Modesty of Dress

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin begins by commending the Trinity Baptist Church congregation for consistently validating and illustrating the gospel through their earnest worship, godly family…

Visitors to Trinity Baptist Church were impressed by the quiet reverence and wholehearted participation in worship, validating that the gospel creates earnest worship.

Now, I want to begin by saying that during my 45, this July, will be 46 years among you as one of your pastors, it has been my joy to pastor a people who, both in their individual lives and in their corporate life, have both validated and illustrated the gospel that is preached from this pulpit, that was preached from pulpits, set up in several different schools, from the pulpit that is now in the multipurpose room that used to be in what we affectionately called the cracker box.

0:03 - 0:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin begins by commending the Trinity Baptist Church congregation for consistently validating and illustrating the gospel through their earnest worship, godly family…

A well-known evangelical leader was impressed by the children's behavior, learning that the church believes in starting early and sticking with it, validating that the gospel creates godly family life.

You were validating what was preached from the pulpit, that the gospel creates earnest, passionate, serious worship. They would also comment on the behavior of your children. One woman, a very well-known leader in evangelical circles, worshipped with us here one Lord's Day a number of years ago, and was so impressed with the way the children behaved themselves. And she inquired of one of our people, how is it done?

1:23 - 1:55 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin begins by commending the Trinity Baptist Church congregation for consistently validating and illustrating the gospel through their earnest worship, godly family…

Pastors staying in members' homes for conferences reported seeing gospel-ordered homes and regular family worship for the first time, illustrating the gospel's power in daily life.

Pastors have come for our pastors' conference and stayed in your homes, and some of them have said they never saw gospel-ordered homes until they came into some of your homes. They didn't see regular family worship, and they went away challenged. Why? Because you, as a people, have both validated and illustrated the gospel that is preached from this pulpit.

2:19 - 2:46 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand that this sermon is primarily addressed to members of this congregation and their families.

An example of how the church would welcome twenty raw, 21st-century pagan women, regardless of their immodest dress, to hear the gospel, with the expectation that the gospel would transform their dress over time.

Should God be pleased in the next hour to bring among us twenty raw, twenty-first century pagan women dressed with miniskirts, cleavage almost, down to their bellybuttons, or with slacks of stretch material that hug their thighs and their buttocks and their crotch? We're not about to meet them out in the foyer and say, you can't come in here and listen to our gospel in that way, and then hand them a shawl and say, wrap this around you before we welcome you into this place. We would welcome them exactly as they show up among us unless they showed up naked.

5:46 - 6:31 Read in full sermon

The point: Judge whether your manner of dress puts a stumbling block or occasion of falling before a brother in Christ.

The metaphor of a heart 'as pure as the untouched new-fallen snow' is used to illustrate that even pure motives do not cancel the potentially lust-provoking effect of immodest appearance.

appearance. Purity of motive. You may have a heart as pure as the untouched new-fallen snow on a hillside out there this morning. No desire whatsoever to provoke a man to lust, to seduce a man, but the purity of your motive does not cancel the effect of your appearance.

14:01 - 14:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Judge whether your manner of dress puts a stumbling block or occasion of falling before a brother in Christ.

A quotation from Mrs. Al Mohler is used to underscore that women should not blame men for their struggles with purity but recognize their responsibility not to flaunt immodesty, especially in church.

Mrs. Al Mohler, wife of a man to whom God has given literally national prominence with his syndicated radio broadcasts and his blogs, she said this, and I want you to listen to her. Don't blame the men around you who happen to be unfortunate enough to be within sight and say, they need to get their minds out of the gutter. Proverbs 3.

15:09 - 15:35 Read in full sermon

Driving home: what Paul is emphasizing there is that they should not be neither seductive nor in any way suggestive, nor should they be ostentatious.

John Stott's commentary on 1 Timothy is quoted to define modesty as discreet, not suggestive, and to emphasize that Christian women's dress should be inexpensive, modest, and chaste.

I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing. Modestly. I want to read a very simple summary of what the words in the original mean, and what they point to. And here I quote John Stott in his excellent commentary on First Timothy.

24:32 - 24:58 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He identifies ten specific types of clothing or styles that act as 'magnets' to men's eyes, tempting them to lust, such as short skirts, tight garments, low necklines, large…

The example of a man's mind wondering 'what' when he sees a woman's shirt with only one button to go, illustrating how seemingly small details can provoke lust.

When a man sees only one button to go, his mind goes, I wonder what. Down right now at a young woman

31:50 - 32:37 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He identifies ten specific types of clothing or styles that act as 'magnets' to men's eyes, tempting them to lust, such as short skirts, tight garments, low necklines, large…

John Piper's article on modesty is quoted to highlight the issue of plunging necklines and cleavage, and to advise women to check their coverage when bending over.

who has everything up to the last button, it opens the collar, and a man's mind only sees an empty collar. Come two buttons down, and what he sees and what he thinks is an occasion of stumbling to him. John Piper, ministering to thousands out in Minneapolis, he is burdened about this issue, and he's posted an article on the internet, is modesty an issue in the church today? Listen to Mr. Piper. Necklines are an issue these days. Everywhere I turn at the airport,

32:37 - 33:17 Read in full sermon

Driving home: You draw the eye to the most erotic part of your body. That whole area. It becomes a magnet.

Mrs. Al Mohler's humorous but serious quote about a 'shimmy dance' to adjust a too-short, too-tight skirt is used to illustrate the immodesty of such clothing.

Listen to Mrs. Moeller again. She says, if you arrive at church dressed in such a way that by the end of the service, the people around you, by no fault of their own, know the color of your underwear, and they've watched you, a shimmy dance as you try to get your too-short, too-tight skirt to go under you, there's a big problem. I like her humor. You have to do a shimmy dance. But seriously, women, that

36:37 - 37:07 Read in full sermon

Driving home: You draw the eye to the most erotic part of your body. That whole area. It becomes a magnet.

A personal anecdote about seeing women's midriffs, backs, and underwear exposed during prayer meetings, causing embarrassment and disgust, not lust, but highlighting the problem.

and say, well, I'm fully covered. But all you need to do is to reach here, and a couple of inches of your belly are showing. All you need to do is bend over, and people can see your back, and usually the top of your underwear, and it's happened right in this assembly. I have seen it Wednesday nights in the prayer meeting. To my embarrassment. Thank God, not to my lust, but to my disgust

39:02 - 39:31 Read in full sermon

Driving home: You draw the eye to the most erotic part of your body. That whole area. It becomes a magnet.

A story of a man confessing to an elder a lustful thought provoked by seeing a woman's back and underwear, illustrating the real impact of immodest dress on men.

that this would be tolerated in Trinity Baptist Church. A man said to one of his elders, I saw a woman bend over. I could see the top of her panties, and I wondered what it would be like to put my hand down her back.

39:31 - 39:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I'm a pastor determined that in this place, women shall appear modestly to the glory of God and to the good of their precious brothers.

The dramatic illustration of asking all men and boys to raise their hands if any of the 'magnets' cause them to struggle with purity, visually confirming the reality of the problem to the women.

I'm going to ask the men seated heated here this morning, and the boys, if you find any one or more of these things that I've called magnets for your eyes, an occasion of struggling with purity of mind. I want you to raise your hand.

40:45 - 41:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Bring forth fruits meet for repentance by going to your dresser drawers and closet and removing anything with the 'ten magnets' embedded in it.

An example of a woman wearing the same modest outfit for five weeks is used to encourage repentance and removal of immodest clothing, emphasizing that modesty is more important than variety.

Go to your closet. And remove anything and everything that has one of these ten magnets embedded in it. You say, Pastor, I'll show up in the same outfit for the next five weeks. Hallelujah!

44:08 - 44:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Dress to please the Lord, knowing you can still dress beautifully and attractively without being immodest or out of style.

John Piper is quoted again, pleading with Christian women to dress to please the Lord and assuring them that they can still dress beautifully and attractively while being modest.

Listen to the words of John Piper. I plead with the Christian women of the world that they take into consideration the things, they are saying by what they are wearing. Dress to please the Lord. And you can still dress beautifully.

46:25 - 46:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Monitor what your wife wears and provide quality control, gently but firmly addressing immodest clothing.

A personal anecdote about his wife asking for his opinion on an outfit that 'looks too nice' on her, illustrating the husband's role in quality control.

Monitor what your wife wears. It hurts me at times when my wife comes up into my room in my study and says, well, Al, what do you think about this? It looks nice on you, but it looks too nice on you.

48:35 - 48:52 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise your right and responsibility to ensure your children dress modestly while under your roof.

Mrs. Al Mohler is quoted on the responsibility of mothers of daughters to ensure their appearance does not cause males to stumble, acknowledging the struggles men of all ages face.

I never met her, but I hope to meet her sometime. She's got moxie. Mothers of sons have often asked me, what can we do? We don't have daughters we can influence, but we have sons that are looking at how your daughters dress.

50:34 - 50:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Exhort one another lovingly regarding modesty, especially when sin has deceived a sister into thinking she is dressed modestly when she is not.

A quote from Richard Baxter, the Puritan preacher, is used to warn women against laying stumbling blocks or blowing up the fire of men's lust, comparing it to walking with a candle among straw or gunpowder.

Men of all ages struggle with this. It's our job as mothers of daughters to make sure our daughters' appearance are not causing males to be in trouble. It's our job as mothers of daughters to make sure our daughters' appearance are not causing males to stumble or causing females to point to them as examples in order to make their case. Richard Baxter, the great Puritan preacher, said to women, quote, and you must not lay a stumbling block in the way of men, nor blow up the fire of their lust, nor make your ornaments snares, but you must walk among sinful persons as you would do with a candle a...

50:49 - 51:28 Read in full sermon

The point: If there is a pattern of immodesty that does not yield to counsel, elders will confront and deal with it as their responsibility.

The metaphor of 'dumb dogs that cannot bark' (from Isaiah) is used to express Martin's fear of pastoral negligence if the elders fail to address the issue of modesty against worldly pressure.

Been vexed, been vexed, Lord, I see what's happening. I know something must be done, but how, in what form, in what way, Lord, give wisdom. And the text that keeps thundering in my ear, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the false prophets and he said these words, they are dumb dogs that cannot bark. Dumb dogs!

54:00 - 54:28 Read in full sermon