I grew a beard... sorta... when I got out of the service. Kept it trimmed pretty close (I always have that "scruffy" look). But then it went mostly grey, so I shaved it down to a gotee. When I shaved I looked 10 years younger, lol. Premature grey. But hey, at least I dont have to deal with going bald!

Krispy

Hi all,
When I first moved to WA the first thing I wanted to do was find a good church. I didn't know the differences in denominations at that time so I went to at least 8 different churches. One was the United Penticostal. That morning my little girls asked if they could wear lipstick so I let them wear a light pink, something just for color.

When I went to the church, the people were friendly but I noticed the women all wore dresses (no problem), had their hair in buns, no one wore any jewelry except wedding rings or a watch and definately no makeup. I did. The sunday school class lesson was on being clean on the inside and outside.. I still remember the diagram of four cups, the first dirty inside and out going to the fourth clean inside and out. The teacher went on to explain how we need to be clean inside and out, but if I remember correctly the focus was on your appearance. Oddly, the church sermon was on the very same topic. I felt bad, not for myself with my makeup, but for my daughters. I felt they were being judged for wearing lipstick. May just have been my perception.

Anyway, I learned later that if I had gone to that church for any length of time, they would have begun to pressure me to adhere to their standard. Since then I have become more modest in my appearance because of what Christ has done in me.

Do I still wear makeup? Yes. When Paul talked about women and their appearance, he meant that women should not place their focus on the outward appearance but on the inward beauty. So what does all that have to do with the topic? Man has a habit of pressing on others a standard that isn't in the Bible. Christ looked every bit the Jew (if he didn't he would never have been allowed to read from the Torah or even enter the Temple). No one could find fault with his appearance. The fault the Pharisees found was in his words.

Our appearance should never purposely offend others (unless it is something that is clearly permitted in scripture), nor should we try to impose our own preferences of appearance on others. If you feel inclined to wear a head covering, go for it. If you wish to have a beard, as far as I know there is no biblical prohibition. These are not issues of doctrine. If that church wants to have a dress code or rules regarding hair, fine. I have bigger issues with their "Oneness" and other doctrine. You don't have to attend that church. It isn't the only church and may not even be a good church. You have to pray about where God wants you to go and get involved there.
Happy hunting...

Excellent post. I think any logically thinking Christian will understand what Paul was discussing when he addressed outward adornment. He never says not to wear jewelry or makeup, but to not let it define who you are.

We have a saying here in NC concerning makeup: "If the barn needs paintin'... paint it!"

By the way, the church you described is very much akin to Pentecostal Holiness. Strong emphasis on outward appearances. It's funny they dont wear jewelry ect... and miss the heart of Paul's message about not letting outward appearances define who you are in Christ... yet they do the very same thing by NOT wearing jewelry, make-up etc...

Well thought out post, and welcome to SI!


Krispy

Hello Chris,
my friend and pastor noticed your post here but is not registered. We want to let you know you are more than welcome to visit our church. We are located in the South Bay in San Jose. You can visit our website to learn more about our church and there are free sermons you can download there as well. Here is our link:

[url=www.lgchurch.com]Lighthouse Gospel Church in San Jose, Ca[/url]


Sorry for my brevity but I'm at work right now. I hope you are able to visit. Actually we have a men's bible study this Thursday night at 7pm.

the Lord bless you!

bro. Jeremy

I would just like to mention for Krispy's sake that it's not possible for hair to be THE covering because I believe in verse 6 Paul says that if a woman is not covered let her be shorn, for that is the same as if she were shorn or shaven. If you "plug in" the hair interpretation here it reads if her hair is cut off then let it be cut off for that is the same as if it were cut off. It's also worth noting that Paul uses a different Greek word for covering throughout the passage and then changes it in verse 15, which supports the interpretation that he is using the natural covering(v.15)to support his argument for an additional covering.