Articles
The Attire of the Righteous [2]
If you read last week's article, you might have gathered by now that the outward clothing of a disciple, while important, is not the most important kind of attire we must put on. No, the Bible does not have a 'dress code' in the way we usually think, but does God require His people to be clothed in a particular way? Absolutely! Let's continue a look at what the people of God must wear.
Humility. (1 Pet. 5:5) Peter admonished the early disciples, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” Here, Peter gives us instruction not only what we should ‘put on,’ but also why.
This attribute is one that clearly distinguishes God's people from those of the world, for it is far more common to see individuals who think life revolves around them than to see someone willingly and even happily stepping aside so someone else can have their way or get the attention. Humility is so uncommon that it is surprising when one doesn't act arrogantly or act like they are entitled to something. But we do not act humbly to draw attention to ourselves, for that would defeat the purpose!
Humility is the clothing we must wear, as disciples, because it brings favor with God. Jesus plainly said, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11), and James adds, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (Jas. 4:10). The world believes exalting self will bring honor — but not so with God.
Humility is all the more important for God's people when we understand that our humility facilitates the exaltation of Christ and of God instead. It would be hard for others to see the importance of God in my life if I was constantly promoting myself; and if I should ever try to convince others to submit to God, how would I convince them if they saw that I did not? I must never forget that God exalted Jesus and has given Him the highest name (Phil. 2:9-11), and any attempt by me to exalt self will diminish the glory He is supposed to receive, and of which He is deserving. Brethren, with all the self-promotion going on in the world, “be clothed with humility”!
Good Works. (1 Tim. 2:9, 10) In the context of instructing the women to not be concerned “with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,” Paul admonished them to, instead, “adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation” and that “which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.” Quite often missed in this instruction is the positive admonition to ‘put on’ good works as is proper for those who profess godliness, rather than worldliness. Too often, we focus on the “modest apparel” and “moderation” parts [which are important, too], but forget about the “good works” part. We are selling ourselves short and leaving out an important part of our faith's ‘attire’ when we do so!
Remember, it was Jesus who said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Those “good works” may very well be the thing that causes others to glorify God, so why would we overlook or minimize the importance of having this in our lives? When there is so much evil going on in the world, good works will distinguish us from a good portion of this godless world. Brethren, don't forget to “adorn” yourselves “with good works”!
A Gentle and Quiet Spirit. (1 Pet. 3:3-5) In Peter's instructions to wives of unbelieving spouses, he urged them to “not let your adornment be merely outward — arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel — rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves.” I believe it is rather significant that this admonition immediately follows his instruction about how their spouses, “without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives” (1 Pet. 3:1, 2). Do we see here that what is precious in the sight of God is also valuable in convincing others of the value of God's ways? Sometimes, we focus so much on the outward adorning, we forget that the most impressive part of our attire is our character!
But what is it about this adorning that is so precious to God and so valuable in winning a spouse to the truth? First of all, God values the gentle and quiet spirit because it is one that does not seek to draw attention to self, but humbly serves and lives for others — a demonstration of selflessness that exemplifies true discipleship. It is this gentleness of spirit that humbly requests, rather than the rough and vulgar spirit of the world that arrogantly demands, of others; it is this quietness of spirit, rather than the loud and boisterous character of the worldly that constantly seeks to draw attention to self, and which offends and insults. Even those in the world appreciate gentleness and kindness over the rude, loud, and obnoxious! This type of adornment lasts far longer than the fleshly and material things that fade with time and use. Brethren, and my sisters in particular, make sure you go nowhere without that “gentle and quiet spirit” that is so precious to God and so valuable in winning the lost!
So, let's consider the overall picture of the attire of the righteous; we put on: the Lord Jesus Christ, the new man, the whole armor of God, humility, good works, and a gentle and quiet spirit. If it wasn't obvious before, it should be now that these all point to us being more like our Master! [The first one made it a little more obvious than the others.] And that is as it should be. Remember, Jesus once said, “It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master” (Matt. 10:25). Disciples should be like their Teacher, and servants like their Master. In other words, we should be like Jesus!
That should be a surprise to no one — especially to those who profess to be His disciples. John reminds us, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6); in other words, if we are going to claim to be His followers, we better be following His example, at the very least; we must walk as He walked and live as He lived. That means we should exhibit the character He showed while living here on earth. That means we imitate Him in every aspect of our earthly life. That is what it means when we say we are Christians.
Paul reminded the brethren in Corinth that God has demanded of us that we “Come out from among them and be separate” so He can be our Father and we can be called His children (2 Cor. 6:17, 18); the “them” we must be separate from is the world. We must not act like them, we must not speak like them, we must not pursue the things they pursue, and we must not value the things they value. It also means our attire must be distinctive, too, but not just in the literal clothing we wear; we must have distinctive character such as honesty, integrity, purity, holiness, godliness, and righteousness. With these as our daily attire, no one will confuse us with the one who follows the worldly ways.
Don't just put on religious-themed clothing; put on Christ. —— Steven Harper
