Quote:
Originally Posted by Sept5SavedTeen
MissB,
As for "Judge not" when we understand that in light on all the Scriptures, we see that we are not to be a people without judgement. We are told to "Judge rightgeous judgement", and the "Judging" JESUS was speaking against was the hypocritical judging of the Pharisees. Paul judged in 1 Cor 5, and there was tons of other judgements that had to be made by the people of GOD. |
I'm afraid you're mixing your metaphors, AND you left out an important component of the scripture:
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
One could even conclude from the phrasing of this verse that judging according to appearance is
unrighteous judgment.
This is the kind of judgment we are to reject:
Deuteronomy 16:19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment;
thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
We can judge when we have FACTS in our hands, such as a person declaring for themselves what they think or believe; we can look at a person who steals and judge they are a thief, but
even then we should be careful, and only mete out judgment we are willing to have brought back upon our own heads at some point.
We can judge a
matter, and decide what is right and wrong based on godly principles. But only
God has the right to judge what is in a man's heart. When you ascribe motives and character issues based on
appearance alone, you are on very shaky ground.
Quote:
As for "plain clothing=holiness", I will say that I still have some of that bias, and for that reason I will not continue to post on this thread, because I have to work this out. However, there has to be some point wear someone's clothing is so extravagant that I believe the church needs to speak up and gently knudge them in the right direction.
-Bro. Alex
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Nudge them in the direction of good taste--sure. If they have a prideful or haughty attitude, then someone who loves them should try to bring them to conviction. If they just like extravagant clothing, but are sweet as apple pie, perhaps it should be left between them and God. I've known some plainly clothed "holiness" people who were as stuck up, haughty and downright mean as the devil himself--and I did NOT ascertain that from their appearance, but from actually getting to know them on a personal level. They weren't mean
because they were plainly dressed, but they certainly weren't
holy because they were plainly dressed. Nor could they have in any way attracted a sinner to Christ.
One of my best friends is a Sanguine (even more than I am), she is bubbly, fun, hugs everyone, even perfect strangers at the grocery store, has a penchant for sprinkling flower petals and confetti on tables whenever she can find an occasion for it, she dresses in bright, happy colors even in wintertime, and her overall personality is bright, happy and friendly. She
certainly attracts attention--but it's the good kind. My point is that her clothes are
irrelevant. It's the attitude that makes anyone in her vicinity start smiling in spite of themselves. Not for one MOMENT would I ever tell her that she needs to not attract so much attention to herself, or that she shouldn't wear such bright clothing, so as to be more modest or "holy." In my opinion, she is one of the best Christians I know, because she exhibits kindness to people on a regular basis.
It's what people say and DO that indicates good (or bad) character--whether or not they exhibit the fruits of the spirit--or not. Their clothing has little or nothing to do with it, and in fact, if we go by clothing only, we may often miss out on getting to know some really fantastic people along the way.
Hybrid Mode
