I Peter 3:1-4

“The Hidden Man of the Heart”

Lesson Thesis: Man’s outward attire is a reflection of his inward dress; both are directed by God.

Lesson Purpose: to persuade Christians to dress in a manner that honors God

INTRO:

I.       Text is discussing believing wives trying to win non-believing husbands to Christ.

          A.    The most convincing method may be to win the husband by conduct.

          B.    He says that the husband who will not HEAR the words of the wife may convert if he can behold your chaste behavior coupled with fear – 2

                  1.    the is not in the Greek, so Peter is not suggesting salvation without the gospel – it’s a word = i.e. speaking

II.      In v 3, notice the words adorning, wearing, and apparel. The way people ADORN themselves – what type of APPAREL they WEAR – is directly linked to the concept of chaste conversation

          A.    Yes, Peter is admonishing “inner” adorning, not “outer”...

          B.    But to argue that this passage teaches nothing about manner of dress is to argue that it teaches nothing at all, for Peter is specifically saying the outer appearance is a direct result of inner spiritual “adorning.”

                  1.    Does Peter say that it is wrong to “fix ... the hair,” or to “wear ...gold”? No.

                          a.    For then, he would also be saying that it is wrong to put ... on apparel, and that would be both...

                                 (1)   contrary to the obvious message of this context, and...

                                 (2)   a violation of God’s policy since the days of Adam & Eve.

                          b.    The question in adorning is: What do we emphasize? What is our first priority?

III.     There is simply too much said in the Bible about this matter of modesty for us to ignore it; particularly as it relates to the way we dress.

DISCUSSION:

I.       Grooming and Attitude

          A.    Many would like to think that we can separate our choice of clothing from the definition of godliness, righteousness and holiness – but the Bible says that they are inseparable.

                  1.    In the verses we are reading, God has linked the wife’s manner of dress to her attitude about her husband & her subjection to him.

                  2.    V5 says that in this manner holy women... who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands

                          a.    i.e., their ADORNING was designed to reflect their SUBJECTION...

                          b.    but, the whole is grounded in the fact that they trusted (hoped, ASV) in God

          B.    Does the way we dress reflect a right attitude toward God and subjection to Him?

                  1.    Is our manner of dress important to us when we assemble to worship Him?

                          a.    The dress of some people says clearly, “This is no special occasion, I just came because it’s what I do on Sundays.”

                  2.    Do you honor God by the way you dress when you come into the assemblies to worship Him?

                          a.    A school teacher observed that on picture-taking day the students exhibited their best behavior of the year – dressed better, they behaved better.

                          b.    “Dress for success” has meaning in business - how do you dress for an interview?

                          c.    A Christian’s style of dress should honor God at all times, but especially when we come before Him in worship.

                                 (1)   Maybe some don’t believe that they are “coming before God” when they come here. The word most often translated worship means to prostrate oneself toward; kiss the hand toward.

II.      It’s a matter of emphasis

          A.    What do we say when we clothe and adorn our bodies? Do we devote ourselves to the “outward adorning...,” or to “the hidden man of the heart”?

                  1.    This “earthly tabernacle” – II Cor. 5:1 – will die and turn to dust – Eccl. 12:7

                  2.    The inner man will live forever after being judged by God.

          B.    The hidden man of the heart...the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price – I Peter 3:4

                  1.    It is for this cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day – II Cor. 4:16

                  2.    God is always watching us, and so our dress should honor Him every day in every place – Heb. 4:13

                          a.    He is always watching everything we do and everything we think

                          b.    The world is also watching, and our behavior should well represent our God – Acts 2:47; Matt. 5:16

III.     What we say by our dress

          A.    A style of clothing or a manner of wearing that clothing which draws attention to our physical bodies may be selfish and sinful.

                  1.    We might be guilty of this sin if we overly decorate ourselves with gaudy clothing, makeup or jewelry.

                  2.    We are definitely guilty of this sin if our dress does not cover parts of the body that should be covered, or if that manner of dress fits in such a way as to emphasize parts of our body that the public does not need to see.

                  3.     The Bible says, however, that we are to attract the attention of people by our good works – Matthew 5:16; I Tim. 2:10

IV.     Modesty is the rule of the day

          A.    Peter speaks of adorning oneself with the ornament of a meek & quiet spirit – I Pet. 3:4

          B.    and Paul of adorn[ing oneself] in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array – I Tim. 2:9

                  1.    “Adorning” is “dressing, clothing”

                  2.    “Modest” may be defined simply to indicate not drawing attention to oneself

                          a.    An interviewer, after the applicant left said to his assistant: “She has this in her favor, that she was well-dressed.” The associate answered, “I did not notice what she was wearing,” to which the interviewer replied, “That is how I know that she was well-dressed.”

                  3.    Shamefacedness refers to modesty, a propensity to blush at immodesty

                  4.    Sobriety is simply seriousness

                  5.    The “costly array” is “expensive clothing”

                          a.    Wearing the expensive clothing is not the sin – wearing it to show that you are wearing it is the attitude rebuked here.

          C.    Faithful Christians will obey these words – which are inspired by God – at all times and in all places.

                  1.    The pattern we see in the Bible is that God wants His children covered from below the knee to the base of the neck.

                          a.    Exod. 20:26; 28:42 – that thy nakedness be not discovered

                          b.    Lev. 18:6-19; 20:11-21 – don’t encourage promiscuity

                          c.    Gen. 3:7, 21 – aprons replaced with coats

CONCLUSION:

I.       There is simply too much said in the Bible about this matter of modesty for us to ignore it; particularly as it relates to the way we dress.

          A.    Discussion of this topic is usually emotional & defensive – we take it personally.

          B.    That’s OK – faith is personal – faith comes by hearing the word of God – What is God’s word on the matter also?

II.      Christians are to be a discreet and modest people.

III.     Let us not violate this Divine precept either by under-dressing or over-dressing, but let us begin by being properly dressed in heart and spirit.

FROM an April 5, 1998 article by Alan Adams