One of
the challenges that young people face when going back to school each year is
the modesty issue. From some of
the outfits I observed while working the election and then going shopping last
weekend, this is going to be a challenging year for young people who care
anything about modesty. (The
outfits that I saw while working the election were college age and adults!) My
observation has been that most young people (and some not so young) donÕt seem
to give any thought as to whether or not their clothing is modest or
immodest. It almost seems like a
Òwho caresÓ attitude. I realize that a few are wearing such just to draw
attention to themselves. There is
cause for concern for this on just about every level, from elementary school to
college age. The final decisions
for most of the ones in this category should come down to the parents, but many
times the parents ignore this issue as well. A number of ÒreasonsÓ are given,
but all to often, it comes down to ÒI want my child to fit in with the rest of
the crowd.Ó Parents do not want to
admit that their ÒbabyÓ is growing up and they need to be concerned about what
is being worn in public. We have a
dress code for Bible camp. Our
greatest challenge is not getting the ones at camp to comply with the dress
code; it is the visitors who come to camp! Most of them have either attended camp or have children
there, so they know what the dress code is. We definitely need to be different from the world when it
comes to the subject of modesty.
Paul stated in I Timothy 2:9,10, ÒIn like
manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness
and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But
(which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.Ó The New American Standard Version
states, ÒLikewise, I want women to adorn
themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair
and gold or pearls or costly garments;Ó The word shamefacedness in
KJV means Òa sense of shame or honour, modesty,
bashfulness, reverence, regard for others, respect.Ó [Thayer]. Your pattern, your example is not the world. It should be Christ and it should be
faithful Christians. Remember whom
you belong to (I Corinthians
6:20).
A Brief Introduction to the Bible
The Bible is the worldÕs most amazing
book. It has been at the top of
the best-seller list for as long as anybody can remember. It was written over a period of 1600
years by about forty men. The two fundamental sources of human knowledge are:
reason and experience. But they
are limited. The Bible claims to
provide this third source of knowledge-revelation. It describes two forms of revelation: ÒgeneralÓ and
Òspecial.Ó General revelation
refers to the evidence of God seen in nature (cf. Psa. 19:1-6, Rom.
1:18,20). GodÕs special revelation
involves His more direct means of communicating (Heb. 1:1,2) in the pages of
Scripture.
The Bible is the only book which can tell
our past, present, and future.
* Our Past: We were created in the image of a
loving God (Gen. 1:27).
* Our Present: The purpose of life is to praise
God (1 Pet. 2:9).
* Our Future: We can live in heaven with Him
(John 14:1,2).
The Bible is the worldÕs only divinely
inspired book (1 Thess. 2:13; 1 Cor. 2:9-13). Therefore it is the most powerful book ever written (Heb.
4:12). Mysteriously, the
Scriptures claim to be completely divine and completely human. There is a parallel here to the
God-man, Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man (John 1:14). God joined with humanity (Mary, Matt.
1:18-25) to produce the sinless living Word, and in a similar sense joined with
humanity to produce the inspired written Word. ÒFor the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man:
but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy GhostÓ (2 Pet.
1:21). The styles,
personalities, and vocabularies of the different biblical writers are quite
distinct, but their work is nevertheless the Word of God (cf. Mark 7:13; Luke
3:2). One of the evidences of the
divine origin of the Bible is its uniqueness.
The Bible is unique in its
production. Century after century
men added to this book, unaware for the most part of one anotherÕs writings and
sometimes in the dark as to the meaning of some of their own words (1 Pet.
1:10-12). In spite of writing from
different places, in different centuries, and even in different languages, they
never contradicted one another.
The Bible reads like a continuous, logical work of a genius. That Genius is God (2 Tim. 3:16,17).
The Bible is unique in its
preservation. In spite of
persecution, perversion, criticism, abuse, and time, the Bible has survived
intact. It is an anvil that has
worn out many skeptic hammers (cf. 1 Pet. 1:23).
The Bible is unique in its proclamation. Over a quarter of the Bible was
prophetic at the time it was written, and these prophecies stand alone in their
graphic detail, accuracy, and scope (cf. Isa. 41:22,23; Mic. 3:8).
The Bible is unique in its product. No other book has so profoundly
influenced the culture, thought, and history of the world. It has molded and dominated the art,
music, morality, oratory, law, politics, philosophy, and literature of
civilization.