Take your Bibles with me and turn to 1 Timothy 2. I'm gonna preach on one of the most controversial passages of scripture in our culture I could possibly touch tonight. And next week I get to look at an even more controversial subject. Yay!

In the first part of this chapter, Paul gives instructions to the men of the church. Basically his instructions are how to take leadership for the prayer life of the church. In the next part of the chapter, the part that we're going to start looking at tonight, Paul switches to giving instructions to the women in the church. He's going to instruct them how to dress and how to think about their clothes and then he's going to instruct them on when it is appropriate for them to speak in the church.

Let's go ahead and start in verse 9 and we're going to read down to verse 15 but we're just going to focus on verses 9 and 10 tonight, the passage about clothing.

9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
1 Timothy 2:9-15 (KJV)

We're going to be looking at verses 9 and 10 tonight, which are all about how women are supposed to think about how they dress.

I'm gonna be honest, I have heard so many sermons on the verses that I'm going to preach on tonight. For years of my life I don't know if there was a two week span that went by where these verses were not mentioned. And you know what? I don't know that anybody ever took the time in all those sermons to actually explain what the verses mean, to explain the words.

“Modest” is a word that gets thrown around a lot. You can go on YouTube or Facebook or Pinterest and you can see whole online communities based around the concept of modesty. There are whole groups of ladies that do modest fashion shows. There are multiple brands catering to modesty. There's one even in our own little town, Modest Direct.

And I'm gonna guess that if you asked most of these people what the word modest means, that their answer would be something like "covering up my body". In fact covering up your body and dressing like a woman are the only two ways I have ever heard this word used.

But that's not what the word “modest” means.

Those are two great things. They're important things. It's important to cover your nakedness. It's important for women to dress like women. Those are great things. Those are things I believe God is in favor of. That's not what this verse is teaching. That's not what this word means.

Look at verse nine again.

9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
1 Timothy 2:9 (KJV)

There are actually three words in this that you probably don't know what they mean:

modest
shamefacedness
sobriety

And I understand it — I heard these verses preached for years and nobody ever stopped to explain the words.

And yes it does include covering your body. It does include dressing in a way so that you're not bringing that negative sexual attention to yourself. Definitely includes that but it's way more than that. The unfortunate thing is it's been reduced to only one small part of what this verse is actually saying.

The word modest here is the Greek word kosmios - It's a word that means “well arranged” or “appropriate.”

It’s actually only used one other place in the whole Bible and that is in the next page, next chapter, First Timothy chapter 3, verse 2. Look at that verse.

2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1 Timothy 3:2 (KJV)

The phrase "of good behavior" there is the exact same Greek word, kosmios. You could read this: a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, modest, given to hospitality, apt to teach.

And so it's obvious that that word doesn't just mean wearing long skirts and covering yourself. It's so much more than that. It's a different idea. It is a word that means appropriate.

So here's what I'm gonna do. I've gone in the weeds a little bit for this introduction. Let me give you a one-sentence summary for this message, for these verses, what I believe these verses are teaching. Then we'll work through it bit by bit and we'll talk about what it means. I think this is going to be a really practical sermon tonight and I think it's going to be really helpful for everybody to understand what this is saying and what it isn't saying.

Here's the sentence summary for this passage:

Godly women should dress fittingly — clothing that doesn't draw undue attention — because they are women of honor and self-discipline. When they do get attention, it should be for their good works, not their wardrobe.

This breaks down into three points:

A godly woman’s clothing
A godly woman’s attitude
A godly woman’s reputation

Let’s pray and we’ll get into that.

So the first thing I believe this verse is teaching us about what it means to be a godly woman relates to…

1. A Godly woman’s clothing

It says she should wear “modest apparel” then it says “not with braided hair, gold, pearls or costly array.”

The word “modest” means “fitting.” It means appropriate. What I believe this verse is saying is that a woman should not draw undue attention to herself by means of her clothing.

That's what modest apparel is. It is apparel that is appropriate. It is clothing that doesn't say, "Look at me, look at me, look at me."

Now there are lots of ways that a woman can say "look at me" with her clothes. I think this word "modest" covers all of them. Let me give you five ways that a woman can draw undue attention to herself by the way that she dresses.

A. A woman can draw undue attention to her body by the way that she dresses.

This is the most common understanding of the word modest. It is women that don't cover up their nakedness. Women that don't cover up their body.

One of the easiest ways to get attention, especially male attention, is to show off your body in a sexual way. Unfortunately most fashion is geared towards this. Most clothing market to women is designed to show off their body.

I mean if you want to be, if you want undue attention, that's an easy way to get it.

In scripture there is a shame that comes with not covering your nakedness and our culture is trying to erase that shame by making clothing skimpier and skimpier and more and more revealing.

That should have no place in church. Ladies when you come to church don't try to draw attention to your body. Why would you do that? Why would you want to make people want you in that way?

I think most of the time that women do this, they do it without thinking about it.

So this is the first way: drawing undue attention to her body. The second way a woman can draw undue attention to herself is

B. A woman can draw undue attention to her status by the way that she dresses.

This is what the second half of this verse talks about: the braided hair, the pearls, the gold, the costly array. And this is also another meaning of the word modest. When we talk about somebody that lives in a modest house, they don't live in an ostentatious house. They don't live in a giant opulent house. They live in a normal house, a house that nobody would give any special attention to.

You can completely cover your body, completely cover your nakedness, and still draw attention to yourself and still be immodest by trying to have the nicest clothes of anybody in the room. By trying to obviously show your wealth in the way that you dress.

Now this is cultural. This is going to be different in different cultures. But you should never try to get attention to your status by the way that you dress.

Now let's be honest. A lot of people do this. It's not just a woman thing either. A lot of people have to have designer clothes and they want to show off their expensive handbag and their expensive jewelry and their expensive perfume. Everything about them has to show that they belong to a certain class. And this is immodest.

You know there's only one passage in the entire Bible that talks about church clothes. Only one passage. James 2:1-4. You know what it says? It talks about when somebody comes to church in nice expensive clothing and they get the best seat and then somebody comes in disgusting clothes and they say, "Come sit under my footstool." That verse is basically saying don't give people special preference because of the way that they dress.

You know the early Methodists used to turn people away from church because they were too dressed up? One of the jobs of the ushers was to turn people away because they were too dressed up for church.

Don't try to draw attention to your status by the way that you dress.

So we've covered:

drawing attention to your body by the way you dress
drawing attention to your status by the way that you dress
A third way women can draw attention to themselves by the way they dress is…

C. A woman can draw attention to her quirkiness by the way that she dresses.

Some people try to get attention just by being weird. Just by being out there.

I remember going to college with this girl who went to class every day dressed like she was in an antebellum civil war novel. I mean she was gone with the wind. I mean she dressed like Scarlett O'Hara every single day.

It was ridiculous. There was nothing immodest in the sense of being revealing or sexual about the way that she dressed. It was obviously feminine but she was trying to get attention and she was trying to point out how different she was.

Now that's just one form of quirkiness. There are lots of forms of quirkiness. You can wear all black all the time. You could have your hair in some crazy colors or something. It seems like people are always inventing new ways to be weird.

And this is another form of immodesty. It's another way to dress to get attention.

So, drawing attention to your body, drawing attention to your status, drawing attention to your quirkiness, let me give you a fourth way….

D. A woman can draw undue attention to her rebellion by the way she dresses.

Some women try to get attention by being rebels. Maybe they're rebelling against cultural norms. Maybe they're rebelling against authority.

Honestly I think this is another trend of our society. It's to rebel against any idea of gender norms. This has really gone into high gear lately with the transgender stuff, where we have women that are trying to dress and act like men and men that are wearing dresses and carrying handbags.

All of it is a way to rebel against the cultural norms. But gender bending isn't the only way to rebel. Another way to rebel is just to never take care of yourself and wear sweatpants all the time. Not take care of your hair. Just be a slob.

That'll get you some attention.

You shouldn't be drawing attention to your rebellion by the way that you dress.

Let me give you one more…

E. A woman can draw undue attention to her causes by the way that she dresses.

Let me tell you what I mean. I mean you can come in with political t-shirts on. You can wear political pendants or pins that represent social causes. We see a lot of this in the world today.

And all of it is, really at its heart, the same thing. All of it is a desperate attempt to say, "Look at me. Pay attention to me. Make me the star of the show. Give me some attention.”

And what I'm trying to show you is that any time that you do that, any time that you elevate yourself up for attention over and above the word of God, over and above what God is doing through his people, it's immodest.

And so the key instruction that Paul is giving to women in the church is: don't try to get attention through your wardrobe in any way. Make sure that it is appropriate.

The verse also says, "with shamefacedness and sobriety." That moves us from clothing to attitude. We've talked about a woman's clothing. Let's talk about…

2. A Godly Woman’s Attitude

The word shamefacedness, is not a word that you ever hear. It’s only used two times in the whole Bible and the other time is in Hebrews 12:28.

28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Hebrews 12:28 (KJV)

The word “reverence” there is the same word as “shamefacedness” in 1 Timothy 2:9.

Strong's Dictionary defines the word like this:

a sense of shame or honour, modesty, bashfulness, reverence, regard for others, respect

So I think what the word here is talking about is an honorable attitude. A respectable attitude.

The word “sobriety” is another interesting word. It’s not just talking about staying away from alcohol. It’s talking about being self-controlled. About having a sound mind.

And so the idea here is that a woman shouldn’t be known for what she wears, she should be known for doing everything with honor and self-discipline.

There are some women I know that just carry themselves with an attitude of honor and self-discipline. That carries over into everything that they do. You don't know my Grammy. She's up in her 80s now.

But I have never known that woman to do anything inappropriate. She takes care of herself. She always looks put together but never like she's desperate for attention. She's somebody that dresses nicely but again never in a way that's asking for attention. She's not saying, "Look at me, look at me, look at me." She's going about her life with honor and self-discipline, shamefacedness, and sobriety.

And here is why this is in this verse: When you have the right attitude, it reflects in the way that you dress. You have the wrong attitude. It reflects in the way that you dress.

This goes for men and women. Often our clothing, our deportment is an evidence of what's going on inside of our heart. Dress like a slob? Probably have a slobby heart. Dress in some flashy way? You're probably desperate for attention.

But if you're living your life with honorable attitudes and disciplining your heart, that's going to be evidence in the way that you dress. Our clothing really flows from the inside out.

Some people want to say, "Oh God looks at the heart. Don't worry about what I'm wearing. Don't worry about how I dress. God looks at the heart." That's very true. God does look at the heart and God can see past our facades but how our heart is going to reflect in how we dress.

I've never yet met a godly woman who loves the Lord, who walks with the Lord, where it wasn't obvious in the way that she dressed and took care of herself.

So this verse isn't so much about listing a bunch of clothing you should not wear. It's prescribing an attitude that you're supposed to have.

Let's look at verse 10 and we'll give our last point. We've talked about a godly woman's clothing and we've talked about a godly woman's attitude. Let's wrap this up and talk about…

3. A Godly Woman's Attention

Verse 10 says,

10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
1 Timothy 2:10 (KJV)

What Paul is saying is that if you're going to get attention, let it be with your good works. If people are gonna talk about you, don't let it be for what you wore last week. Don't let it be for the crazy hairdo that you tried out or the dark makeup that you wore. Ladies if people are gonna talk about you, let them praise God for the works that you're doing on his behalf.

I read a couple of books last year about two different ministries that have touched my life. One of the amazing things about these books was how much of God's work was done through faithful women.

There's a church in DC, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, pastored by Mark Dever now. Don't agree with him on everything but I have learned a lot from that church. It has been a faithful church right there in the heart of our nation's capital for over 150 years. And it's interesting reading about how it started. It started with a prayer meeting by two ladies in their early 20s who were praying for their neighborhood. They got together and prayed for their neighborhood and prayed that God would establish a church in their neighborhood. Boy did God establish a church in that neighborhood. It's a church that has had a worldwide impact, a nationwide impact. Probably wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the good works of some faithful women.

Another book I was reading was a book about the ministry of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Charles Spurgeon's church in London. That church had dozens and dozens of women that were doing good works in their neighborhoods and around the city of London all the time.

In Charles Spurgeon's church there was a woman named Lavinia Bartlett. In 1859 she was asked to fill in a post as a teacher in one of the small Sunday school classes. There were only three teenage girls that showed up to her class but she kept working at it. She kept praying. Six years later she was teaching a class with 700 to 800 young women that came every week. It was an evangelistic class. Spurgeon said that probably over a thousand women were added to the membership of the Metropolitan Tabernacle as a direct result of that one woman's Bible study class. There was even multiple prostitutes that came to Christ in that class and one of them went to be a missionary.

Spurgeon's wife, Susannah, started a book fund to buy theological books for poor pastors and was able to supply books to pastors all over England despite the fact that she was so sick that she couldn't leave her house.

Multiple women in the church:

started orphanages
started visiting women in jails
started Sunday school classes and classes where they were teaching poor kids in London how to read

Ladies you can get attention with your clothes but that's cheap attention. Why not get attention like Tabitha in Acts chapter 9, she didn't get attention by wearing clothes. She got attention by making clothes for the poor.

Ladies, if you're going to get attention, let it be for the good works that you're doing for the Lord. Let it be a fulfillment of Matthew chapter 5 where Jesus said:

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 (KJV)

So you see these two verses. They're not about a dress code. They're not a list of things that women should and shouldn't wear. These are verses about having the right kind of attitude and the right kind of testimony and being known for the right reasons.

Ladies you can glorify God in how you act and that's going to be reflected in how you dress.

Let me read my summary again and we'll be done.