The gospel and modesty (Part 1)

News broke in the last few days a hacker had managed to access and make public photos reportedly from the cellphones of more than a hundred celebrities – some of them in the nude. The reports came on the heels of a sermon I preached last Sunday on modesty, my latest in a series on gender and sexuality.

In that sermon, I mentioned modesty has become even more of an issue for Christians in the age of social media. We need to be careful not only about how we dress, act and speak in public appearances but in what we wear, how we pose and what messages we post on Facebook and other online venues. The believability of our testimony and the name of Christ are on the line in those settings. We need to think about our Savior and His gospel when we take part in social media.

Here are some points I made during Sunday’s sermon, which focused on Titus 2:11-14:

-- We should think about modesty in a gospel-centered way, not a rule-centered one. In their book Modest: Men and Women Clothed in the Gospel, Tim Challies and R.W. Glenn write, “Modesty apart from the gospel becomes a self-made religion that can give some appearance of being the genuine article but that is in the end of no value (none!) in our battle with the sinful and inordinate desires of our hearts. If we reduce modesty to certain rules of dress, we are completely separating the concept of modesty from the person and work of Jesus Christ.” (Their book was a great help to me in compiling some of these points.)

-- Modesty can vary by situation and culture. What is modest at the pool would not likely be modest in corporate worship. What is modest in corporate worship in America would not be modest in public in Saudi Arabia.

-- Modesty is not just an issue for females. Males can violate modesty by their dress, behavior and words.

-- While Titus 2:11-14 applies to all of life for a follower of Christ, I believe it can be applied in these ways regarding modesty: (1) The grace of God enables and instructs us to embrace modesty. (2) The return of Christ motivates us to embrace modesty. (3) The substitution of Christ sets us apart to embrace modesty.

-- Modesty, based on this passage in Titus, is to be not only gospel-focused but (1) Christ-focused, (2) heart-focused, and (3) service-focused.

-- Pride, ignorance and/or insensitivity can fuel immodesty.

-- Two questions for Christians when considering this issue: (1) Whom do you dress for? (2) Whom have you invited to advise you and hold you accountable in this area?