1 Timothy 2b: Modesty
10/12/08
Turn with me this morning to the second chapter in the book of 1 Timothy. Timothy is towards the end of the New Testament, in the second half of the Bible. We saw that this is a letter from the Apostle Paul to Timothy, his young protegé. Paul left Timothy at Ephesus to straighten out the problems in the church there. Ephesus was a city filled with idol worship, sexual immorality, and false teachings.
Timothy, though, is a young man and sometimes people in the church did not follow his leadership and give him the respect he deserved. Timothy was timid and shy. He sometimes was sickly, or at least was so troubled by the problems in the church that his stomach bothered him. The tension in the church had him to the point of giving up. But Paul gives him a letter to encourage him to keep on going.
We saw Paul give three commands to Timothy in chapter 1:
1. Teach Sound Doctrine 2. Preach the Gospel 3. Defend the Faith
We looked last week at the beginning of chapter 2. What pleases God? We saw last week that God is pleased when men are PRAYING! God wants all to be saved, and Paul reminds the men to take the lead in praying. It can be easy to have a prayer meeting and get a group of women together, because women are social beings. But for men to pray - that is another story. Men need to share their hearts with God and get along with one another -- which in itself can be hard for silent, loners to do. Men are like the lone ranger - often off doing their own thing by themselves. And Paul reminds men of their need to ask for help; to turn to God and pray. Maybe you know a man like that: they’d rather drive around for an hour instead of stopping and asking for help and getting directions.
God doesn’t focus on the need of women to pray, partly I believe because women are much more social. Did you ever see a table of women sitting in silence? I doubt it. If one of them gets up to go to the bathroom, 8 of them go along for company. Women don’t struggle with the interaction like men do. So, Paul says that God is pleased when men are praying. Today, we see the second thing that pleases God. God is pleased when women are PROPER! Let’s look today, in 1 Timothy 2, starting in verse 9:
Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments; but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness. Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. PRAY!
God is pleased when women are proper. So, you might ask the question, what does a godly woman look like? We might try to define it culturally for today in Owosso with the fashions that are available; yet there ARE some key ideas that apply to any age and any culture. What are they?
1. Right Appearance - Paul says here, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing. The idea of this word is that the clothing is well-ordered, becoming, and decent. Did you ever have your parents say to you, “Put something decent on!” The question still remains: How do you know what is decent? I’m glad you asked that. Because Paul is going to answer that for us here. We’re going to come back to Right Appearance, but let’s move on to look at another key idea:
2. Right Attitudes - to determine right appearance, we need to look into our hearts. We dress according to our hearts. So, in looking at our dress, we have to ask the question:
Is it Modest? Paul says we should adorn ourselves “modestly” - the word means revering the good, hating dishonorable fashion. A godly woman hates sinful appearances. That doesn’t mean you have to dress like your grandma. It is possible to be both modern and modest. The literal meaning of modesty is that you would be “ashamed” to wear anything that you shouldn’t. We have lost the sense of shame in America. There are few things that make us blush. Modesty is one of the keys to what it means to be decent.
Ask the question when you look in the mirror: would what I am wearing make me blush if Jesus was standing in front of me?
We should not seek to wear clothers that fail to cover our nakedness. Back in Genesis, we see God creating Adam and Eve. They are sinless, and live, naked, in the garden of Eden. And God says “this is good!” But when Adam & Eve sin, they develop shame, and they sew together some fig leaves together to make a loincloth, a g string, a bikini bottom. It covered their sex organs. But that was not enough. God kills an animal and makes them clothing - even though they are the only two humans on the face of the earth and they are husband and wife!
God desires us to dress modestly. Some women say, “it’s MY body - I can dress as I like!” But that’s not biblical! Instead, as Christians, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19 - Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
So, as we try to determine appropriate, decent clothing, we ask, Is it modest? Do I hate sinful fashion. 2nd
Is ist Appropriate? Here in the NASB is the word “discreetly” - the NIV has “propriety” - but the key idea is the same: it is moderation, self-control, keeping your passions in check. Evaluate your heart - when you dress to go out, do you seek to stir up sexual energies? Do you place the focus on the sexual parts of your body? Do you seek to sexually arouse others? The truth is that godly women seek to control passions, both theirs and that of others. If you are seeking to get someone else aroused by the way you dress, you are dressing inappropriately!
Now there is nothing wrong with seeking to be attractive or appealing: but don’t cross the line and accentuate the sexual. Don’t play upon the sexual desires of others in the way you dress.
We are to dress modestly. And that which is immodest is that which excites improper passions and desires.
Another area of inappropriateness is gender confusion. In Deut. 22:5 we are told: A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. The LORD your God detests people who do this. But in our sinful day, Satan seeks to blur the lines of gender distinction. I don’t think that this means women can’t wear pants. But I believe when you look at someone, and because of the way they are dressed you think they are the opposite sex, that they are dressing wrongly.
So, we want right attitudes in our hearts. We dress modestly and appropriately because we want to honor God. Now, back to the Right Apearance: We dress modestly, but we also dress with Moderation. Paul tells us here how NOT to dress. There are two different problems of immodesty: underdressing and overdressing. In regards to underdressing, God doesn’t set down a line: make the hem of your dress 1” below the knee. Instead, he wants our hearts to be right with him, and when we have right attitudes, we will draw the line at the right place. But this whole issue of undressing is not just for women; men have problems with it too. The current fashion in the area is for guys to walk around with their drawers drooping. Dave Barry writes, “Can young men wear their pants any lower. Their waist bands are now approximately at knee level. Where will this trend end, the shins, the feet? Will our boys eventually detach themselves from their pants altogether and just drag them along behind connected to their ankles by a belt?”
But along with this idea of underdressing, is the opposite extreme, also wrong, of overdressing. Look what Paul has to say in verse 9: not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments. Paul is not saying that it is wrong to wear these things, but that these are not where the emphasis is to be put. Think about this verse: John 6:27 - Jesus says, Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life. Jesus isn’t saying it’s wrong to work for food, but to keep your emphasis on spiritual work. In the same way, Paul is trying to remind us to keep our focus on inner qualities, not outer adornment. The line is crossed when you think more about your clothes that you do your heart. Immodesty is a form of pride that seeks to call attention to self.
When you thought about getting ready for church, how much time did you think about what you were going to wear? I know there might be some men here who might say “5 seconds” - but some women can spend portions of hours thinking about their clothing - what matches, what conflicts, what did they wear last week, does it match your eyes, are you a winter or a summer, what accessories go with the outfit, does anyone else there have an outfit like it?
But then, think about this: How much time did you take preparing your heart for worship? Did you take time to search your heart and confess your sins; to meditate on God’s word; to think about what you learned last week; to think about how faithful God has been through the week; to direct your heart to worship & praise?
Paul is calling for moderation in what we wear. The external is important, but not as important as the heart. Paul says to wear that which is suitable for your station in life. If all you have to wear is a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, then by all means wear that and don’t be ashamed. If you have nicer clothes, don’t “dress down” just to be grungy, but neither do you want to “dress up” to try to impress others with your appearance. It is poor stewardship to spend foolishly on outer adornment. In the book of James, chapter 5, we see that many of the rich had wardrobes that they could never wear. Remember Amelda Marcos, former leader of the Philippines, who had over 4000 pairs of shoes in her closet. That’s too many; that’s unwise stewardship of God’s resources.
Peter tells us the same thing in 1 Peter 3 - In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. And let not your adornment be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
Ladies, your real beauty, and your most powerful witness for God, is not found in your external appearance, but in the internals of your heart. That’s what will cause unbelieving husbands to turn to Christ: seeing your respectful submission and pure, godly lifestyle. So this leads us into the third key focus Paul gives.
Right appearance, right attitudes, and third
Right Action - Paul says the way we are to adorn ourselves is this: but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness. We show our godliness by our lifestyle. Ladies, if you claim to follow God, you need to show it by the way you live your life! Men, you do too, but in the passage here he is speaking to the ladies. So what is this right action? On the outside, we clothe with modesty. On the inside, we are to clothe ourselves with humility, shown by a submissive spirit.
Paul tells Timothy, men are to do the preaching in the church; the women aren’t supposed to take that role; but they ARE to preach a powerful message by their lives. They are to be active in doing good works. A few chapters later, in chapter 5, Timothy talks about those who aren’t active in doing good works. And at the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach; for some have already turned aside to follow Satan. Those women who find a lot of time on their hands end up going down a road that they shouldn’t go on. The proper and best choice for a woman is to live a life of good works. That will keep you from being a busybody, a meddler, and getting caught up in a pasttime of gossip.
This is the example of godly women we find in the Bible. Consider the Proverbs 31 woman: she is an industrious woman who honors God and brings great honor and respect to her husband. Consider Dorcas - Acts 9 - Now in Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did. Godly women serve God living a life of good works. And here in verse 11 Paul defines how we do those good works: Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. Compare again what Peter says in 1 Peter 3 - In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that . . .they may be won . . .as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. . . For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.
If you want to adorn your life with right action, show it through submission.
Paul says here that women are to be quiet - not to be loud and argumentative. Instead be submissive and show respect. We’ve talked before about the ideas of love and respect.

Ladies, to get you husbands to show love, you start by showing respect. Men, to get your wives to show respect, you start by showing them love. And ladies, this idea of respect is tied ultimately to the idea of submission. When your driving desire is to WIN out over your husband, when you want to wear the pants in the family, you are out of the God-given role of a godly wife.
So, coming back to our passage, Paul reinforces that in the church, men are to do the preaching, but women preach just as powerful a message, through their godly life of modesty, moderation, and submission. Character and conduct are interrelated. Apparel is both a thermometer and a thermostat to character: your adornment not only helps to determine what your character is, but it also helps determine what your character will become.
Then a fourth key Paul mentions here in the passage is
Right Anticipation - look at verse 15 - But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. There are many views about what this verse means. Some think it refers to Messiah being born of a woman. Some think it might be the mistaken idea that women find salvation by having children. I think the better interpretation is this: Women have a profound impact on the lives of their children. It was through a woman that the temptation to sin came; but it is also through the godly impact of righteous women that children are instructed and molded into godly young men and women.
Ladies, as you think of who really makes a difference in our world, it is mothers. It has been said, The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world. Never underestimate the power of a godly mother. So, as we think of adorning ourselves with godliness, anticipate the impact you can have on the next generation: maybe through your children, or grandchildren, or if you don’t have children of your own, seek to make an impact on others’ children: maybe through working in AWANA or youth group. Maybe you can be a mentor to a neighbor or friend. Look forward to how God can use your godly example to help someone else.
We need a right appearance, right attitudes, right action, and right anticipation. May God help us like Daniel, not to cave in to trying to be like everyone else around us, but may we live with conviction and boldness as we follow God.
Let’s pray.
