(The following is an edited email correspondence.)

As you might be aware, one of the unofficial rules at [name of church] is that one must dress really nice when coming to church. They argue that since one usually dresses his best for an important function, the same principle should be applied when meeting the Almighty.

My church also teaches the same. However, I don’t necessarily follow it for several reasons:

(1) I think that it’s legalistic.
(2) Romans 14:5 says that "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."
(3) The Bible never says that Jesus and his disciples had to dress in a noble manner when attending the synagogues.

What do you think of my reasoning?

I agree that the Bible does not directly require one to dress really nice to church.

A similar argument to the one you mentioned is to say that Old Testament worship prescribes beautiful clothings and ornaments for the priests, and since Christians are now the priests of God in Christ, we should also dress nice when going to church.

However, this is a misapplication of the ceremonial commands, and a bad misapplication at that. For even if the ceremonial commands were to apply, why is the principle to "dress nice" as opposed to dress exactly as the Old Testament prescribed for the priests? (For more on the Law and its application, please see my The Sermon on the Mount and Commentary on Ephesians.)

So the issue is not whether there is a direct command for dressing nice at church; however, there are at least two other issues to consider.

First, one of your chief concerns should be to edify other people.

Romans 14:5 does say, "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind"; however, you should not forget verses 15 to 19:

If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

You should strive to help faciliate worship, and to avoid drawing attention to yourself. When going to a church consisting mostly of poor people who do not have nice clothes, you should not dress too nice so that you will not stand out too much. But if you have the means, you should not dress too badly to a church where most people dress well, again, so as not to stand out too much. Of course, there are other reasons why people dress differently besides economic factors, but the principle is to avoid drawing undue attention to yourself.

A person who walks in love does not insist on his rights, but rather thinks about how he can contribute to the edification of other people. However, I would oppose any accommodation that amounts to an idealogical compromise, or an implicit approval of unbiblical thinking.

For example, a person does not have to dress exactly like today’s teenagers or to use their slangs and expressions to preach to them. Just dress and talk in a way so as not to allow these things to get in the way without compromising your own biblical beliefs. The church should influence culture instead of letting culture influence it.

If wearing baggy pants and talking like a barbarian will make the difference between heaven and hell for my hearers, then I will gladly accomodate. But it is usually enough to just dress casually and avoid pretentious language. Those who are so obsessed with looking and sounding exactly like those they are trying to reach are often distracted from the actual message that they should be preaching, which is where the power lies afterall (Romans 1:16).

Some people end up compromising the very precious words of God, so that the Bible itself can become The Word on the Street (Zondervan) — a "paraphrase" so abominable that you would give anything to have people read The Message or Revolve instead.

We can only accomodate people to a certain point, after which we must, by the authority of God, demand that they follow us, as we follow Christ. If they refuse to abandon their unbiblical and brutish ways of thinking and living, then it means that they are reprobates, foreordained to damnation.

To reach today’s teenagers, some people go as far as putting on nose rings and dyeing their hair. This is unnecessary, since the power is really in the gospel message, which is the means by which the Spirit confronts, convicts, and converts the hearers.

At least in some cases, the truth is that some professing believers simply enjoy the secular culture — the clothes, language, music, etc., and this is their excuse to embrace the world and still call themselves Christians.

As I have stated several times in my books, some people say that they will go to parties and dinners, and to associate with unbelievers, in order to reach them, "just like Jesus did." However, they do not even mention the gospel most of the time, even after an extended relationship with the unbelievers. The truth is that they in fact enjoy doing what the unbelievers do, and talking about what the unbelievers talk about. And while they are having fun, they are lying to themselves and to others about their true motive. This is carnality with a mission, only it is much more about the carnality than about the mission.

Of course, I mention teenagers above only as an example. The same principles apply whenever we attempt to reach any people group.

Second, the Bible says in Hebrews 13:17:

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Assuming that your pastor is not some raging heretic or evil villain, this verse alone should settle the issue. For practical issues such as the dress code, if the pastor says you should wear nice clothes to church, then wear nice clothes to church. Do what the pastor says to make his job easier. It is as simple as that.

Although I do not think that there is a direct biblical argument or requirement for dressing nice to church, I would regard a pastor’s desire to develop his congregation into decent, disciplined, and organized people a valid one, as well as his desire to present Christians to outsiders as clean and orderly individuals, rather than slobs and bums.

I should not need to mention this (but sadly, I do) — it is wrong for women to dress like whores both inside and outside of the church.

Recommended:

Vincent Cheung, The Sermon on the Mount

Vincent Cheung, Commentary on Ephesians

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