Preferred dress code for church

[PoppyB]

I think the clothes we should wear to church are the ones our Father provides: The full armour of God and the garment of praise. Also we should be clothed with Christ.
Galatians 3:27
for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

 

[Not David]

If people worry what to wear for heathen kings and presidents, then they should wear their best for the King of the Universe.

 

[RaymondG]

Church gatherings are nothing like restaurants. Personally I would not wish to eat in a place which made you feel uncomfortable about what you wore. And I wouldn't want to belong to a church that made me feel uncomfortable about what I chose to wear either.

Yet these restaurants always have a waiting list....and there are many who like and prefer them.

It is perfectly fine to go to the gym in a suit and tie and workout. But people do not usually dress that way there so you will be stared at.....maybe hear a few laughs....and would probably feel uncomfortable. Do you feel that the gym patrons, are justified in their actions? do you agree with them or agree that you would look harder at one you see working out in the suit?

Well there are those who expect a certain attire in church buildings. are they justified as much as the gym patrons? Would the one working out feel lead to never enter a gym again, as you ascribe to the church goer made to feel uncomfortable in the church?

Just like with the restaurants, you can find a church that will match whatever dress code you desire.....and not one of them is better than the other because of it. Just personal preferences that should be respected and adhered to....

 

[ChicanaRose]

Do you think clothing reinforces a sense of cliquishness in small groups?

 

[RaymondG]

I think the clothes we should wear to church are the ones our Father provides: The full armour of God and the garment of praise. Also we should be clothed with Christ.
Galatians 3:27
for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

We should walk with God Naked and unashamed........ We should enter buildings trying to respect the wishes of the owners/patrons of the buildings.

 

[Halbhh]

Was trying to find a quick and easy list of all the many verses telling us to put on the spiritual clothing we must have, but this verse from Peter's 1rst epistle is unusually clear by itself, helping to emphasis what really matters:

" Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. " (1rst Peter chapter 3)

But this should only tell us it's important to listen and learn more about the clothing that really is crucial, that we absolutely must have, which is told to us in many places in the New Testament.

Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

And so many more places, but most powerfully definite to tell us how crucial this is we hear from Christ our Lord in the Parable of the Wedding Feast, in Matthew chapter 22, where we learn it's not only a good thing, but a clothing we must have to be there.

 

[ChicanaRose]

We should wake with God Naked and unashamed........ We should enter buildings trying to respect the wishes of the owners/patrons of the buildings.

I see your point. Some people don't want you to wear shoes inside their house because they want their white carpet spotless. While your own principle is that shoes inside the house is fine, if you are entering someone else's house, you would respect her wishes.

At the same time, do you think that clothing reinforces the sense of cliquishness in church small groups? In an affluent church group where all the women have their hair done and dress nice, I've found it hard to make friends unless I dress nice...not very fond of that kind of pressure since I want to go there to study God's Word and have a genuine fellowship.

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

If people worry what to wear for heathen kings and presidents, then they should wear their best for the King of the Universe.

But why though? Isn’t that a worldly way of doing things? Do we have to abide by societal standards when it comes to God? So if we are out casually self with God it’s disrespectful? Any dialogue would be appreciated I’m trying to get a better understanding. Thanks

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

We should walk with God Naked and unashamed........ We should enter buildings trying to respect the wishes of the owners/patrons of the buildings.

I agree with this. If a church requires a dress code either follow or pick another church.

 

[Not David]

But why though? Isn’t that a worldly way of doing things? Do we have to abide by societal standards when it comes to God? So if we are out casually self with God it’s disrespectful? Any dialogue would be appreciated I’m trying to get a better understanding. Thanks

Why would you go casually for God? Didn't he require special vestments once? Isn't there a parable about a man being casted out from the banquet for not wearing the adequate clothes?

 

[bèlla]

At the same time, do you think that clothing reinforces the sense of cliquishness in church small groups? In an affluent church group where all the women have their hair done and dress nice, I've found it hard to make friends unless I dress nice...not very fond of that kind of pressure since I want to go there to study God's Word and have a genuine fellowship.

We gravitate to people like ourselves. Churches are no different. Put yourselves in their shoes for a moment. Many Christians are uncomfortable with wealth. They’re not afraid to make disparaging remarks publicly and on the Internet. They feel justified.

But what if the very friend you need is in that circle? What if your presence would be a blessing to someone in the group? If you believe God led you to that place, ask Him to beautify you and lay the burden down.

Don’t allow money to become a stumbling block in your walk or connections.

 

[Halbhh]

Why would you go casually for God? Didn't he require special vestments once? Isn't there a parable about a man being casted out from the banquet for not wearing the adequate clothes?

The crucially important Parable of the Wedding Banquet, telling us we must have a certain garment to be able to be there in the Life with Him! See just above for some more about that, a few posts up, and His parable will help warn and encourage us to clothe ourselves in the critically necessary garments we all must have.

 

[PoppyB]

If people worry what to wear for heathen kings and presidents, then they should wear their best for the King of the Universe.

What all the time, every day or just on Sundays? Isn't he the King of the Universe on all the other days too.

 

[PoppyB]

Yet these restaurants always have a waiting list....and there are many who like and prefer them.

It is perfectly fine to go to the gym in a suit and tie and workout. But people do not usually dress that way there so you will be stared at.....maybe hear a few laughs....and would probably feel uncomfortable. Do you feel that the gym patrons, are justified in their actions? do you agree with them or agree that you would look harder at one you see working out in the suit?

Well there are those who expect a certain attire in church buildings. are they justified as much as the gym patrons? Would the one working out feel lead to never enter a gym again, as you ascribe to the church goer made to feel uncomfortable in the church?

Just like with the restaurants, you can find a church that will match whatever dress code you desire.....and not one of them is better than the other because of it. Just personal preferences that should be respected and adhered to....

No church should have a dress code - Jesus doesn't.

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

The crucially important Parable of the Wedding Banquet, telling us we must have a certain garment to be able to be there in the Life with Him! See just above for some more about that, a few posts up, and His parable will help warn and encourage us to clothe ourselves in the critically necessary garments we all must have.

Does it say what garment should be worn?

 

[charsan]

What is your preferred dress code for church (please vote in the poll above)?

Feel free to share your reasoning.

I dress in my Sunday best. The Church is God's house and I was raised to respect that. It seems to me we have lost a lot of respect in our modern times and culture

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

No church should have a dress code - Jesus doesn't.

Not really up for us to decide what others do but I don’t think God cares so I would just not attend that church.

 

[Halbhh]

Does it say what garment should be worn?

Wedding clothes, and that will make us wonder (or did for me, at first), and the only way I really get it, is from that reading more fully, through all the gospel, so I hear the other parts of that He says to us. In posts #50 and #66 I linked some verses from the epistles that are helpful. To really be in those clothes, I need that listening to Him, so that He works on me, doing for me what I cannot do by myself, but...can do with Him doing the heavy lifting, changing me.

 

[PoppyB]

We should walk with God Naked and unashamed........ We should enter buildings trying to respect the wishes of the owners/patrons of the buildings.

If I was attending a state banquet I would put on my finery. If I was dining in a posh restaurant I would dress up. If I was going to a funeral I would either dress in funereal black if the bereaved so desired or I would, as they do in my church, wear bright colours. If I was going to a wedding, depending on the weather, wear something pretty and stylish. But when I visit my father/Father I don't feel the need to wear special clothing, because he loves me whatever I wear. Churches which insist on a dress code are snobby and elitist social clubs where the poorly attired are unwelcome.

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

I dress in my Sunday best. The Church is God's house and I was raised to respect that. It seems to me we have lost a lot of respect in our modern times and culture

Respect is is about a bunch of made up societal norms a lot the times. How is it disrespectful to wear what I want to wear if there is no stipulated dress code? Some people are raised to not care about appearance that much. Now if there is a dress code and you don’t follow that is disrespectful. But how I was raised isn’t usually the best argument on why something should be that way.