guidelines for Clothing

May 28, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

This season is marked by school letting out and summer fun beginning. What often accompanies hot temperatures is immodest apparel. As Christians, how should we dress in public? First Timothy 2:9 calls for modest apparel. In context, the prohibition against braided hair, gold, pearls, and costly garments shows we’re not to flaunt wealth and beauty in some gaudy display. Local custom may play into what is proper attire. For example, Rebekah in the presence of Isaac put on a veil, as a customary sign of modesty and moral uprightness (Gen. 24:65). However, in a different time, in a different locale, on the road to Timnah, Tamar put on a veil attempting to look like a prostitute (Gen. 38:14, 15). Above the propriety of customs related to time and place, God’s word indicates how much of our bodies should be covered to be modest. All conscientious children of God should ask themselves what God says about modesty, instead of following what the world says.

Before any development of clothing customs, Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden. The Bible says they were naked, but were not ashamed (Gen. 2:25); they lived in pure innocence. After the transgression of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, things were different. Genesis 3:7 says, “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” Realizing their nakedness, they went about to cover themselves. The word for “apron” in the original language indicates something worn around the waist, like a girdle or loincloth. According to their judgment, this covered them, but not according to God. Notice Genesis 3:21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” This implies that before the coats of skins Adam and Eve were still unclothed. God’s judgment of what was needed for proper attire was more than the aprons Adam and Eve had made. God made them “coats”; a word which in the original language indicates a tunic that covers the torso by hanging down from the shoulders. We learn from this account that merely some clothing is not enough. We must have enough clothing to cover us properly.

The instructions God gave to Moses regarding priestly garments also give us insight into this matter. God commanded the priests not to use steps to climb to the altar, lest someone look up and see their nakedness (Ex. 20:26). He also made provisions for attire that would properly cover them, commanding, “And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach” (Ex. 28:42). While certainly God wanted a sense of decorum by His priests as they officiated, the explicit reason to have pants that reached from the hips even to the thighs was in order to cover their nakedness.

Consider Isaiah 47:2 concerning Babylon, “Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.” Babylon is personified as a woman in this figurative passage. God was going to shame the proud nation. He uses the figure of exposing one’s nakedness as a symbol of shame (v. 3). We have already considered the cultural connotation of removing the veil that would uncover locks of hair, but God also uses uncovering the thigh to communicate nakedness and shame. If a woman passing over the rivers lifted her dress, or removed her skirt, so that all of her leg was made bare, exposing her thigh, then her nakedness was revealed. This fits with what God commanded back in Exodus 28 for priests. God has the same standard for both men and women in how much of our bodies should be covered. Most of us would be ashamed to be seen publicly in our underwear. But let’s be honest. Is typical swimwear any different in how much of our bodies are uncovered?

It is a shame when Christians identify with the world in immodest dress. The potential for others to lust should cause us to be careful about the way we dress. While each man must strive to keep his mind pure (Job 31:1; Prov. 6:25; Mt. 5:27-30; Phil. 4:8), the liberty we have in how we dress must not be made into a stumbling block for others. Even if you think your attire is lawful, it may not be spiritually helpful to others, so keep with the principle of 1 Corinthians 8 (cf. 1 Cor. 10:23-24). Do we follow the Bible when it comes to how we dress in public? Don’t seek to attract people by merely outward appearance, but let it be an inward, spiritual beauty that pleases God and blesses others (1 Pet. 3:3, 4).

-Mark Day

The Lord’s Vengeance Is Coming

May 21, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

The Lord will judge every man according to his works (Mt. 25:31-46; Jn. 12:48; Acts 17:30-31; Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:12). Those that become unfaithful allow the Lord’s delay to convince them that they need not heed His word (Lk. 12:45, 46). The Lord’s vengeance is not a reality to them. In His mercy, the Lord delays exacting vengeance in order to give men time to repent instead of perishing (2 Pet. 3:8, 9). But evil men scoff at the idea that the Lord will return, being ignorant of the fact that the Lord has kept His promise of worldwide destruction before and He will be faithful to do it again (2 Pet. 3:3-12). While the Lord will certainly execute judgment in eternity, sometimes the Lord exacts vengeance in this life as well. Consider an example in the Old Testament.

Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash

In Deuteronomy 19:15-21, the Lord enacted laws to prevent false witnesses from condemning the innocent. Two witnesses were required. Additionally, if one was found to have borne false witness, then whatever penalty would have been executed on the accused would be exacted on the false witness. Sadly, these stringent regulations did not prevent evil men from perverting judgment throughout the history of Israel by means of false witnesses. Ahab and Jezebel orchestrated two debased men, sons of Belial, to bear false witness concerning Naboth so he would be stoned; then Ahab and Jezebel could take possession of his vineyard next to their house in Samaria (1 Kings 21).

The Lord’s prophet, Elijah, was sent to ask Ahab, “Have you murdered and also taken possession?”, and give this message: “Thus says the LORD: ‘In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours’” (1 Kings 21:19). Jezebel, who invented the lie that caused the death of innocent Naboth (1 Kings 21:5-21), met a bloody demise just as the Lord determined (1 Kings 21:23; 2 Kings 9:30-37). Ahab, who abetted in lies for his own profit, was deceived by a lying spirit in the mouth of his false prophets into going to battle at Ramoth-gilead (1 Kings 22:20-23). The Lord’s prophet, Micaiah, said Israel would have no leader if they went to this battle (1 Kings 22:17). Did this mean Ahab would die? Certainly, if he was out in battle at Ramoth-gilead, then there was no way he would meet a death where the dogs licked his blood in Samaria, right? How could God’s warnings from Elijah and Micaiah both come about? Ahab thought he could deceive others by disguising himself in battle, but a stray arrow pierced him between the joints in his armor and he perished (1 Kings 22:30-38). The blood from his wound collected in the bottom of his chariot (1 Kings 22:35). “Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken” (1 Kings 22:38). Lord determined vengeance for the deceitful matter concerning Naboth, and it came to pass just as He said.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Lord’s word will not (Mt. 24:35). We will meet the Lord’s words in judgment (Jn. 12:48). The punishment determined for wickedness will take place (Rev. 21:8). Our only hope is to be washed in the blood of Jesus (Rev. 1:5), who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10). Will you choose to be baptized to have your sins washed away (Acts 22:16)? If you’ve done that, are you walking in the light so that you have fellowship with God’s people and continual cleansing by the blood of Christ (1 Jn. 1:5-9)? If not, do you think that you will escape the vengeance of God (Rom. 2:3)?

-Mark Day

Who Is My Neighbor?

May 14, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

An expert in the law of Moses who questioned Jesus about eternal life knew the command of Leviticus 19:18, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” However, he thought he had a way around the obligation to carry out this command in his dealings with all people for Luke 10:29 reads, “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” He was satisfied in not loving those different from him in terms of race, status, gender, education, etc. by redefining the word neighbor to mean only those predominantly like him. Jesus answered his question with the story of the Good Samaritan to show that even this mixed race—with the bitter hatred that often existed between them and Jewish people in the first century—were included in God’s command to love neighbors (Luke 10:30-37). We should be on guard against narrowing the application of God’s word by redefining the terms, lest we fail to do what God has commanded. We tend to evade our responsibility to follow God’s commands by limiting the scope of application so that it excludes our situation. In regard to the primacy of this command even for us today under the New Testament, the inspired apostle Paul wrote, “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Rom. 13:9).

Consider the command, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16). Does “bearing witness” imply only a judicial application—that I may lie if I am not in a courtroom setting? No. Consider passages like Ephesians 4:25 and Colossians 3:9-10 among many others. False charges and insinuations made in private conversations still harm others. Slander robs a man of his good name, which is more valuable than great riches of silver and gold (Prov. 22:1). The cowardly spread falsehoods in private about an individual they don’t like, but will never confront the individual nor make the same accusations in public under judicial oath. Yet, God clearly condemns such cowardly liars (Rev. 21:8).

Does the word neighbor imply that I may lie to enemies (since I don’t consider them neighbors)? Some propose it does. Frame wrote, “The requirement to tell the truth is conditioned on a relationship, that of ‘neighbor.’”[1] However, neighbor is not intended to give us license to lie to certain people, but rather to show the most hateful example—in harming the person next to you—in the whole category of the sin. God did this with the positive command, “Honor your father and your mother” (Ex. 20:12) in that it is a situation of respect that is easiest for us to accept. That command does not mean we don’t respect other rightful delegated authority in our lives (such as civil government). The tenth commandment is, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17). Would it be all right to covet your enemy’s house or wife since you don’t consider him a “neighbor”? Certainly not. Just as Jesus rightly extended the application of “neighbor” in Leviticus 19:18 to one whom the Jewish lawyer would consider his enemy, so we must do with these moral commands from God.

Let us be on guard against attempts to sidestep the application of God’s word to our own hearts and lives when it becomes difficult. Some commands of God may be qualified, but that is a discussion for another time. For now, let us resolve to do—rather than dodge—God’s commands.

-Mark Day

[1] John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life: A Theology of Lordship (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2008), 839.

The Christian Life Is a Struggle

May 7, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

Many in the world would agree that life is a struggle. Usually, what people mean by that is suffering and difficult times are part of life. However, when the apostle Paul described the Christian life as a struggle, he meant something other than the fact that life can be hard. The inspired apostle wrote:

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus, I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

As Christians, we struggle against sin. We discipline ourselves in order to obtain the imperishable crown of glory. Athletes train, eat right, and get enough sleep in order to qualify for the Olympics and win the gold medal. Similarly, Christians exercise self-control in their road to heavenly glory. There is a natural desire a person has to eat a sugary dessert, but the disciplined athlete abstains in order to win the prize. When friends invite them to a late-night party, they may decline in order to get enough rest. Likewise, as Christians we must forgo sinful activities and deny certain desires. We cannot take the easy course and be self-centered if we wish to grow spiritually and go to heaven.

Each time Christians take the easy way out by sin, they forfeit an opportunity to grow and instead become more self-centered. It is sad to see those who were baptized years ago, but instead of remaining true to their commitment to die to self and live as Christ, they have grown smaller of soul, less able to empathize with others, and unwilling to sacrifice their own comforts. You may have attended worship services of the church for years, but that does not necessarily mean you have grown to be more like Christ during that time.

The context of 1 Corinthians 9 is the instruction of giving up one’s rights in order to further the gospel. Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 10:1-22 to speak of Israelites who were baptized into Moses at the Red Sea but through unfaithfulness died in the wilderness instead of inheriting the promised land. However, he resumes giving up lawful things that are not helpful in 1 Corinthians 10:23. Paul’s athlete comparison is sandwiched between these two subjects. The struggle of the Christian life not only involves abstaining from sin (1 Corinthians 10), but also sacrificing one’s own preferences for the good of others (1 Corinthians 9). We may make decisions that are not sinful per se, but they certainly are not helpful to other Christians.

Let us resolve to go through some growing pains and be bigger people. Let us become mature Christians like the apostle Paul and be willing to “endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:12). We should follow Paul as he followed Christ, the ultimate example of sacrificial love for the good of others (1 Corinthians 11:1).

-Mark Day

He Preached Him Into Hell

April 30, 2021 by admin Leave a Comment

He was a member of the church. He said so when questioned about his religion.

He was a member of the church but he could not be counted on to attend the services. He worked six days a week, and he had to visit sometimes, when could he go except on Sunday. He worked hard and needed some recreation, and Sunday was the only time he had for recreation.

He was a member of the church, but he just could not get to Bible study on Sunday morning. He needed the extra hour or two of sleep more than he needed to study the Bible. He attended the worship most of the time, and he felt that was enough.

He was a member of the church, but he did not come on Sunday night. He had to rest to be ready to go to work on Monday. He had already attended one time and that was enough except for the preacher and a few over zealous people. He had eaten the Lord’s Supper, and that was the only thing that was really important anyway.

He was a member of the church, but he never came to mid-week Bible study. He could not find where the Bible said anything about mid-week Bible classes. He said he was tired on Wednesday night and needed the rest and requested people not to bother him by calling on him to invite him.

He was a member of the church, but gave very little of his money to the cause of the Lord. The church supported the preaching of the gospel, but not with his money. The church helped orphans and widows, but not with his money. After all, he owned a home, a new car, a television, and took a vacation each year and it took all of his money to live on.

He was a member of the church, but he never invited anyone. He said that he thought that was what the preacher was paid to do. If he was sick and no one visited him, it hurt his feelings. He complained of the church not visiting people.

He was a member of the church, but he never tried to teach anyone else. In fact, he did not know where to find the Great Commission. If someone asked him a question about the Bible he had to call the preacher to find the answer. The truth is he just did not like to talk with other people about the Bible.

He was a member of the church, but he died. I conducted the funeral. I said, “He was a member but he was careless in his attendance. He was a member of the church, but he did not think Bible study was important, and so he never came. He was a member of the church, but he never gave as he prospered. His funeral is being conducted in a building paid for by others. He was a member of the church, but he never visited the sick. He was a member of the church, but no one gathered here today has he taught the truth. He has now gone to judgment to meet his God, and all he can say to God is: ‘I was a member of the church.’ All that I can say about him is that he was a member of the church.”

While these are not the words that I used, it is the substance of what was said. The service was over, and as I stood at the door waiting for the men to take the casket and place it in the ambulance, I heard someone say, “He preached him straight into hell.” But I deny that I did so. All I did was to tell the truth about his life. All that he claimed while he lived was that he was a member of the church. Why should I insult his family and his friends and his body by saying he was more? I could not claim for a dead man what he refused to claim for himself while he lived.

This is not fiction—it happened.

Franklin Camp (Deceased) submitted by Jerry Sturgill