Is seductive dress in church good?

Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:9
What do I do about seductive dress in church and my pastor? Should I talk with him about it? The Bible gives guidance that women dress modestly. If a woman purposely dresses seductively, she certainly can cause others to sin.
When you post, you agree to the terms and conditions of our comments policy.
If you have a Bible question for Pastor Doug Batchelor or the Amazing Facts Bible answer team, please submit it by clicking here. Due to staff size, we are unable to answer Bible questions posted in the comments.
To help maintain a Christian environment, we closely moderate all comments.

  1. Please be patient. We strive to approve comments the day they are made, but please allow at least 24 hours for your comment to appear. Comments made on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday may not be approved until the following Monday.

  2. Comments that include name-calling, profanity, harassment, ridicule, etc. will be automatically deleted and the invitation to participate revoked.

  3. Comments containing URLs outside the family of Amazing Facts websites will not be approved.

  4. Comments containing telephone numbers or email addresses will not be approved.

  5. Comments off topic may be deleted.

  6. Please do not comment in languages other than English.

Please note: Approved comments do not constitute an endorsement by the ministry of Amazing Facts or by Pastor Doug Batchelor. This website allows dissenting comments and beliefs, but our comment sections are not a forum for ongoing debate.

Caller:  Hi.  My question is similar to that other guy, who just called, but my problem is in the church there’s so much of it.  It’s so distracting.  I don’t think women realize how much of an influence they have on men when they overdress – jewelry and short dresses where they show too much leg….

Pastor Doug:  Now those are two issues there that are related but they’re still separate.

Caller:  But how can I approach my Pastor about it – about having a sermon on this?  I feel like it’s a real touchy subject – I mean it’s a real problem.

Pastor Doug:  It is a problem.  First of all, you want to approach him in love.  There is that Scripture I quoted earlier and I never gave the reference:  1 Timothy 2:9, ‘…in like manner that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel...’

Now modesty – it means – it’s in a humble way, a clean way.  Christians should wear good clothing, but they shouldn’t be flamboyant and distracting, which is a separate issue from being seductive.

And I would agree with you that you know, the Bible says if it’s a sin for man to look on a woman and lust in his heart, then God have mercy on women who deliberately dress in a way to inspire men to look and lust.  I mean one man might look and think inappropriate thoughts, but if a woman dresses that way in the morning to be distracting, then she might cause 50 people to sin through the day.

Caller:  Right!

Pastor Doug:  So a Pastor should address that and I would just mention this to your Pastor in love and hope that he picks up on it, that God would impress him.

I’ve got a couple of sermons that I have on audiotape on this subject, and I think we even wrote an article at Amazing Facts called “What Shall I Wear?”

Caller:  I’d like to get that if I could.

Pastor Doug:  You could probably find it on the Internet for free.  You can download it.  It’s called “What Shall I Wear?” and they may have a reprint for you they can send you.

Co-Host:  AmazingFacts.org

Caller:  Ok.

Co-Host:  Check with the Amazing Facts website and look for that article.  It’s called “What Shall I Wear?” and you can probably download it there.

Caller:  Ok thanks a lot.

Amazing Facts’ Resource Number:  800-835-6747

Share a Prayer Request
 | 
Ask a Bible Question

Name:

Email:

Prayer Request:


Share a Prayer Request
Name:

Email:

Bible Question:


Ask a Bible Question