5. So what do we wear?

So what are you suggesting, Phil? If you want to take the Bible literally, you’d better look like a dork and dress up in a tunic and a robe! Isn’t that what they wore in the Bible?!

Given the fact that you can find congregants in Hawaii wearing their Speedo bathing suits to worship (shudder), going back to Biblical robes might be appealing after all. But that’s not where this book is heading. I don’t believe the Bible sets a specific dress code for worship. Instead, it gives us guidelines for how we can honor the Lord in any culture.

No uniform Biblical dress code.

First of all, the Bible makes clear that there was not a uniform dress code. Believers in some cultures wore “trousers” and “coats” in their day to day affairs (Dan. 3:21), while other cultures wore tunics (Matt. 5:40) or robes (1 Sam. 24:4). So the reductio ad absurdum argument (that we will be forced to wear robes) really does not apply. Earlier in this book I listed more than a dozen styles of clothing mentioned in the Bible. Likewise, one person’s best clothing will be quite different from another’s. A poor woman’s “best garment” (Ruth 3:3) might be quite different from a wealthy person’s appropriate attire, but the fact that they were dressed up for a special occasion would still not be lost on those who looked on.

When Frontline Fellowship gave boots to the evangelists who had to walk many miles in Sudan, they continued to walk barefoot and put the boots on for church. Dr. Peter Hammond had a hard time convincing them that these were intended to protect their feet. But their hearts were right. They wanted to honor God, and reserved their best clothing for that event.

Dressing up for a special occasion in one culture might mean putting on “the best robe” and putting “a ring on his hand” (Luke 15:22), while another culture might wear different clothes that were equally “beautiful” (Josh. 7:21). Christ wore the latest style of clothing when He attended His last Passover (John 19:23), but not everyone could afford to wear such clothes. The point is that the Bible does not mandate one style of clothing for church.

Culture doesn’t define the dress code.

However, a balancing principle is that the secular culture should not be determinative of what Christians wear. After all, Zephaniah 1:8 condemns to judgment those who were in bondage to a worldly dress code. God said, “I will punish the princes and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.” This means that the Bible, not culture, is normative on what clothing is proper for day-to-day life and what clothing is “proper” for worship (1 Tim. 2:9). Where the Bible gives leeway, we have leeway. Where it gives guidelines, we should honor those guidelines. Where it calls for reformation of our clothing, we must think through how to honor those mandates. Paul clearly bucked culture and wanted reformation of clothing (1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Cor. 11:1-16¹⁷). Isaiah 52:1 speaks of a Reformation so radical in the future that unbelieving (“uncircumcised”) influences will be completely removed from the church, and the church will put on “beautiful garments” that are pleasing to God. As Calvin says, Isaiah is predicting “the removal of corruptions, and the restoration of the worship of God” within the church.¹⁸ Part of that reformation was precisely the need to “put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem.” Notice that this reformation is not a call to put on robes. It is simply a call to dress up for worship. It parallels the call in 1 Chronicles 16:29 to “worship the LORD in holy attire!” While the word “beautiful” may be subjective to some degree, the word “holy” indicates that the Bible at least differentiates it from other clothing.

Clothing should be appropriate for the occasion.

A third principle we find in Scripture is that clothing should be appropriate for the occasion (what 1 Tim. 2:9 speaks of as “proper”). As one wag put it, “If it really doesn’t matter what you wear to church, why don’t you go there in a bathing suit or in a towel once in a while? While we’re on it, why don’t you go to a cocktail party wearing a similar outfit or a pajama?” Would you not think it a bit odd if your mechanic rented a tuxedo to change the oil in your car? Would you not think it strange if the best man at your wedding insisted on wearing his smelly Orkin bug suit? It puzzles me that those who think the former two situations are odd do not think it’s odd for someone to wear sweats to a worship service.

The Bible repeatedly shows sensitivity to circumstances when it comes to clothing. “John the Baptist had the calling of a desert prophet, and he dressed accordingly (Matt. 11:8). He did not wear the soft clothing of first-century politicians. Jesus altered His dress in order to wash the disciples’ feet (John 13:4, 12). Simon Peter took off his outer garment in order to fish (John 21:7).”¹⁹ A woman is likely to wear something different while gardening or painting than when going to church. Scripture is full of such distinctions. It also speaks of uniforms that varied by occupation. There were “priestly garments” (Lev. 21:10), “royal garments” (Esther 8:15), teachers’ clothes (Ezra 9:3,5), warrior’s clothing (Ezek. 23:12), wedding clothes (Matt. 22:11,12), etc. One hundred years ago, anyone could instantly distinguish a person’s occupation by the clothing they wore. That is very difficult today. While a tuxedo may be very appropriate at a wedding, this principle and the next one would tend to rule it out as being ostentatious for church. One needs to think about what would be the most appropriate clothing to come before God at the public event of worship.

Clothing should be affordable.

A fourth principle is that the clothing should be affordable and not ostentatious. In connection with worship (see the context of verses 1-12), Paul says, “I desire… that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness…” (1 Tim. 2:8-9). Paul was writing against the popular practice of making elaborate braids interlaced with gold and pearls. As Hendriksen commented, “Braids, in those days, often represented fortunes.”²⁰ “Pliny complains of the vast sums spent on ornamentation and various satirists comment on the hours spent in dressing the hair of women.”²¹ Obviously ostentatiousness is inappropriate at any time, but it is important to realize that God is not speaking against costly attire in all circumstances. For example, God speaks allegorically of how he dressed his daughter Israel:

I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck. And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth… You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty. Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you.

Ezek. 16:10-13

If costly clothing is wrong in all circumstances, this would not have been an effective allegory. God was indicating that spending money on expensive clothing for his daughter was a good thing. Why? Because he was a King who had plenty of money. Abraham had plenty of discretionary funds to spend on fine clothing. But in the church, God wants no display of wealth and splendor to overawe the people. This is why David dressed down for worship (2 Sam. 6:14,16,22; 12:20). He wasn’t coming to worship as a king, but as a member of the church. What he wore to church would have been equivalent to a modern business suit, or at least dress slacks and dress shirt. So there is a place for dressing down after all. Church is not the place for $2000 Versace dresses or $25,000 Brioni or Kiton suits. God wants “moderation” rather than costliness in worship (2 Tim. 2:9).

Clothing should be aesthetically pleasing.

The fifth principle is that our clothing should be as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Of course, we need to keep in mind the limits of principle #4, but God still calls the New Covenant people to “put on your beautiful garments” (Isa. 52:1). The Bible does not specify suit and tie, but it does specify that our clothing should be beautiful. So this principle balances the previous one and does not allow us to dress down too far.

While James commands the church to welcome the poor man into the assembly (James 2) and to be willing to feed and clothe such a poor person (James 2:14-18), it does not call the wealthy to remove their “fine apparel” (2:2). Nor does it call the whole church to dress in the “filthy clothes” of the poor man so that he feels welcome. The church would be taken far more seriously by the poor if we were generous like James commands, rather than condescendingly trying to make them feel welcome.

We should strive to give God our best in worship.

The sixth principle is that we are to make an effort to give our best to God in worship (Numb. 18:12,29,30; etc). Worship is many times called a “sacrifice,” and even the various parts of the worship service are called sacrifices. For example, Scripture speaks of the “sacrifices of thanksgiving” (Ps. 107:22; 116:17), the “sacrifices of joy” (Ps. 27:6), the “sacrifices of praise” (Jer. 17:26; Heb. 13:15), the “sacrifices of our lips” (Hos. 14:2), the “sacrifices of righteousness” (Deut. 33:19; Psa. 4:5) and the “sacrifices of… a broken and a contrite heart” (Psa. 51:17). This means that comfort is not the highest priority. Sacrifices are difficult to make. Yet comfort is one of the frequent arguments that people make against dressing up for church. As one person worded it, “these men and women have no respect for the individual’s right to be comfortable.” Has comfort now become a right?

Apparently. One pastor listed a “bill of rights for worship.” Right #5 was, “Every person has a right to be comfortable during the service.” But is it really a right, or is Kent Brandenburg correct when he says, “Casual is part of the lovers of their own selves movement, where our comfort trumps everything”?²² Where has the “sacrifice” gone from worship? Do we bring lame and sick sacrifices (Mal. 1:8,13)? Our focus should be on giving to the Lord our best, or as the Psalmist worded it, “give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in holy attire!” This passage calls us to sacrificially give God glory, offerings and even our clothing as a sweet smelling aroma. It is not comfort, but God’s glory that should be uppermost in our minds.

Clothing should be modest.

The seventh principle is that our clothing should be modest. Paul mandates that “women adorn themselves in modest apparel” (1 Tim. 2:9) when they come to worship (see verses 1-12 for the connection to worship). Of course, modesty is a mandate for all public life,²³ and Scripture expects us to be able to tell the difference between “modest apparel” (1 Tim. 2:9) and being “dressed like a prostitute” (Prov. 7:10). However, modesty is especially important for worship. One woman sadly relates her experience in this arena: “I know for a fact that my husband and many other men stumble more when they are at church than at any other time.”²⁴

The distinction of formal worship.

The eighth principle is that our clothing should be consistent with the reverence and respect for God called for in formal worship. We are called to worship God “acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28). There are many people who strongly resist this notion, and insist that public worship should be no different than private worship. Thus, informality is seen not only in dress, but also in speech and in every other aspect of the meeting. Rather than taking 1 Corinthians 14:26 as a rebuke, they take it as a mandate and prescribe a meeting where each person can talk and informally minister.²⁵

Some of these modern worship services have become so informal that the distinction between worship and non-worship becomes blurred. Of course, this is seen as a good thing. One writer said:

“This practice [of having special clothing for church] is highly metaphoric. The changing of clothes tangibly expresses the changing of expectations that occurs shortly after the last ‘Amen’ of a church service. Not only do we take off our church clothes, we also disrobe from what we have felt, learned, and experienced. Our change of clothing highlights the disconnection between the church world and the real world: they are two totally different realms, to the point that we need to don different uniforms in order to participate in each.”²⁶ The writer says this ought not to be. All of life is sacred.

Well that sounds good, but the reality is that God wants our worship different (or as He words it “sanctified”). Throughout the Old and New Testaments there is not only a profound difference between worship and the rest of life, but there is also a profound difference between formal worship and private worship. By analogy you could liken it to the situation of the king’s child. He can climb up into his father’s lap at home any time he pleases. But during the king’s formal ceremonies, the child needs to dress properly, stand when it is time to stand, and sit when it is time to sit. He (along with all the people) must follow protocol during the king’s public ceremony days. The same is true of public worship.

People have lost the concept of what it means to worship God “with reverence and godly fear… [knowing that] our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28-29). In context, Hebrews is telling us that when we come to public worship we “have come to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect…” (vv. 22-23). It is an awesome heavenly assembly that we are joining in worship. Is this really a context for sweat pants, or bathing suits?

Revelation also describes our worship as being caught up into heaven and being blended with the worship of heaven (see for example Rev. 8:1-6; 4:1-5:14; 7:9-17; etc.) It is hard to imagine the awesome reverence that the saints in heaven have for worship without realizing that it calls for us to have the same reverence. Can we really say that the clothing described as appropriate for worship in heaven does not instruct our own clothing in some way? The worshippers of heaven are described as wearing the himation (4:4; 16:15) and the stole (6:11; 7:9; 13:14), all washed (7:14) and kept ready (16:15). These were garments of formal wear. All of this description of heavenly worship is designed to impress upon the reader that when we come to corporate worship, it is truly different.

The place of worship is called coming “before the Lord” (Ex. 23:17; Deut. 26:10; 1 Sam. 1:19; Psalm 95:6; etc.) and coming into His “presence” (Psalm 31:20; Zeph. 1:7). God wants us to be deliberate and intentional in our coming to worship. He gave us a “day of preparation” (Matt. 26:62; Mark 15:42; etc.) in which we could get ready for the Sabbath. This implies that there is plenty to think about in order to make the Sabbath special. Jerry Wragg has written wisely on this subject, so let me quote him at length.

Still… the issue of formality is not to be discarded without careful consideration. Formal attire (whatever cultural norms exist) still serves the purpose of drawing important distinctions. We all draw a line somewhere (groomed hair, hygiene, etc.). We “dress up” for all kinds of occasions in society, and to neglect such distinctions does still send a strong message of either carelessness or disregard. For example, if you show up to a wedding or funeral without carefully considering your attire, you will most certainly communicate to others that the occasion wasn’t important enough to be thoughtful. For weddings, careless attire will perhaps convey disinterest for the beauty of the context, or even lack of proper concern for the bride and groom. At a funeral, casual wear (beach wear, etc.) may send the message that a family’s sorrow isn’t very important to you.

These same “non-verbal” modes of communication can be seen in a variety of other very important contexts as well (Milestone events, official ceremonies, job interviews, even a 1st date). It’s not that these common concerns determine an individual’s precise clothing selections (because each culture has differences), but they maintain some distinction so that we can generally communicate a difference between the “everyday goods” and those reserved for “special occasions”. In the church, the question isn’t “what particular fashion pleases God?”, but rather “will a casual attire unnecessarily communicate that the occasion was not important enough for me to carefully consider how I look”? If casual-looking attire is all someone has, they can at least wear the best of their clothes so as not to send a general message of carelessness regarding the worship of God’s people. If we discard all formality in the corporate gathering of God’s people, soon we may not be able to make a clear distinction between our corporate worship and shopping at the grocery store.

Some may complain that there should be no distinction between the Lord’s Day worship and grocery shopping, but none of us want our worship services reduced to a business environment, exchanging goods and services for money. Moreover, it is clear to most (possibly all) that not all casual elements of life would be appropriate at the worship gathering of God’s people. For instance, sleeping (no jokes here please), lounging, sports & games, entertainment & leisure, would be out of place at a time of serious prayer, study, praise, giving, and ministry. The point is there are some axiomatic formal elements to our worship that we don’t question, so we should be careful not to jump on the God-doesn’t-care-what-I-wear wagon without understanding the implications. Suits vs. shorts is not the issue… but rather have I humbly and thoughtfully considered the overall context and what my dress might communicate?²⁷

The church historically took this position

The final reason why I think we should dress up for church is that the church in history has always done so. We should be suspicious of any teaching that is novel in the history of interpretation.

Though this is not a conclusive reason, it is important to consider. The early church made a point of dressing up, and “one of the charges leveled by the Emperor Julian the Apostate against the Christians was that they dressed in special clothes to worship God!”²⁸ “Originally these special clothes were simply conservative Roman apparel of high quality…”²⁹ People reserved their best clothing for church. St. Gregory of Nazianzus says that in his day (375-400 A.D.) there was “no difference between clerical and lay dress.”³⁰ “What turned this clothing into a special liturgical vesture was mere conservatism. When the dress of the layman finally changed in the sixth and seventh centuries to the new barbarian fashions, the clergy as the last representatives of the old civilized tradition retained the old civilized costume.”³¹ So even though clerical garments were a later development, dressing up for church was not.

It is ironic that in his attempt to make all of life sacred, he is willing to bring the secular into worship. In the very next paragraph this author continues (rather consistently) to say:

The reason why secular music is needed in worship is that it bridges two worlds that should not be separated in the first place. By letting the secular seep into the sanctuary, we also allow the sacred to spill out of the church - out of the 11:00 hour, beyond the walls, into relationships and situations other than those we experience at church. Put another way, if you hear Dire Straits while at church, you’re more likely to hear God while in your car, at work, or cleaning the house. What you’ve done is to break down the walls that separate the compartments of our lives. By letting the world in, you let God out.

But this is nonsense. Demolishing distinctions doesn’t elevate the rest of life; it lowers worship. This is always the way it works. When people reject the Sabbath by saying that God has “desacralized” time and has now made every day sacred, we don’t find a setting apart (“sacred”) of every day. Instead, we find that the Sabbath is secularized.