is an issue that is raised about externals when the life of the child
of God should rather be about a spiritual relationship based upon our
position in Christ as believers. The obedience of a child of God is
not measured by what clothing we wear but by our walk in the Spirit
(Galatians 5:16).
When looking at "doubtful things," we need to use Scripture in context
for the principles that will help us walk as believers, which means
considering the dispensation and the whole counsel of God and not
taking passages out of context. There is a passage in the Old
Testament that speaks about a woman wearing men's clothing: "A woman
must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the
LORD your God detests anyone who does this" (Deuteronomy 22:5). The
context of this passage is the second giving of the law to the nation
of Israel as they were poised to enter the Promised Land. Deuteronomy
22:5 is an admonition not to live as a transvestite. This has to do
with more than just clothing; it also speaks of a life that emulates
in every way those of the opposite sex. Transvestitism was a practice
of the Canaanites, and Israel was to consider it an abomination. We
take a principle from this and apply it to our lives as believers, but
we must use it in the context in which it is given and do so in
relation to the dispensation of grace.
The Apostle Paul wrote extensively on the difference between the law
and grace in Romans. We are not justified by our adherence to the law,
but we are justified by faith in Christ (Romans 3:21-28). The believer
in Christ Jesus is "dead" to the constraints of the law. "But now, by
dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so
that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of
the written code" (Romans 7:6). Therefore, a believer does not live by
legalism, nor by license, but rather by grace.
What has that to do with a believing woman wearing pants? There is no
biblical law that says what a woman should wear or not wear. Rather,
the issue is one of modesty. Paul addresses the modesty of women in
his first letter to Timothy. "I also want women to dress modestly,
with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or
expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who
profess to worship God" (1 Timothy 2:9-10). The Greek word translated
modest is kosmios, which occurs twice in the New Testament, once as
"modest" in this passage and once as "of good behavior" in 1 Timothy
3:1. It came to mean "well-arranged, seemly, and modest."
The word clothes is the Greek word katastole. The meaning of the word
was "to send or to let down or lower." It was primarily a garment that
was let down and in that day referred to a stole or a loose outer
garment worn by kings and persons of rank. Since we know that Paul was
not speaking to people of rank, the context here is simply modest
attire, and it does not specify what that entails. Paul addressed this
issue here because the women in the church were trying to outdo each
other in how they dressed, and the flashier the better. They were
losing sight of the things that should adorn a godly woman—humility,
sobriety, godliness, and good works. The words "dress modestly" are
not used here in the context of specific garments, but rather to being
clad in a modest covering. It should not be used to prove a
prohibition against wearing pants (also see 1 Peter 3:3-4).
So, the issue is that a woman should wear modest clothing. Whether or
not that includes a pair of slacks should be a matter for the woman's
own conscience before the LORD. If a woman allows her outward
appearance to be the measure of her inward relationship with Christ,
she is living under the constraints of legalism. Born-again women are
free in Christ to wear whatever modest apparel they choose, and the
only judgment they should be under is that of their own conscience.
"Everything that does not come from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). We
are not to allow our consciences to be dictated to by legalism and the
consciences of others, but by our own relationship with Christ. "I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives
in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). God will take
care of the outward woman if we walk in obedience in the inward woman.
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