ken_sylvania wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 10:44 pm
Sudsy wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 11:39 am
It seems like a stretch to think a headcovering in public is a tool to open the door to evangelizing and if it ever does occur, I would be interested to know how women get into a discussion regarding salvation from someone asking about their unique headcover. It can happen but does it ?
Yes, it happens.
Sudsy wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 11:39 am
With all that opinion given, I believe there are attention getter manners of dress that the world uses that we need not follow. I wonder also about Christian designed clothes with scripture verses etc on them. Or the cape dress style being long and often flowery and modern with flashy running shoes. This would cause me to ask questions more than wearing a little head covering. If these draw the unsaved into conversation about the Lord, wonderful but they also can be a stumbling block when a believer acts in a carnal way wearing these kind of clothes. However, doing good deeds faithfully in a Christ loving way is pretty hard to ignore. Even if someone calls you a good person because of these, which even some of the unsaved do, you can always point them to Jesus and tell them how He is what drives them to be like He was. Jesus said our lights shine through our good deeds when done in such a way that points people to Christ. He does not say it is through our dress.
The argument seems to be that a Christian ought to try to blend in with non-Christians for fear that his lack of Christ-likeness would be a poor testimony??? Isn't that kind of weird approach? Why not focus on ensuring being Christlike and putting away carnal behavior instead of making sure we are well enough camouflaged that we can be bad without people knowing we claim to be Christians?
I guess I worded this poorly. Regarding blending in, I think the apostle Paul said we should observe how he follows Christ as an example to follow found in 1 Cor 11:1. Then in 1 Cor 9:20-22 Paul says -
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
Yet in appearing this way Paul was not sinning, being 'bad', in how he appeared to be one of them. I believe his main goal was their salvation and he didn't want side issues to get in the way of this.
Jesus was criticized for hanging out with sinners by the Pharisees. He was not concerned about what some were reading into Him doing so because in this involvement He was taking them salvation. He was very much into
good deeds. When it comes to how we are to be different than the world, how we shine our lights, Jesus said it is by
good deeds. Peter in 1 Peter 2:12 said-
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Paul wrote to Timothy - 2:9-10
I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
So I believe although there is a limit to 'blending in' as we are not given a license to sin to win others, our main identifier that should stand out more than other appearances is our
good deeds. We should dress in our culture in a way that does not outshine our
good deeds.
When I think about this I think of the Salvation Army. Their founder, General Booth, wanted them to be easily identified in a crowd so that those who need help could quickly find them. No biblical support though for creating a uniform dress. But the effect of this in those days for many had the opposite affect as some people saw them as officers of the law that they feared. Then their uniform took on all kinds of what they gave biblical meanings to within their group. And for some, it still is all about the uniform. But, in general, their
good deeds took away the fear others have of them and today they are highly regarded for their
good deeds and how they manage donations. The poor and the needy eagerly go to them for help more than any other Christian faith group. As Jesus did, they mingled with sinners in all kinds of places that many Christians wouldn't be seen in. Their main objective, as was Paul's, is the salvation of others.
So, although some Christians today still wear some kind of uniform (i.e. a cape dress, cross hanging on a chain around our neck, T-Shirts with bible verses, suspenders, etc) is it our
good deeds and the message of the Gospel that stand out the most and are drawing people to Christ or am I more like the Pharisees who keep our distance from these awful sinners ? Are we looked at as a people that are just religious or rather as people who have something very real inside them that draws them to the Saviour ? In other words, is the fruit of the Spirit so obvious in our lives that it draws some who have ears to hear the Gospel that is changing us.
Sorry, got to preaching a bit (mainly to myself) but I do enjoy discussing how Christianity is best presented to the world and always looking for those who are seeing results in the salvation of others. They are the ones that know how to fish. I believe
good deeds is the bait and the hook is the message of the new birth.