Friend refuses to go to church - condemns jeans

[Classik]

The other day my friend bluntly refused to attend church. Says he can't wear jeans to church...that they are totally informal and not fit for church 'whatevers'. we tried to encourage him to use what he presently had.
(There was a problem. The guy couldn't get his formal church attire ready that day: *plain trousers, shirt and tie etc*)


Some are of the same opionons that jeans and similar stuff are not for the House of God.

Maybe he's right. Some offices wont permit jeans and related materials

 

[Gary]

This is what I think of dress codes.


James 2
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,the Lord of glory, with partiality.
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?


Matthew 23
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

.

 

[Obadiah]

I agree with the scripture Gary posted 100%. I have a feeling it wasn't your friend's fault in this. It seems he has probably been exposed to unscriptural legalism in churches he's been to in the past to the extent the he is now forced by his fear of the pharisees to forego worship rather than violate someone's unscriptural rules. Maybe he was even one who was duped into teaching this falsehood himself, and now feels guilty and ashamed of it. If that's what's happened to him, it will probably take some time for him to heal from this and be able to accept that God loves all of us, even those who (gasp!) wear jeans!

 

[Classik]

Thanks a lot.

We did everything to convince him to go to church that morning. He refused. He has been like this probably all his life.

 

[Knotical]

It all comes down to how you are dressed on the inside. Who cares what you are wearing on the outside, as long as it is not a distraction for others.

 

[Kathi]

It all comes down to how you are dressed on the inside. Who cares what you are wearing on the outside, as long as it is not a distraction for others.

Yes.

 

[Obadiah]

It all comes down to how you are dressed on the inside. Who cares what you are wearing on the outside, as long as it is not a distraction for others.

And I can understand how wearing jeans (along with violating many other unscriptural rules they may have) would be a distraction to others in a legalistic church that condemns people for this. But rather than beat my head against that brick wall, it's better to just leave that church and go attend one that's not that way. (Yeah, that's the voice of experience from someone who HAS beat my head against that brick wall for a while, until I got smarter than the bricks.)

 

[Knotical]

If you are catching flack because someone doesn't like what you are wearing due to being legalistic then I wonder what else they are being legalistic about. Depending on the amount of people in the congregation that are participating in this kind of behavior you could either just leave the church, or approach the pastor or an elder to see about having this issue addressed.

 

[Obadiah]

If you are catching flack because someone doesn't like what you are wearing due to being legalistic then I wonder what else they are being legalistic about. Depending on the amount of people in the congregation that are participating in this kind of behavior you could either just leave the church, or approach the pastor or an elder to see about having this issue addressed.

I've seen this a lot and usually this kind of thing is an indication of a lot of other legalism as well. If it's to the extent that it had affected Classik's friend to the point that he won't go to church unless he has the "right" clothes to wear, chances are the pastor and other church leadership are aware that's it's going on and support it.

 

[Kathi]

There are some Churches that will look down their nose at you unless you are dressed in your Sunday best.That was the way a Lutheran Church was I went to many years ago.

 

[Classik]

There are some Churches that will look down their nose at you unless you are dressed in your Sunday best.That was the way a Lutheran Church was I went to many years ago.

To a degree I go with this: at least be neat - not necessarily expensive