How someone who dresses in a “societally unacceptable manner” manifests the gifts of the Spirit is probably the most confusing aspect of our Christianity today. The big question is: “If God didn’t approve of their dressing, why is God using them?” Many have therefore concluded that: “since God performs signs and wonders through them, it means God also affirms their dressing”.
Quite a complex issue but also simple. May God help our understanding.
Note: I said: “societally unacceptable dressing”. I didn’t say “HEAVENLY UNACCEPTABLE DRESSING”. What we wear is absolutely an earthly matter. Don’t worry if you’re not buying that, I will explain.
In the Old Testament, God gave the Israelites some laws like “do not touch the dead”. It was not for the sake of the dead or the sake of their heaven but for the sake of their health. Science wasn’t advanced back then and so, in the wisdom of God, to contain diseases and epidemics that may happen as a result.
Back to the dressing and hairstyle.
A dress or hairstyle will not take you to HELL FIRE.
But it can expose you to an influence that can take you to hell. A step into it then other things that used to be very wrong in your sight, you’ll begin to reason them out. You can relate, right?
Titus 2:11
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying UNGODLINESS and WORLDLY lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
It can also expose those who model after you to an influence that may lead them to hell even though you may still make heaven. Remember those whom the Scriptures say their works would burn but would be slightly saved?
It can expose the children you raise with such a lifestyle to an influence that will take them to hell. It is called the law of ripple-down effect. Those dresses always attract societal vices. They will mingle with those with the same dressense and learn their ways.
That is how things get degenerated, from one step deep to another step deeper. The question in the American Church in those days used to be dressings, hairstyles, tattoos, earrings and so on but today, it’s no longer so but whether a gay can be an ordained minister.
The next generation after the gay generation is talking about transgender. That is, medically turning your sexuality around.
Sorry, gay is not related to the dressing we are talking about. I brought it in because the DRESSING is not actually the long-term aim of SATAN, the master strategist. It is only a means to an end.
Talking about GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS are freely given to babes in Christ. God even say servant girls and boys will be heavily filled. It is ignorance that makes us relate it with maturity and dressing. God designed it so that when a man gives his life to Christ this moment, He speaks in tongues, He prophesies, He heals the sick, He casts out demons etc. The more he grows in the knowledge of these gifts and in faith, he manifests the gift the more. If he is exposed to an environment where the gifts or the supernatural is at large, he will manifest it much more.
This has little or nothing to do with his dressing except when his dressing attracts other things that can impair the move of God. And even at that, he still has some grace period to graze over. I mean, Saul was still winning battles while David was being prepared.
You may say: “But God shouldn’t have designed it like that. He should withdraw his gifts immediately if he sees a man or woman dressed in a wrong way!” If He does that, where will you be? It is man that perverse the goodwill of God to their own disadvantage, there is nothing wrong with the judgement of God.
SUMMARY-
First- “God doesn’t judge dressing” but what dressing draws.
Mathew 22:11&13
But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Second- Satan has a longer-term plan. First for you, the family, the society and especially the Church. This plan is flying freely on the bait of dressing and appearance which is a dimension of “worldliness”.
For the Church, the Lord says- let the tares and the wheat continue to grow together.
Mathew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.