Truth Magazine

By C. W. Scott

In a previous article the writer sought to emphasize the fact of “Spiritual Blessings In Christ.” Special attention is now to be given to the truth of God’s promise to Christians of “All Spiritual Blessings.”

There is both quantity and quality identified with the blessings promised to those in Christ Jesus. How many? It is “all spiritual blessings.” There are absolutely no spiritual blessings that a person ;n Christ can seek or feel a need for than those to be’ enjoyed in Christ. In Christ are all spiritual blessings. The saints of Colosse were assured, “Ye are complete in Him which is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:10). Let us look unto Jesus “the author and finisher of our faith” for spiritual completeness through all spiritual blessings. We are saved by Christ and in Christ, and we share the benefits of the atonement. Out of Him no one is chosen to spiritual life and no one out of Christ can enjoy salvation either in time or eternity.

Spiritual

The blessings to be found only in Jesus Christ are spiritual blessings. They are accommodated to our spiritual wants and desire; they come down to us from heaven, prepare us for heaven, and will be completed in our admission to heaven. The blessings are in quality both spiritual and eternal. The Samaritan woman was instructed by Jesus, (John 4:14), “Whosoever drinketh the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Heavenly

The quality of the blessings in Christ can be recognized further in that they are said to be heavenly in nature. Nicodemus was informed by Jesus, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things” (John 3:12). It was a most comforting and inspiring heavenly blessing that Jesus promised his weary disciples. It was while hearts were heavy and saddened that Jesus appealed to them, “Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions . . . I go and prepare a place for you” (John 14:1,2). Jesus finally said on this occasion, “I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am (that is, in heaven), there ye may be also.” Just think of it! Christians enjoy the promise of “All ‘spiritual blessings in heavenly places!” How wonderful the thought! And that is not all! Jesus “hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 1:7). Arid let us consider another blessing, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” That is the promise of Romans 8:16,17 and addressed to Christians or those in Christ.

Some Specific Blessings

Let us be more direct and specific as to some of the blessings that may be enjoyed by those in Christ. Surely, none of us can afford to be without a single blessing offered. However, to remain out of Christ, to refuse to accept the grace of God, a failure to appropriate them through heeding the voice and will of the Son of God, and a refusal to act in harmony with the teachings of the New Testament, will most certainly deprive one of every blessing to be enjoyed now and eternally.

What a privilege it is that our prayers unto God may be heard and our praise, thanksgivings, petitions and supplications will be heard if we be in Christ. John 15:7 reveals the words of Jesus, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Again, the Holy Spirit-guided Paul admonished in Col. 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” What a privilege and blessing to enjoy! Prayer with God in Jesus’ name enables God to hear us! Indeed, what a blessing there is in prayer-a blessed hour of prayer!

And how blessed it is also to know, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:1). Paul thus states there is no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus as certainly as there is no salvation or pardon from past sins to those that are not in Christ.

Then there is the blessing of “The newness of life.” 2 Cor. 5:17 teaches, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” “Even so, we should also walk in newness of life . . . being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Rom. 6:4, 17).

Redemption and forgiveness are other spiritual blessings to be had only in Christ. Ephesians 1:7 states that in Jesus “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” Every blessing bestowed on sinners is by grace but the blessing of forgiveness is according to the riches, the exceeding, unsearchable riches of Christ’s grace. Actually, there is a twofold redemption to be experienced in Jesus Christ. First, there is the redemption of the soul from the guilt of sin by pardon. Second, there is to be the redemption of the body from the power of the grave by the resurrection at the last day. Do you enjoy hope for these blessings? Do you entertain the hope of such a promise? You can be the partaker of these great blessings but it must be remembered that only those who live and die in Christ can possess them. One must get into Christ to embrace such excellent and eternal benefits.

It is in Christ Jesus alone that men have the promise of an eternal inheritance. In Ephesians 1:11 it is written, “In whom” (that is, Christ), “also we have obtained an inheritance . . . . That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

Salvation is another spiritual blessing to be enjoyed in Christ. The apostle Peter reminds us in Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” In Gal. 3:26,27 one reads, “Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” There should be no surprise then that Jesus himself declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). There is absolutely no other way! Salvation is to be had in Christ only and not out of Christ. Those who refuse to believe-those who refuse to put Christ on in baptism are not saved and will not be saved from their sins. Salvation comes only through a holy and spiritual union with the Saviour of men. Only then can they have sweet rest and peace in death according to the promise in Rev. 14:13, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord . . . they may rest from their labors and their works do follow then.”

The believing, penitent Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:22) that was admonished by the preacher Ananias, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.” Sinners can afford to do likewise and in genuine faith in God and Jesus Christ, renounce a life of sin, confess their faith in the Son of God and be buried with the Saviour in baptism (Rom. 6:3,4). Having put on Christ we must remain in Christ by walking in His steps and obeying or observing all that He has commanded of his followers in his last will and testament. John records many wonderful and glorious promises belong to Christians in Revelation. “Blessed are they who do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates in to the city (heavenly Jerusalem)” (Rev. 22:14).

It will be a sad and mournful day and a most horrible eternity for those not in Christ or those who have not remained faithful and true in their allegiance unto Christ. The apostle Peter warns erring Christians, “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (2 Pet. 4:20,21).

Our desire and prayer is that you may dwell in Christ’s presence and where there is a fulness of joy forever.

“A hope so great and so divine,

May trials well endure;

And purge the soul of lust and sin,

As Christ himself is pure.”

Truth Magazine XXI: 16, pp. 247-248
April 21, 1977

By Robert Jackson

When we talk about issues that divide us, of course, we deal with two phases: We talk about issues that divide us with our friends, and we talk about issues that divide us among the brethren. As I have said before, I say again, there is no joy in division. I had rather, and I pray that all of us may, be one; for I believe that is exactly what the Bible teaches. We all ought to be members of the same body, the same family, the same kingdom; and there ought not to be any division within our ranks whatsoever. Whenever there is division, it is a sign that somebody, somewhere has violated the will of God, for the will of God is certainly that we all be one. We want everybody to be one in Christ Jesus. We have no desire for division. But yet, when we find people who have no respect for the authority of Christ, and therefore they depart from the order of God, then certainly there must be division though we find no joy in it. It must be identified, it must be marked, and people must be educated and schooled as to why division came in our number.

First of all in our study, we have emphasized a lack of respect for the authority of Christ-failing to speak where the Bible speaks, and remaining silent where the Bible is silent. This has been the plea of the churches of Christ throughout the years, based on 1 Pet. 4:11, where the apostle said, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.” But within the last few years, we have heard in the churches of Christ men say that you can do things without Bible authority. Any time they say you can do something without Bible authority, there is going to be division. People will be separated from God. People will be separated from brethren who love the truth, because brethren who love the truth are going to stand for the truth and they are not going to go away from the authority of Christ.

Then secondly: a wrong understanding of the church. People need to keep in mind that the church is the universal church. The church of Christ includes all of God’s people who have obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. No one is in the body of Christ who has not obeyed, but everyone who has obeyed is added to the family of God.

Then we discussed a local church. A local church is where Christians come together in a specific locality, where they are organized by divine authority, with elders to oversee and deacons to serve and then the money is raised upon the first day of the week to support the work of the local church.

Then in our last study we emphasized that the men of God warned that a departure would come. He said, “Even of your own ranks will men arise speaking perverse things to draw disciples away after them.” Paul said this had already started working in his day, and we found out that division did come. First, it came in the organization. We find where men wanted to have the authority. They wanted more authority than God gave them. They wanted to make themselves God. They wanted to play the role of God. They put themselves up as God. They acted as God, and as a result of it, they divided the body of Christ. We found out that they had five patriarchs in five different cities, overseeing a number of churches, which violated what the Bible teaches. Then finally, when it all boiled down, they had one universal bishop that set himself up to be the head of all the churches, and then they claimed to be the Roman Catholic Church-the beginning of the origin of Catholicism.

But now then, let us continue our line of thought. When this great big body was established with one universal bishop to oversee all the churches, they became a big universal organization. Now this organization had to have money to operate and the first thing you know, they got into trouble. They did not have enough money to keep it going, so they had to raise money. One of them wanted to finish building St. Peter’s Cathedral and they didn’t have the money, so what were they going to do? They had to raise some money!

Well, now what does the Bible say if you need money and it is a true church? The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 16, “Let each one of you give upon the first day of the week as you have been prospered.” Now this is the Bible way of doing it, but notice now the people who had departed from the faith decided to do it. They decided they needed money, so they said, “We will sell indulgences in sin.” Now what can you do? You come along and you buy so many indulgences in sin and you can go out and commit sin and this will take care of it. They began to do this to raise money. This started all over the country, money started flowing in, and people started buying their indulgences in sin. Let me pause for just a moment to say this: Did you know, my friend, that this same practice is being done today in Catholicism-that they still sell the indulgences in sin? Not long ago, I read a card that a man had in his own pocket where he had purchased so many indulgences in sin. So, do not let anyone say it is not being done. It is still being done and this is one way in which she raises her money, that is, by the selling of indulgences in sin.

But as this thing got started, there was a man by the name of Martin Luther, a great Bible scholar at this time, who was a member of that particular organization. He said this thing just ought not be. He just could not go along with the idea of selling indulgences in sin. He just could not conceive of a church claiming to be a church of Christ, claiming to be a people of God, selling indulgences in sin, and therefore he objected to this thing. He nailed his theses against the building and protested against this thing. Now keep in mind that Martin Luther did not have in mind starting any kind of a church. What he had in mind was reforming the church of which he was a member. He just, said this thing is not right, we ought not to be selling indulgences in sin. But do you know what happened, my beloved friend? When Martin Luther made his protest and tried to reform the Catholic Church, it just could not be done. The gate had already been opened, they were already doing everything that was contrary to the word of God. They had no Bible authority for a universal bishop, they had no Bible authority for the selling of indulgences in sin; and once you open the gate, it is hard to stop it. Martin Luther could not stop it. Even though he tried to reform it, he could not stop it. And, as a result of that, Protestant denominationalism got its start. Martin Luther had no intention of a church being established to wear his name, but he got into trouble. They ex-communicated him, they put him out. They had their battles within their own rank, and as a result of it, Protestant denominationalism got started.

Now, stop for just a moment and think. Protestant denominationalism! Where did he get the name “Protestant”? From protesting against Catholicism. That, my friend, is the truth. Any historian will bear that out. That is how they got started. After Martin Luther was started, then there were others started, and today we have over 300 different denominational churchesdifferent in name, different in doctrine, different in practice. They have brought division and we are divided from them, we are separated from them, and it is a shame and a disgrace that such is so, but nevertheless it is true. And so then, we have found that Protestant denominational churches started all over the country.

But again, we found some men who just got tired of division. They got tired of all the churches being started with different names and different doctrines and different practices. Dilision was causing ill feelings and ill will among the people, and they even had wars in those days about the matter. They just did not like this, and so some of the men tried to make a plea: “Let’s get away from all of this.” There was a man by the name of James O’Kelly. Mr. O’Kelly said, “Let’s get away from denominationalism, and let’s get away from Catholicism, and let’s go back to the Bible and do like they did in Bible days; let’s speak where the Bible speaks and remain silent where the Bible is silent, and just simply start churches of Christ-a local church of Christ in each vicinity and not have all of these great big super structural organizations we have got.”

There were other men coming along, men like Alexander Campbell, men like Barton W. Stone and others preaching across the country. Let’s get away from all of this and let us go back to the New Testament and let’s do things like they did in Bible days. Now you know some people have in their minds that because Alexander Campbell wanted to go back to the Bible and do like they did in Bible days, that Alexander Campbell was the founder of the church of Christ. That is not so, my friend. The church of Christ was built before Alexander Campbell was ever born-the church of Christ the Lord talked about in Matthew 16:18. He said, “I will build it,” not Alexander Campbell, not anyone else. I had a man one time to say to me, “Preacher, you couldn’t find where there was a church of Christ, a local church of Christ like you’re talking about, before Alexander Campbell was ever born.” T said, “My friend, I can show you where there were churches of Christ before Alexander Campbell was ever born in Romans 16:16-`the churches of Christ salute you.’ ” Alexander Campbell had not even been, born. The only thing that Alexander Campbell tried was to get away from denominationalism. He tried to get away from Catholicism. He wanted to go back to the Bible, and establish things like the Bible talked about. Alexander Campbell is not the founder of the church. If he built the church, I do not want to be a member of it and I would notbelong to it. I am riot a Campbellite because I do not follow his doctrine-he would only bring division. But his peal was to go back to the Bible, and that is exactly what he wanted to be done.

As a result of men like James O’Kelly, Barton W. Stone, etc. going across the country preaching, “Let’s go back to the Bible,” you will find that churches of Christ were established all over this country. They got away from the concept of denominationalism. They got away from the universal concept of the bishop being the head of all the churches. They wanted to simply go back and establish churches of Christ where they had elders to oversee in a local congregation, where each local congregation tended to its own business, did its own work in God’s arrangement and in God’s way, and be identified as a local church of Christ. This is exactly what took place. My brethren, we need to remember this and keep this in mind, for this was their plea.

So now what do we have? We had division that came, but we had people that wanted to go back. They got tired of it, and churches of Christ started being established all over this country. Well, then what took place? Lo and behold, after churches of Christ were established all over the country, we find that division came again! You would think that brethren would learn that division ought not to be so, that they should respect Bible authority. Even after men like James O’Kelly, Barton W. Stone, etc. went across this country establishing churches of Christ, to and behold, we find that division comes within our ranks again. In our next article we are going to talk about how that division came. Then we are going to bring it right on down to our day and time, and talk about the things that divide us.

Thus far we have laid the principle before you how there came to be division-which ought not to be. It is our plea that people be one in Jesus Christ and be identified in a local church that stands for the truth of God.

Truth Magazine XXI: 16, pp. 245-246
April 21, 1977

By Mike Willis

Son of God

The Jehovah’s Witnesses press the term “Son of God” to prove their doctrine that Jesus is a created being. They argue,

“The title `father’ means a male parent, and a male parent means a progenitor, an author or source, one who begets or brings forth offspring. Since God was the Father of Jesus, was Jesus also dependent upon God for life?” (The “Word” — Who Is He? According to John, p. 43).

By pressing the terms “Father” and “Son,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses argue that there was a time when God existed by Himself but that He “fathered” Jesus to establish the Father-Son relationship frequently mentioned in the Bible. A similar emphasis is placed on the description of Jesus as the “only begotten” of God. Hence, we need to answer their arguments pertaining to these points.

The Witnesses have abused a figure of speech in order to justify their doctrine. Let us not forget that in order for Jehovah to reveal Himself to man that He had to use human language-language which was understandable to us. Hence, He compares Himself to many things in order to reveal Himself to us (Shepherd, Door, Bread, etc.). The Witnesses have made the mistake of taking one of the words used to reveal Jehovah to us and pressing it beyond the limits intended by the Lord. They argue that Jesus is God’s Son because Jehovah begat Jesus. We might just as appropriately argue that Jehovah is made out of wood because Jesus is the door to the house which is Jehovah; everyone knows that houses are made out of wood. If the Jehovah’s Witnesses are going to press the Father-Son terminology to such an extent as to say that Jehovah begat Jesus, I do not think that it would be inappropriate for us to ask who was the Mother of Jesus. Keep in mind that Jehovah begat Jesus before the world began and, therefore, this terminology is not referring to Jesus’ conception in the womb of Mary. Hence, we demand that the Witnesses tell us who was the Mother through whom Jehovah begat Jesus!

Such pressing of a figure of speech as I have just done is no more ridiculous than what the Witnesses do when they argue that Jesus was a created being because of the usage of “Father-Son” terminology. There are more points of comparison than just one which can come from the father-son relationship. The most obvious point of comparison is the one which the Jews understood when Jesus claimed that Jehovah was His Father. When Jesus claimed that God was His Father, the Jews understood that He was making Himself equal with God. John records, “For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (Jn. 5:18). The Jews understood that the title “Son of God” was equal to claiming deity for oneself (Jn. 19:7; 10:33).

That the “Father-Son” terminology which applied to Jesus and God is not to be so pressed as to imply that one derived his existence from the other is evident as the following comments demonstrate:

“An eternal relation subsisting between the Son and the Father in the Godhead is to be understood. That Is to say, the Son of God, in His eternal relationship with the Father, is not so entitled because He at any time began to derive His being from the Father (in which case He could not be co-eternal with the Father), but because He is and ever has been the expression of what the Father is; cp. John 14:9, ‘he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.’ The words of Heb. 1:3, `Who being the effulgence of His (God’s) glory, and the very Image of His (God’s) substance’ are a definition of what Is meant by `Son of God.’ Thus absolute Godhead, not Godhead in a secondary or derived sense, is intended in the Title.’ “. . . . The words, ‘Father’ and `Son’ are never in the N.T. so used as to suggest that the Father existed before the Son . . . .” (W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vol. IV, pp. 48-49).

“It may be very natural to see in the designation ‘Son’ an intimation of subordination and derivation of Being, and it may not be difficult to ascribe a similar connotation to the term `Spirit.’ But It Is quite certain that this was not the denotation of either term in the Semitic consciousness, which underlies the phraseology of Scripture; and it may even be thought doubtful whether it was included even in their remoter suggestions. What underlies the conception of sonship In Scriptural speech is just ‘likeness’; whatever the father is that the son is also. The emphatic application of the term `Son’ to one of the Trinitarian Persons, accordingly, asserts rather His equality with the Father than His subordination to the Father; and if there is any Implication of derivation in it, it would appear to be very distant. The adjunction of the adjective `only begotten’ (Jn. 1:14; 3:16-18; 1 Jn. 4:9) need add only the idea of uniqueness, not of derivation (ps. 22:20; 25:16; 35:17; Wisd. 7:22 m.); and even such a phrase as `God only begotten’ (Jn. 1:18m.) may contain no implication of derivation, but only of absolutely unique consubstantiality; as also such a phrase as ‘the first-begotten of all creation’ (Col. 1:15) may convey no intimation of coming into being, but merely assert priority of existence …. The point lies, of course, in the adjective ‘own’. Jesus was, rightly, understood to call God ‘his own Father,’ that is, to use the terms `Father’ and ‘Son’ not In a merely figurative sense, as when Israel was called God’s son, but In the real sense. And this was understood to be claiming to be all that God Is. To be the Son of God In any sense was to be like God In that sense; to be God’s own Son was to be exactly like God, to be `equal with God'” (Benjamin Warfield, Biblical Doctrines, Vol. 1, p. 163-164).

Similar comments need to be made with reference to the “only-begotten” passages. The description of Jesus as God’s “only begotten Son” has nothing to do with derivation. Here is the idea denoted by it:

“. . . . But the word can also be used more generally without ref. to derivation in the sense of ‘unique,’ `unparalleled,’ Incomparable,’ though one should not confuse the refs. to class or species and to manner . . . In. emphasizes more strongly the ‘card distinction between Jesus and believers and the uniqueness of Jesus in His divine sonship . . . As the only-begotten Son Jesus is In the closest intimacy with God. There Is no other with whom God can have similar fellowship. He shares everything with this Son. For this reason Jesus can give what no man can give, namely, the fullest possible eye-witness account of God ….” Mittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Vol. IV, pp. 737-741).

“We can only rightly understand the term ‘the only begotten’ when used of the Son, in the sense of unoriginated relationship. `The begetting is not an event of time, however remote, but a fact irrespective of time. The Christ did not become, but necessarily and eternally Is the Son. He, a Person, possesses every attribute of pure Godhood. This necessitates eternity, absolute being; in this respect He is not ‘after’ the Father . . .

“In Jn. 1:18 the clause “The Only Begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father” expresses both His eternal union with the Father in the Godhead and the ineffable intimacy and love between them, the Son sharing all the Father’s counsels and enjoying all His affections” (Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vol. III, p. 140).

“In the Johannine lit. m. Is used only of Jesus. The mngs. only, unique may be quite adequate for all its occurrences here” (Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, p. 529).

“single of Its kind, only …. used of Christ, denotes the only son of God or one who in the sense in which he himself is the son of God has no brethren. He is so spoken of by John not because ho logos which was ensarkotheis in him was eternally generated by God the Father (the orthodox interpretation), or came forth from the being of God just before the beginning of the world (Subordinationism), but because by the incarnation (ensarkoosis) of the logos in him he is of nature or essentially Son of God, and so in a very different sense from that in which men are made by him tekna tou Theou (In. 1:13)” (Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of The New Testament, pp. 417-418).

Hence, the “Father-Son” relationship does not prove that God created Jesus as the Witnesses claim.

Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Are Polytheists

When one has completely understood the doctrine of God taught by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, he realizes that their doctrine of God is nothing less than a mutilated polytheism possessing every characteristic of a pagan polytheism. The pagans of old believed in a chief deity to whom other deities were subordinated. The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ doctrine of God believes in one God who is chief over other gods. Jehovah is the chief god; Jesus is a subordinate god. Regardless of what other conclusions may follow, no one can deny that the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ believe in more than one god. The belief in more than one God is polytheism plainly and simply.

God is one (1 Cor. 8:4). The one God is composed of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are known as Jehovah. When we worship the one, we worship the sum total of them. The doctrine of the Trinity is the only way to harmonize the plain statements of Scripture which, on the one hand, assert the oneness of God and, on, the other hand, assert the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Because the Witnesses err so greatly in their basic concept of God, they are a false religion under the curse of Jehovah.

Truth Magazine XXI: 16, pp. 243-244
April 21, 1977

By Larry Ray Hafley

Question:

From Oregon: “Will you please help me in regards to the wearing of pants suits by the women. I don’t think it is right. So far, we have been able to keep them out, but now I need help badly. Will you please help?

Reply:

Our querist has touched a controversial and sensitive area. It is hoped that none will be harmed by the consideration of this Timely issue. Regardless of what is said, someone will be displeased. Therefore, with fear and trembling we tender these remarks for your thought and study.

One’s dress and outward adornment of the lack thereof, often manifests his character, or the loss thereof. The word of God teaches that modesty, dignity, and sobriety are to sit on the throne of the heart (Titus 2). When these principles reign, the individual’s attire will reveal and reflect it. Styles and fashions ebb and flow. Personal preferences vary and waver, but the immutable rules girding and guiding the meek and quiet spirit must remain inviolate. If the inner man is what it ought to be, the outer man will be also (Cf. Col. 3:9, 10; Eph. 4:22-24).

The rules of God respecting character are unalterable. However, the types and kinds of clothing differ from community to community, from nation to nation. For example, what is viewed as the “attire of an harlot” (Prov. 7:10) in New York is not that of the prostitute in Ankara, Turkey. Styles and fashions have moved boldly and radically in American society. Our personal choices have been appalled by apparel that ranges from the obscene and absurd to the wild and worldly. One cannot allow fad; fashion, or personal taste alone to determine his wardrobe. As long as one is not immodest, indecent, or allied with the appearance of evil, he has the privilege to wear new designs in clothing. One should not dress or undress in such a manner as to cause the word of God to be blasphemed.

Pants Suits And Worship

One may not like it, but the fact is that ladies’ pants suits are an acknowledged part of this country’s fashion scene. Are pants suits immodest? If so, they are wrong to wear anywhere. Are all pants suits sexually provocative? If so, they are sinful. Are pants suits necessarily identified with worldly philosophy or ungodly elements? If so, they are to be shunned (Rom. 12:1, 2; 1 Jn. 2:15-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 1:13-17). However, I cannot give an unqualified “yes” answer to the questions above. I believe pants suits are basically modest and as such are acceptable feminine attire.

“But what about the woman who wears them to worship?” Personally, I do not like them to be worn to worship. I would object if my wife wanted to wear them when we come together in the church. Different occasions and events naturally demand different types of clothing. It is not wrong in one sense to wear bib overalls to worship, but native propriety in most communities now prohibits it. It is comparable to wearing a tuxedo to a sand-lot baseball game. While pants suits may not be sinful in the assembly, they do not suit my idea of proper apparel.

So, should a dress committee stand in the foyer and demand that every woman who wears a pant suit, “Go home and put on a dress?” I think not. The lady who wears a pants suit may insist that I go home and exchange my leisure suit for a regular suit, or at least put on a tie before I lead singing, wait on the Lord’s table, or preach. Preaching without a tie around my neck may not suit the lady’s view of what is proper, but should she bar me from the pulpit? If she will let me preach in a tie-less men’s leisure suit, I will let her listen in a ladies’ pants suit.

“Way back” in the late ‘S0’s, I would not have dared to wear sideburns down past the middle of my ear. It would have been wrong because of the elements of the world that were generally associated with such a hair style for young men in this country. Today, however, the preachers who disdained Elvis Presley’s long sideburns in the ‘S0’s now have exact replicas growing from their temple to their ear lobe. See a 1957 picture of Elvis if you do not believe it. There is a parallel in some particulars regarding women’s pants suits. They are a modest style that will become, it appears, more and more acceptable in formal dress situations. One may not presently prefer the trend, but it does not inherently undermine womanly modesty and virtue.

Caution And Conclusion

Ladies, in my judgment, should be hesitant to wear pants suits to worship. All brethren should refrain from contentiousness over this matter. Do not stir strife and fan the fires of factionalism over your private, personal preferences.

Nothing has been said to lend support to a rebellious disposition. One who has a meek and quiet spirit will not flagrantly flaunt his “rights.” “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). Some brethren can be childish and selfish in some areas. If it is suggested that those who serve the Lord’s supper wear a tie, some will spitefully roll up their sleeves, unbutton their shirt, and say, in effect, “You can’t make me wear a tie!” This is beneath pettiness and immaturity. If we are “clothed with humility,” we will not be promoters of hostility.

Truth Magazine XXI: 16, p. 242
April 21, 1977