No one had to beg, twist my arm or even encourage me after salvation to stay faithful to church attendance. There was a desire to fellowship, learn and even serve in God’s house! As a 17 year old, I even borrowed ugly flowered, Hawaiian-style ties from my unsaved Dad to wear something different, something special for Sunday school and church. Why was that?

In today’s casual, dress-down, come-as-you-are culture weddings, funerals and, to be sure, church, time has seen a drastic shift in what is considered appropriate attire. Are there any biblical guidelines on the subject of casual dress for church? Certainly as a 17 year old I did not have a clue. But as with regular church attendance my desire to “dress up” for church came from the inner voice. The Holy Spirit guided my thoughts. Is He a respecter of persons? Does the Holy Spirit teach or convict certain individuals of truth while remaining silent with others? Absolutely not. Yet I confess from personal experience we mortals can resist, refuse and turn a deaf ear to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. That being said, permit me to share the obvious to the thinking believer.

I.  I’m a child of the King.
As a member of His royal priesthood and joint heir with Jesus, surely I am different inside and out!

II.  Know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit…
This truth became so real to me as a young person in Christ. Should God’s Temple look shabby, unkempt, or worldly?
III.  New means NEW
As a new creation in Christ, the urging of the indwelling Holy Spirit prompted the change of heart and yes attire.

IV.  Heavenly Father—You are worthy.
Out of honour and thanksgiving, I wanted to fix my attitude in reverence when I prepared for church time and worship.

Now after almost 40 years in the gospel ministry and travel to many countries around the world, it’s apparent that culture and climate do affect church dress. In many of the churches where I have been privileged to preach, they do not wear suits and ties. In the Philippines, Mexico and India for example there is attire that is appropriate for that country. Yet, the biblical principles outlined above still apply. They desire to wear their best for the Lord. Their attire is defined by appropriate, modest dress for Church not casual or carnal dress of the world.

V.  Nothing for Jesus that cost me nothing.
I learned the account of  Araunah and his threshing floor.
Our life is the cover of THE BOOK – Living Epistles

VI.  Dare to be a Daniel
Daniel said he would not defile himself with the king’s meat. Though a captive in a strange land, Daniel determined to be different. After their dramatic test, they even looked different.

VII.  Give of your best to the Master
I’ll never forget one preacher saying when he goes to the closet to dress before preaching the Holy Word of God he prays about what pants, coat, tie, or suit to wear. He sincerely believed the Lord used his appearance, deportment and over all presentation to take the Word to the listeners heart. Judge a book by its cover—like it or not some do.

YOUR LIFE IS THE COVER TO THE BOOK