I was recently part of a discussion with some woman in my church about proper dress. One was advocating that women should wear dresses and that pants really were not appropriate for women to wear in church. This did not seem right to me, but I did not have any Biblical basis for my belief. What do you think? Does the Bible speak about what women can and cannot wear?

Signed,

Wondering what to wear

Dear Wondering,

One's choice of appropriate church attire is probably far more linked to the culture than to the Bible. Galatians 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." We must be careful not to do as the Pharisees did, which was to make up their own rules to keep themselves from breaking God's law. The rules the Pharisees devised to help them from breaking the law, over time, became equal in their minds to scripture. They believed that they as well as others sinned when they broke the rule they made up to protect themselves from falling into sin.

Let me give you an example of how this might play out practically. First Peter 3:3 says a woman's beauty should not come from outward adornment and it gives fine clothes as one example of outward adornment. A woman might read this and decide in order to protect herself from becoming dependent on fine clothes to feel beautiful; she can only wear potato sacks. Wearing the potato sack will remind her that true beauty comes from the Lord.

The problem here is that this woman then begins to lose perspective. She begins to mistake her own rules for scripture. One day she is out of potato sacks and she puts on a dress. Suddenly she feels guilty, she believes she has fallen into sin because she is wearing a dress instead of a sack. Or she gets invited to the Grande Ball and she really wants to wear a gown instead of a potato sack, in fact she really wants to look nice. She has forgotten that she has the freedom to wear a gown. Instead she begins to beat herself up for depending on a beautiful dress instead of the Lord for her beauty.

To get back to your original question, I don't know of any specific scriptures that suggest women should wear dresses and not pants. Though there are some scriptures I would suggest you look at: 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 31. Everything we do should be weighed in light of how it might affect others. Be careful with this though. You are free to exercise your freedom. You mustn't go to the opposite extreme and act in a co-dependent manner, i.e. taking on responsibility for everyone else's feelings. Consider your culture, your church, your personal tastes, and determine what is suitable and appropriate. Keep in mind that neither you nor anyone else gets brownie points from God by the way they dress. On the contrary, as the scripture says, all of these things must come from a heart of love and submission to our Lord Jesus Christ. We must be very cautious not to judge one another according to outward appearances.

There is one last point I want to make. Not only do we have freedom, but we must remember that others have freedom as well. Freedom must work both ways. Occasionally an individual will have a personal conviction that the Lord would have them dress a certain way. One example that comes to mind is Rees Howells, an evangelist from Wales during the turn of the 20th century. Howells was convicted of not wearing a hat in an extremely hat conscious culture. His conviction made other Christians very uncomfortable. Some did not recognize the freedom that Howells had in Christ. However, Howells in no way shape or form expected others to go without their hats. He realized his was a personal conviction from the Lord.

Be thankful for the tremendous liberty we have in Christ. Rejoice that our righteousness is in Christ alone, for we could never accomplish it for ourselves.

In His service,

Jean