Chapter 3: How God's Sons Should Dress

A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
--Proverbs 13:1

A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
--Proverbs 10:1

God has set down in the Sacred Scriptures His eternal principles for and to all generations. Among these principles are God's principles for how we should comport ourselves in daily life. The Israelites were given Revelation by Holy Men of God moved By the Spirit of God who gave them utterance concerning these principles. This Revelation of these principles was far-reaching. God told them how to Worship and Pray. He also told them how to work and when to rest. God told them what to eat and even WHAT TO WEAR. As God's people under the New Covenant we are not bound to the penalties of the Law. Nor are we bound to worship in accordance with those ordinances which God said He has now, "taken out of the way" (Colossians 2:14-17). But the principles of God revealed in the Law are eternal and as unchanging as God Himself. Let us consider from both the Old and New Testament God's principles for DRESS IN DAILY LIFE. Not seeking just the Letter but the Spirit of Law as God has told us to do (2 Corinthians 3:6).

In my study of scripture I can find only two rules in the Bible for man's appearance. There may be more, but I have only found two.

Rule #1. Do not wear a woman's Garment. God did not say, "do not wear a woman's garment, because I do not like it." Here is what God did say: "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God" (Deuteronomy 22:5). God did not stop at saying that the act of cross-dressing is an abomination but that the man who commits the act is himself an abomination. Note the effeminate man among those who cannot attain the Kingdom: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind" (1 Corinthians 6:9).

In Deuteronomy 22:5, it says, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God."

The first command of God, concerning the way a man should appear is that a man should not wear a woman's clothing. I do not know too many men who violate that one. There may be a few, but I have never seen them in a church. And the Bible does not say that a man who puts on a woman's garment has just sinned, but that he has committed an abomination. Lying is a sin. Stealing is a sin. Adultery is a sin. Bestiality is an abomination. Homosexuality is an abomination. So if a man puts on a woman's garment, he has not just committed a sin. He has committed an abomination. He has done something that in the mind of God is equal to having sex with an animal.

Rule #2. Keep your hair short. The second rule for men regarding appearance is found in First Corinthians 11:14, where the Bible says, "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him." The question is always asked, "How long is long?" Long is the opposite of short. Let me ask you, sir; Is your hair short? And if you do not know, then it is long, and if it is long, it is not natural for you to have long hair. So what do you need to do? You need to go to a barber shop.

"Well, what is short? How do I know if my hair is short?" It is the opposite of long. If it is not short it is long. "Well, it is not as long as some girls' hair I see." It does not matter. It is long. "It is not as long as Boy George's." If it is long, then go to a barber shop. Get a hair cut. And if you have any doubt, then cut it off right now, and there will not be a doubt. When in doubt, do that which is right. The problem is solved.

There is another very important reason why this matters. God made this an issue of Worship. In the same First Corinthians 11 God said that every man who prays or prophecies with his head covered, hair is the context, dishonors his head. That means that your Heavenly Father does not want you to dishonor your head by teaching, preaching, or even praying while your hair is long.

God's house is called a house of prayer five times in the Bible. If you cannot pray you do not belong there.

Rebellious Son is your few inches of hair worth more than your fellowship with your Father in Heaven?



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