In this sermon, the speaker addresses the issue of conforming to the ways of the world versus living a life that is different and pleasing to God. He observes a generation gap and notices a woman who stands out with her modest dress and Bible. He emphasizes the importance of being willing to be different for the sake of doing what is right. The speaker quotes Romans 12:1-2, urging the audience not to conform to the patterns of the world but to be transformed by renewing their minds.

As I travel across the country, and I do so often, I notice something, and this is repetition to our own people, but I notice something in the churches of America that is alarming to me, and also inconsistent, I think. I sit on a platform, and I watch the people as they come in, in churches and denominational meetings across this country. I just spoke yesterday, Friday night and Saturday, to the Buffalo and Niagara Sunday School Convention. Eighty-six churches, I think, were represented. And I speak tomorrow night in Tampa, Florida. And I sit on the platform, and here's what I see. I see a fine-looking young man, I'm sorry, middle-aged man, walk in. He has his Bible under his arm. His hair is neatly cut, and he has a neat, closely-shaven face. And he has on a suit, and he looks like a fine Christian gentleman. And right behind him, there is a teenage-looking something who comes in. I hesitate to say he has on blue jeans. They're trying to stay on. And he wears blue jeans, and usually has some kind of a T-shirt, maybe a smile insignia or symbol on his chest, and long, shaggy hair. And he comes in, and he's usually sort of doing, like, and the father knows how to walk, but the fella, he looks like a disjointed piece of spaghetti is what he looks like. And he comes walking in, and don't turn me off now. If you're going to turn me down, okay, but don't turn me off. I'd like to have the shot at you all the way through the message tonight. It costs the same thing. It's a dollar for the sermon, whether you hear it all or a part of it. And so, but I notice a generation gap. Then after that, I see a lovely lady coming in. She's usually in her late 30s or early 40s. And her dress is modestly down to her knee, and she has a Bible in her arm and a purse. And right after she comes in, Ian walks, not exactly sure what it is. It looks a little bit like the thing that was following the man. It's a little hard to tell exactly which is which, but she comes in, and my first impression is, oh, my soul, she forgot her skirt. That's my first impression. And a couple of, you know, one reason, if I didn't believe that many skirts were wrong, did you know that many of you ladies ought to wear a long skirt to cover your knee, just as a part of the Beautify America program? But Ian walks this long, gangly kind of a gal, and if she bends over, you must look the other way. You're destined to continue looking if she bends over. And when she sits down, it's almost embarrassing to even have her in the building. Now, here's the strange thing about it. Her mother is a modest-looking, lovely Christian lady. Her father is a fine-looking Christian gentleman. Now, I wonder why they couldn't transfer Christianity to their children. I wonder why the father couldn't teach the son how to dress, and I wonder why the mother couldn't teach the daughter how to dress. Now, all across America, we face the miniskirt craze. By the way, it's not only in America, it's everywhere. The shortest miniskirts that I've seen were in Israel. I don't know how they could be any shorter than here. Maybe they have longer legs in Israel. I don't know. But anyway, all over the world, we have the miniskirt craze that is gripping our country. Now, I'm going to show you tonight what the Bible says about the miniskirt. No, the Bible doesn't say anything. The Bible doesn't have the word miniskirt in it. The Bible doesn't use the word miniskirt. But the Bible does teach that it's a sin for a woman to show her thigh in public. Now, the thigh begins right above the knee, which means that anything above the knee is wrong for a woman to show in public, and I'm going to show you what the Bible says about it after a while. But there are others who've spoken about miniskirts, others besides the writers of the Bible. For example, the law enforcers across our country and around the world have spoken about miniskirts. In the city of Toronto, Canada, for example, this question was asked all the policemen in the city of Toronto, and I was there a few days ago. Who is more likely to be raped? A lady wearing a skirt to her knees, or a female wearing a miniskirt? This question was advanced to every officer in the city of Toronto, Canada. Ninety-one. The boys back here in the back saying to that girl, Oh, you three folks sit up. Put your legs up. Sit up. And young lady, you listen to me now. And boys, you listen to what I have to say too. You've talked enough for one service. God knows our girls need what I'm going to preach tonight, and you fellows are not going to keep a girl from hearing it, or the girls behind you either. And so, by the way, you folks are visiting. Don't get alarmed. That's the way America used to operate years ago. There was a day when adults ran the young people. You folks are visiting. We have the strangest church you've ever seen. We have a church where the parents tell the kids what to do. Strangest thing you've ever seen in your life. Outdated, primitive, puritanic. We have schools. And do you know that the principal holds the students hostage instead of the students holding the principal hostage in our school? If we have a riot, it's usually won by the teacher in front of the class. We have the strangest thing. In our church, the young people are supposed to sit up and listen, and the pastor tells them to. Strangest thing. I'm glad you came tonight because you need to see it like it was in America all through these years and like our country was founded. But anyway, the Toronto law enforcement officers, 91% of them said that a girl in a miniskirt is more likely to be raped than a girl who's dressed with a skirt down to the top of the knee. Since 1964, for example, by the way, that was the year the miniskirt was introduced. Since 1964, rapes in the United States have increased by 68%. And England, who got the miniskirt before we did, and I think is a little more radical about it, the statutory rape has increased in England by the rate of 90% since 1964. The Ontario Safety League says that miniskirts are a traffic hazard. Now, you're going to be laughing at this. They say that girls walking down the streets in miniskirts cause drivers to turn their eyes toward the girls and actually cause accidents. Like one fellow said one time, the little boy said, Daddy, said, the fellow was out working in the yard, and the little boy said, Daddy, if you're not looking at that pretty lady next door, why is it you're watering the side of the house? And so the Ontario Safety League says that actually miniskirts are traffic hazards. Sergeant G-O-U-G-H of Toronto's Morality Squad said, and I quote, abbreviated costumes are no doubt a factor in offenses against women. Officers in 50 states in America, all 50 of our states, were asked this question. Is there a correlation between crimes against women, rape and so forth, and the miniskirt? Now, get this. In 50 states, there was a resounding yes that came from the law officers in every state in this union when asked if crimes against women were affiliated or associated with the miniskirt. Did you know in 61 cities across this country, the 61 largest cities in the country, policemen were asked this question. Do miniskirts incite rape, and is the increase in crimes against women caused by the miniskirt? In the 61 largest cities in America, 92% of all the police officers said yes, miniskirts cause rape. Now, you say, well, you fundamentalist preachers always talking against miniskirts. Why don't you talk about the policemen? They're talking against miniskirts too. 92% of the policemen in Chicago, in New York City, in Los Angeles, in Dallas, in Atlanta, in Denver, 92% of them in 61 largest cities in America, and I think that might include Hammond, I'm not sure, in the top 61, but 92% said yes, only 8% said it had no effect on the crimes against women. 83% of the policemen in these 61 cities said, the most dangerous fashion in history is the short-skirted girl when she's seated. Don't laugh at me while I'm preaching on this, fellas. When I'm preaching about indecency in America, when I'm preaching about trying to get you girls to act like ladies and so forth, you ought to be crying instead of laughing. Now, if I say something funny, you laugh at it. When I talk about a girl sitting down and showing parts of her body she shouldn't show, when I talk about things like that causing rape across America and wrecking the lives of our boys and girls, don't you think that's smart and funny? It's not. It's sad and tragic. I said again, 83% of the policemen in the 61 largest cities in America said, the most dangerous fashion in history is a short-skirted girl seated. J. Edgar Hoover said, the rape rise in this country is caused by the near nudity of the modern girls. The near nudity of the modern girls. Now, that's what the law enforcers have had to say. Now, before we check what the Bible has to say, let's see what other nations are saying. Did you know in many countries around the world, the miniskirt has been outlawed? For example, in Ethiopia, a rioting for two weeks was caused by the miniskirt fed in Ethiopia. Fifty were injured in the rioting. One hundred vehicles destroyed, and the schools were closed for two weeks because of rioting about the miniskirt. A Portuguese ship recently was captured by rebel pirates. It was called the Santa Maria ship, captured by rebel pirates. And the women on the ship were dressed immodestly, dressed in miniskirts, they wore bikinis, and in general were dressed as the average young lady in America would dress. But now these rebel pirates took over the ship. And these young ladies got together, and they said to each other, we had better cover our thighs. Because we'll be afraid, we'll be assaulted or attacked by these men. And for their own personal safety, these young ladies refused to wear their miniskirts in public. They would not dress in bathing suits at all. Why? Because they realized that they were likely to be assaulted, attacked, or raped by these rebel pirates if they wore skirts that revealed their thighs, and wore garments that revealed their bodies and made them partially nude. Now you see what I'm saying? Now get the reverse of it now. If they put on clothes to cover their bodies to keep them from being assaulted, then if they take off that covering, I wonder if maybe they're asking for someone. You think that may be it? Did you know, for example, that in many of the countries, a missionary in East Pakistan said, and I quote, the more primitive the nation, the shorter the skirt. The more primitive the nation, the shorter the skirt. And in at least 17 countries around the world, somebody has said, miniskirts have been outlawed as being against the best interests of the nation. After a while we're going to let the Bible speak, but let's let others speak for now. Law enforcers have spoken. Other nations have spoken. Hey, I don't know what let's do. Let's let the originator of miniskirts speak. What do you say? Let's listen to what the originator says. Who originated? A lady named, and I use the word lady very loosely tonight in many of these cases, a lady named Mary Quant. Q-U-A-N-T. And here's what she said. I quote her. Now women and girls can announce that they are ready for sex in the afternoon. That's what the originator said about the miniskirt. Now, you may not be against the miniskirt. You may call me old-fashioned, old-foggy, but at least I've got the word of the lady who originated the miniskirt who said that the reason she originated it was so girls could be ready for sex in the afternoon. She was asked this question. What kind of character does today's woman want to be? And Mary Quant who gave us the miniskirt said, I quote, a sexual creature. She displays her sex instead of hiding it. I like men. I'm sexy. I enjoy life. She said that's the miniskirt wearer. That's what the founder of it said that today's girl wants to be. In November 13, 1967, she said, and I quote, Many clothes are symbolic of girls who want to seduce a man. That's what the author said. I mean, that's what the founder said. Mary Quant said miniskirt and many clothes are for girls who want to seduce a man. Again, I quote Mary Quant who said, and all the rules are gone. There is no such thing as what is in or out. I've always hated rules. Now all rules are gone. All hemlines are available. Now ladies, do you want to swallow that kind of philosophy? Do you want a lady that wants you to have sex in the afternoon, illicit sex in the afternoon? Do you want her telling you what to wear? Do you want something founded by a lady who says no rules at all? Do you want something founded by a lady who has invented a miniskirt and raised the hemline in order that all restraint may be lifted in order that she can say, I'm sexy. I want to reveal my body. Is that what you want? I don't think many of you do. I think the honest truth is you are afraid to be different. You are afraid to walk down the street with a decent length skirt on because somebody is going to criticize you. You are afraid to be called a Christian. You are afraid to look like a decent American girl. You are afraid to because somebody is going to criticize you and call you different and laugh at you and you ought to be ashamed of yourself not willing to be proud to wear clothes and dress like somebody who is pure and decent and honest. I wouldn't want to be associated with a female who would make such ridiculous statements as today's woman wants to be a sexual creature. She displays her sex instead of having it. Now, you may not think that the miniskirt is to display sex but the lady who founded it does. You may not think that the miniskirt is to show parts of your body to reveal your body to the lust of wicked men for the hands of wicked men to touch. You may not think that is true but the lady who founded the miniskirt admitted that is the reason she had the miniskirt. Now, you don't have to agree with it but I tell you what, you don't agree with the lady that started it. Let's listen to what the designers have to say. We are going to get into the Bible in a few minutes. We have seen what the law enforcement officers have said. We have seen what other nations have said. We have seen what the originator has said. Now, how about the designers? I got a newspaper, magazines, several of them, been getting them for a few weeks. And I have been reading words that are used by the designers to describe miniskirts. And here are a few of them. Daring, seductive, I am talking about newspaper advertisements now. Seductive, naughty, slightly wicked, makes them think of sex, have a body and know it. Now, these are a few of the terms and words that are used by the designers to advertise. I wonder why they don't advertise it like this. Be a nice, clean lady and wear a miniskirt. No, they, miniskirts were not made just for fashion. They were made to be seductive. They were made to be naughty. They were made to glamorize sex. Now you say, I don't agree with what you are saying. You don't have to. You don't agree with Mary Quant, the gal who started all of this mess. You don't agree with the law enforcement officers in America. And I'll tell you what, too. You ladies may not agree with it, but you men do. Ladies, if you don't agree with what I'm saying, reach over and ask your husband if it's true. Huh? Ask him. Ask your husband if looking at a female in a miniskirt makes him think about soul winning. Now, you ladies up in public, you ladies do not know what your bodies do to the eyes and minds of men. I tell this story often when I preach along this line, but it's one of the funniest things that's ever happened. I was soul winning down in Garland, Texas one night. Knocked on the door and a great big old police sergeant came to the door. He was six foot four and he looked like he could play defensive end on the Los Angeles Rams. I mean, he was a great big guy. Stood at his uniform on. Had a little wife there. She must have been about five foot one or two. Weighed about 110 pounds. And I said, I'm Jack Hiles, pastor of Miller Road Baptist Church. And I often say, when you say that, better duck or pucker one or the other because you're going to be hit or kissed. But anyway, I'm Jack Hiles, pastor of Miller Road Baptist Church. And she said, well, we were in your services last Sunday night and you preached against dancing. Oh, that's another subject. But to me, I'd rather the hug sitting down if I've got a hug. Who wants a hug walking all over the floor? But anyway, the possum trot and the dishwag twist and the boll weevil wiggle, you do those if you want to, but I haven't got time. But anyway, so she said, we don't agree, we don't agree. She said, you said that men that dance and get close to the bodies of ladies have evil thoughts. And she said, we just don't agree. Her husband's name was George. I said, George, what do you think about it? I said, you get close to a lady and she's got a Chanel number five on or perspiration number five or whatever it is. And she's got a Chanel number five and George, you're right close to her and your music is playing. Now, I never dance. Don't think I ever have. I never have. But I said, now, George, what do you think about it? And she said, George thinks that he doesn't have evil thoughts. And I said, do you, George? George said, well, well, he said, I just don't think dancing is wrong. I said, do you have evil thoughts, George? Well, she said, he doesn't have evil thoughts. I said, do you, George? He said, well, I've got to go. I said, before you go, do you, George? And then she got worried and she said, do you, George? I said, George knows he does. And there's not a red-blooded man in this house. But what if he would be honest? He would say that many skirts excite the passions of men to do things that aren't right. He'd say, I don't like your old hellfire, I don't like the way you dress either. You know it's wrong. You know it incites passion. Now, you ladies may not, but let me ask you a question. Why don't you just ask the men and find out? Hey, you folks that are mad at me right now, ask your husband. Come on. Go ahead. I'll wait for you. Just ask him. Ask him if he sees a pretty woman with a skirt about 12 or 13 inches above her knee, ask him if he wants to sing Amazing Grace and have a prayer meeting. Now, you don't like this kind of preaching, but you know it's the truth. As a quarter man, I voted for her one time. In your heart, you know I'm right. Now, you huff and puff all you want to, and you get as mad as you want to, but I dare you, I dare you to ask your old man right now. Look at him, ask him. You say, not my Oswald. Well, he's had to look at you so long, it may be hard for him to get stirred, but there's one thing about preaching like this. Everybody might get mad at me, but everybody agrees with me. I mean, you may walk out and say, I won't ever go back there as long as I live again. I know it, but you'll know when you walk out that I told you the truth while you were here, and you know it so. Well, you say, in my church, we just don't preach against that. Don't confess the sins, you church, here we've got too much to do. The honest, simple truth is, any red-blooded American male in this house tonight who's a normal man, any man in this house knows what happens in the minds of men when they see females dress with a miniskirt. We've seen what the, heard what the law enforcers say, what other nations say, what the originators said, what the designers say. Let's listen to a prison physician who said, by the way, he's a prison physician of the T.O.M.B.S. prison in New York City, has been for 12 years, and has worked with 170,000 prisoners. His name is Dr. Lutzenstein. He said, and I quote, the principal cause of passion crimes is the present style of dress. After working with 170,000 prisoners, many of them in for passion crimes, he said, the principal cause of passion crimes is the present style of dress. Well, let's listen to a professor or two. Professor Ian McGilvery of the Aberdeen University of Britain said, and I quote, the miniskirt is the reason that one-third of British girls are pregnant at their own weddings. Dr. George Crane said, imitating, the miniskirt is imitating the method of the commercial prostitute. Girls, let me say this. This is a nation and a generation of a shortcut to success. Do you know why the hippie wears his long hair? He wants to get notoriety that usually comes by accomplishment. He can get attention by wearing his long hair and being different. That should be earned by diligence and work through the years. Did you know, young ladies, and listen carefully to this, and older ladies too, did you know that for you to appeal to a man through the overexposure of your body is a shortcut to being appealing? Do you know what appeals to a man is that sweet mystery about a woman? And when you just all of a sudden uncover everything and try to appeal to a man strictly through his physical senses, you're taking a shortcut to appealing to a man that is overlooking the way that you are. The Bible says a meek and a quiet spirit. That mystery about a personality, that's the thing that ought to appeal to a man. Now, don't misunderstand me. I think you ought to be pretty. I think you ought to be attractive. But I'm saying, if you try to appeal to a man through a tight sweater revealing your bust, or tight blue jeans or trousers revealing your hips, or revealing your thighs and so forth, you're doing nothing more than following the philosophy of America which says get successful, get notoriety, but do it the shortcut. Pastor, when I was a young preacher, back in the days when I was a young preacher, we were having the big city-wide youth revival. Remember Charles Welborn and Jackie Robinson and some of the other fellows, Bruce McIver, and they had great crowds out at Cole Park and they came to hear those 18, 19-year-old boys. And I said to myself, I wouldn't be in their shoes for anything in all the world. You know why? I want to earn my notoriety. I want to earn whatever name I have. I don't want to do it because I've got a white sport coat and blue suede shoes and have a few sad stories. I want to get out and work and dig. So I took a little church up in the country with 19 members and pastored the church. And I wanted to be sure, if I ever got to the top, I wanted to be sure I touched every step on the way up. This matter of a shortcut to appeal. Anybody can take off their clothes and be appealing, but it takes a real lady to be appealing through a mysterious sweet Christian spirit that's intriguing to the personality of a man as well as to the body of a man. Did you know, girls, did you know that ladies supplement and compliment men more than just physically? Did you know that the male personality yearns? I'm not talking about a particular male. The male personality needs female. The female personality. The male, more than physically, needs the female. And if you could learn with that sweet Christian spirit and that sweet Christian mystery and that dedication to appeal to a man, I'll tell you what, these fellows that see you running around here showing half your body, they want you for a night, but they don't want you for a lifetime. Time and time again, young men have come to this church and they have said, this is the kind of young girl we've been looking for. The sweet kind. The kind that's modest and the kind that's obedient. This is the kind we've been looking for. Oh yeah, we want to run around with the other crowd. By the way, in case you were saying that, you dirty-handed fellow, you keep your paws off our girls. If you're one of those that thinks you can go around and live like the devil and run around with wicked women and go to the house of prostitution and then you want to get married, you come to First Baptist Church Hammond and pluck one of our roses. Keep your hands off of them. We'll knock the fire out of you. I'm simply saying, if you want a sweet Christian girl, you be a sweet Christian boy. If you want a clean Christian girl, you be a clean Christian boy. If you want a girl that's proper, you be a boy that's proper. Let's listen to what the Bible says. By the way, let me say this. A church usher in Ohio recently quit ushering in the church because he said he could not take the offering and look at the way the girls were dressed and worship God. A man in Ohio who sang in the choir quit the choir because he couldn't look at the ladies sitting on the front rows without having dirty thoughts. Well, you say, I'm glad my boy's not dirty-minded. Your boy's cut off the same old lump of clay that our boy's cut off of. Your boy's no different from anybody else unless he's sick. In that case, he may be going to study with some other guy. And once in a while, I get an anonymous letter from some homosexual who makes some dirty threat to me and says, Why don't you? If you don't quit laying off homosexuals, buster, you just may as well get used to it or find you some little church pastor but one of your kind. As long as my mission is as long as the dirty playboy penthouse philosophy is running rampant, I for one am going to cry out and spread out against that wicked kind of philosophy. It's destroying our nation. It's destroying our country. It's ruining our decency. It's wrecking our young people. Go to the average airport and see what you have to look at. Now, the Bible. Oh, let me say one other thing, too. I'll get to the Bible after a while. About 9.30, one of my pastor friends, he said, and you choir listeners be very careful now. One of my pastor friends said, We had to robe our choir. Now, I have no scruples about that. If you want to robe your choir, it's all right. It reminds me a little bit of Rome, but it's okay if you want to robe your choir. I'm not going to fight you about it, but he said, I said, Why did you have to robe it? And he said, Well, if you robe the choir, he said, because the lady's skirts are getting so short and the blouses are getting so low, we had to robe the choir. I told him, and I'll tell the choir here, whenever our ladies in the choir, the skirts get short and the blouses get low, we won't buy robes. We'll just kick the folks out of the choir. He said, Well, if you can't do it, then I'll just leave. We're not going to have striptease in the choir. Maybe in the audience, but not in the choir. You see, people say, Brother Hiles, the way you preach, man, you're not going to have anybody to hear you. Well, you check my crowd tonight and check the many skirted preacher's crowd. Most of them aren't even having church. Now, the Bible. You didn't think I was going to get to it, did you? Okay, let's jump into the Bible. Look at Romans chapter 12. All of us use our Bibles. Now, by the way, listen, look at me for a minute. Here's what will happen tonight. The folks that get mad won't look at their Bible. You know why? They won't have one with them. You know why? Because the shorter the skirt, the less the Bibles you carry. I dare you, if you get mad right now and make any faces at me, I'm going to have you stand up and we're going to measure your skirts and see how many Bibles the long-skirted folks have and how many Bibles the short-skirted folks have. There is a correlation. Sin does not want to come to light. Okay, I just thought I'd add that a little bit. You know, I start off preaching like this. Every time I preach like this, I think I'm going to be nice and kind and not make anybody mad. But I find out you're mad before I start, so I go ahead and get mean anyhow. If you're going to get mad, I might as well get the credit for it, you know. Romans chapter 12, verse 1. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable under God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now, the word conformed in verse 2 is the word patterned. It comes from a word that has to do with a mannequin, maybe. A lady has a mannequin and she has a dress made to fit the mannequin. The mannequin is the shape of her own body. And for the purchase case, he just has a barrel and has a suit to fit the barrel. It always fits perfectly. But it says, be not patterned after this world. Be not conformed after this world. Don't use the worldly fashions. As Charles Spurgeon used to say, the fashions of London are started in hell and promoted by Paris. Let's go down to some plainer scriptures. Turn to Exodus, please, chapter 23 and verse 2. Genesis, Exodus, chapter 23, and verse 2. Now, I'm going to show you here that the philosophy behind why you wear miniskirts is wrong. Exodus 23, verse 2. Now, look at me before you read it. Look at me before you read it. You know why the average young lady wears miniskirts? Because everybody else does. How many of you parents... Now, let's be honest with you. I've heard this. How many of you parents have heard one of your daughters say, well, I'll be too different. Or I won't be like everybody else. Or they'll laugh at me. How many of you parents have heard one of your daughters say that? Raise your hand. We have five. Come on, we have five. All right. Now, you know why they say that? They say it because the reason that decent girls wear miniskirts... I'm not saying that everyone who wears a miniskirt is a harlot. I'm saying she's dressed like one. But I'm not saying she's a harlot. But the reason they wear them is because everybody else does. Now, look at Exodus 23, verse 2. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil. Read that out loud of me. Just that line. Ready? Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil. Now then, the Lord is saying we ought to base what we do on one criterion. Is it right or is it wrong? Is it right? Is it right? Let me ask you a question. If 51% of all the people are doing something and that something is wrong, should you do it or not? No. What if 90% are doing something wrong? Should you do it or not? Wake up. Should you do it or not? No. What if 99% are doing it? Should you do it if it's wrong? What if everybody does it but you? Should you do it if it's wrong? No. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil. So when you say I'll dress like this because everybody else does, I'll be criticized if I don't, I'll be laughed at if I don't, you are revealing a weakness of character in your own breast. Look, if you would please. And here's an unusual verse. Hang on to your seats. Isaiah chapter 47. Isaiah chapter 47. And when you turn to it, I want to say a few words before I read it, explain it to you. Isaiah chapter 47. That's on page 755 in your Schofield Bible. Isaiah chapter 47. Now then, once you find it, look at it and let me explain it to you. The Lord is pronouncing His judgment upon Babylon. Now listen carefully. He is calling Babylon a wicked woman. Don't you recall in Revelation chapter 17 when we have Babylon the great, the mother of what? Harlots. She's called the great whore. The great whore. The mother of harlots. Now then, He is describing how she's going to get that way. He calls her, Revelation 17, mother of harlots, the great whore. And now here in Isaiah 47, look at this, look at this, how the Lord describes a whore or a harlot. Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. You see, she was virgin. She's coming down to sit in the dust. She's going to become a whore. Now watch it. Sit on the ground. There is no throne. She's come off her throne now. O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Now, is this lady coming down or up? Down. Is she tender? Is she delicate? No. She's becoming a what? A harlot or a whore. Now watch it. Let's see what she's like, how it happens. Take the millstones and grind meal. Uncover thy locks. Make there the leg. Uncover the thigh. Oh, oh. There it is. Look at it again. Take the millstones, grind meal, uncover thy locks, make there the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers, thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. Hold it! And the lady showed her thigh. What's she showing? Her shame. Now there it is. It's in the Bible. Now you may not agree with it, but you're going to have to look at the Bible and find out what the Bible says. And there it is. Uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers, thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance and I will not meet thee as a man. Did you see what Isaiah said? Isaiah said, I'm not going to meet you as a man. Why? Because the way to become a whore is to uncover your leg up to the thigh. And the Bible says that that is a shame. The Bible says that's coming down on... The lady who shows her thigh in public is coming down off her throne and sitting on the ground. That's what the Bible says. Look at it again. I don't want you to pass over that. I want you to... Like J.B. Cummins, one of my deacons, used to say when I was preaching in Texas, he'd say, mmm, that's good preaching. Pull over and park there for a while. Look at it again. Look at verse 1 again. I want you to come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground. Here she comes. She's coming down to dust. There is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Come down off your throne. You're no longer tender. You're going to become a whore, a harlot, as Revelation 17 says. Take the millstones and grind meal. Uncover thy locks. Make bare thy leg. Uncover the thigh. Pass over the rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered. Now, by the way, didn't say a thing about the breast. Didn't say a thing about topless, though that, of course, is wicked, because it's more nakedness. But all this mentions is uncovering the leg up to include the thigh. That's all it mentions. I know what some of you fellows are going to do. You're going to say, I won't come back and hear him anymore. I know it. That's why I'm giving it to you while you're here. Now, you see, you see, you'll get mad at me because you want to continue your wicked ways. You want to go ahead down lustful boulevard. You want to go ahead and feast your eyes on the legs and thighs of women and have your dirty thoughts and live your wicked life. But you're going to face God over it someday as sure as I'm going to try. And somewhere along the trail, some men of God ought to get up and shake you right hard and say, prepare to be God. God pity this generation who lives like beasts and animals of the field. There are the Scriptures. Look, if you would, please, to Jude 23. The next to last book in the Bible. Jude chapter 23. Now, I'm not going to expose the Scriptures to what it means theologically, but I want you just to see what it says. I'm sorry, Jude verse 23. There's only one chapter in Jude. So the fist was looking and looking and looking for Jude chapter 23. The sad thing about it, he was looking over close to Exodus and Deuteronomy and Numbers. You know one of the finest things about preaching like this is you sleep so well at night. You know that? You know, you don't go home and say, well, I trim a message because of old Rich Deacon. Or I trim a message because Dr. Big Boy came to the service. No, here, we don't trim it for anybody. Not for anybody. We just preach it like it is, not trying to be unkind. We're trying to get some young girls to be decent. We're trying to rear some decent young girls to marry these young men, some decent young men to marry these girls. Jude 23. And others, save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted by the flesh. Hating even the garments spotted by the flesh. Our Lord Jesus was clothed. Are we not to follow Jesus? Our Lord Jesus was clothed. In Revelation chapter 1 verse 13, look at it, just a page over from Jude chapter 23. Revelation chapter 1 verse 13. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one likened to the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girded about the paps with a golden girdle. This nude crowd. This crowd that says, express yourself. This sensitivity training crowd. These people that say, take off your clothes and just be yourself. I've done that out of killed 18 deacons by now. Don't restrain. Anything you want to do, do it. Good night. Boy oh boy, I'd been to penitentiary by now. And you would have too. The honest truth is, this thing that says take off restraint is anti-God, anti-Bible. The Bible is restrained. The Bible is disciplined. The Bible is their boundaries, their rules to follow. And so, our Lord Jesus wore clothing. The angels wore clothing. Turn to Mark chapter 16. I think that's it. Mark chapter 16. And verse, I'm sorry, that is, yes it is, yes it is. Mark chapter 16, verse 5. Page 1070 in your, I'm sorry, 1068 in your Scopia Bible. Mark 16, verse 5. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man, and this young man was an angel, sitting on the right side, clothed in a long, white garment. And they were affrighted. If a person who, if not wrong to wear clothing, why did our Lord wear clothing? Why is it said about our God that He's clothed? Why is it said about angels that they're clothed? Did you know the truth of the matter is, the only person in all the Bible that went completely nude, as far as we know, is found in Mark chapter 5, and he was a wild man that lived in the graveyard? Of course, we know, we know that Ham looked on the nakedness of his father, Abraham, and a curse was placed upon Ham's son, Canaan, because of it. And I think, even upon others to follow. Turn to Genesis chapter 3, verse 1. Genesis chapter 3, verse 1. Page 8 in your Scofield Bible. Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden. Now Satan came to cast reflection upon the word of God and to bring doubt in Eve's mind about the veracity of God's word. And the Bible said he was more subtle. Did you know that many, many Bible teachers say that the word subtle that is used here is connected with the word nakedness? Now, the serpent was more naked or more concerned about nakedness and the word subtle in the minds of many Bible teachers. But there's one other passage. Turn over to the passage we read a while ago in 1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. Now I always preach like this at the risk of some of our professors in our college finding out that I'm not a Greek scholar. But I want you to see in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 9. We read it a while ago. In like manner also that women adorned themselves in modest apparel with shamefacedness and sobriety not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly ray. Now it's not saying it's sinful. It's not saying it's sinful to wear a watch or a ring or something. It is saying that should not be the prevailing image or adornment of a lady. But it says modest apparel. Now what modest apparel? Let me show you a word in the Bible which talks about immodest apparel. Now with your hands in 1 Timothy chapter 2 turn back to Proverbs chapter 7. Proverbs is right after Psalms. Proverbs chapter 7. I want you to notice something about a woman's clothing here. Proverbs chapter 7. In verse 6. Page 676. Look at it very carefully now. Proverbs chapter 7 verse 6. For at the window of my house I looked through my casement and beheld among the simple ones I discerned among the youth a young man void of understanding passing through the street near her corner and he went with away to her house in the twilight in the evening in the black and dark night and behold there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot. Now notice there there is something that a person can wear a woman can wear that is the attire of a harlot. Now with this attire of a harlot in Proverbs chapter 7 and the fact that there is a modest apparel in 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 9 you at least agree to that that there is something that's the attire of a harlot? Amen. Raise your hand if you agree to that. I will. Alright. And is there some kind of clothing that is modest clothing? Would you agree to that? Raise your hand please. Alright now. We may disagree as to what it is but let's sort of decide what it is. Is it grandma's bathrobe? Is that the attire of a harlot? You sailors and I say this seriously now you sailors the fellows up at Great Lakes that have pin-up girls do the girls have on long dresses that fit their bodies loosely? Or are they pretty well stripped? Uh-huh. I won't ask you if anybody's ever been to a house of prostitution but I wonder how they dress in a house of prostitution. I wonder maybe if they cover their entire body and not reveal their body or do you think maybe they wear low-cut dresses? I'll tell you what you do. Drive down State Street in Calumet City sometime and watch the females come out of those places. Over there. Watch how they're dressed. Uh-huh. I wonder then if the attire of a harlot would be revealing the body or covering the body. Uh-huh. Well, okay. Now then I'll show you what it means. Where it says here in 1 Timothy 2.9 modest apparel you folks that know Greek know that the word is for the apparel here is the word stola. Stola. Now there are two words. One is stola and one is stole. S-T-O-L-A or S-T-O-L long A. Stola short A Stola long A. And I won't go into a Greek lesson don't know much about it. But but the truth is the difference in a stola and a stole was only one little slip. That's all. Do you know how a lady or woman in the Bible days showed that she was ready for business? Do you know the difference in a woman who dressed as a harlot and a woman who dressed as a modest lady? Girls! Hey! Do you know the difference? Huh? The difference was they all wore the same garment but the harlot slit her garment right here on the side right up here to her thigh. And the way you told a harlot was that she showed her thigh while she walked. And that's what the word modest apparel means here in the Greek. When it says let the woman be adorned with modest apparel what it really says is let the woman not show her thigh in public. And if they had taken the Greek and translated it completely proper it would have said let the woman be adorned with a dress that doesn't show her thigh. Now may I may I say that would that would that would only be outside offense. That wouldn't you wouldn't include a beach there would you? I mean the Bible says let the woman adorn herself in modest apparel unless she's on a beach. Or let the woman adorn herself in modest apparel unless she's going swimming. I think I told you didn't I? I was driving with a preacher on the west coast at a Bible conference and he and I were talking about his they have now invariably somebody will say you mean you're against mixed bathing? Of course I'm not against mixed bathing. I'm against mixed nudity. I don't care if you bathe in or not. The truth is if a lot of you girls would go out here and dress these bikinis would get in it would be a lot better. I mean just bathe! But you don't go to bathe. You go to show. You go to show. Anyway this preacher has a Bible conference and he's a very fine man. but he has and I was talking about I said don't you have mixed bathing? And they wear shoulder thighs in public? He said yes. We were driving down the highway to his conference ground and there was a hippie out beside the road that was that was naked from his waist up. I mean he just didn't have a shirt or undershirt on. And he was hitchhiking. But he was hitchhiking laying down. He was actually lying down like this and had his head on his roll here. And the cars were coming this way and the car would come by he'd go I mean well that's what you call conserving man power. Of course driving a car you couldn't tell it was a man but anyway and he was he had nothing on his waist up. And the pastor driving the car said doesn't he there with nothing on from his waist up? I said yeah but if you if you take his pants off and then just wear his shorts and take him to your conference grounds and put him in inside a fence or this hole there with some water he'd be quite appropriate wouldn't he? Huh? Isn't it strange what a pool of water will do to a guy's conviction? You don't like this do you? Huh? You don't like it do you? Well you may not like it but it's Bible. You may not like it but it's ruining America. You may not like it but every man here will agree with it if he's honest. Hey you say well I don't do it. What kind of pinups do you have fella? Do you do you take Playboy magazine or Grandma's Weekly? Hmm? I know what you do. I got some good pictures of my mama. Take them up and put them on the wall pinup girl. Now you know and I know you know and I know that you say well you're not going to get me to agree. You already agree. You won't admit it. But you know you already agree. Now the man in this house doesn't agree with everything I preach tonight. Well not me. You're a liar and you know it. You know you do. Now the man in this house I said man you may be some little sissy effeminate pervert but I'm talking about a man. About a man in this house. And by the way ladies if your husband gets home and says I don't agree with him. Look at him and say you big liar. Now what are you going to do with the Bible? What are you going to do with the Bible? You say why do you have to be so crude when you preach like this for it to keep you awake? What are you going to do with the Bible? Hey girls what are you going to do with the Bible? By the way let me say this. I should have said it a while ago. It's not the miniskirt that's sinful. It's the showing of the thigh in public. Now listen to me. Dr. Billings we in our schools and all of you teachers in our schools Dr. Evans and others we had better be very careful lest we become inconsistent ourselves in making girls wear a certain length skirt but not making them sit right when they sit down. You girls ought to learn to pull your dress down and when you're seated if your dress doesn't come to the top of your knees then wear one longer. I see girls in this room right here who wear skirts that are long enough but you pull them up and you wicked girls that go to school and they take the measure of the skirt and then you have a skirt and you roll the skirt up to make it look more like a wicked woman you ought to kneel at this altar and get right with God tonight what are you going to do with the Bible? Babylon you're going to be a whore and a harlot and here's how you're going to do it you're going to come down off your throne you're going to get down in the dust and you're going to show your leg up to the thigh and that's a shame and that's the shame to which you're going to come adorn yourself in modest apparel apparel that doesn't show the thigh you say brother Hiles aren't you afraid you preach like this that you're going to lose your crowd I'm going to preach a sermon one of these days brother Daniel on this subject what I wouldn't do to be big if this sermon made our fall program go down to 500 and Sunday school I'd still preach it what I wouldn't do I wouldn't trim my message to get big I wouldn't cut five minutes off our services to get big I would not I would not yield one conviction to get big not one of course I want great crowds I want to reach more people but by the way one reason I want more people is so I can preach to them what I'm preaching to you tonight ladies you set the pace what do you say brother Hiles I've got a girl at home wears many skirts what can I do with her she won't quit kill her I'll tell you one thing you can do get a ping pong paddle and take off the rubber ball off the end and just swap that part that shows and she'll want to cover up the scars what do you say I'm glad I don't have a teenager oh you're glad about that if you've got listen if you've got a little girl that can walk watch out watch out there are wicked men in this world that are looking for the bodies of little three year old girls it all boils down to one thing are you willing to be different from what you know is the right thing to do that's the whole story so I know I know this message will be all over this area by tomorrow at noon telephones will ring tonight till midnight and I'm going to lie awake tonight and worry about it I know I know what's going to happen I know it always happens but the honest simple truth is you just don't want people to think you're a good Christian you don't want to be different you want to dress like the world and sing like the world and wear your hair like the world and the jargon of the world and have the magazines of the world and the song of the world and the rock beat of the world you just don't really want people to know that you're a good Christian strange thing about it we have we have people trying to destroy our country they're glad to show how what they belong to they wear their hair long wear their peace symbols peace symbols they're not peace symbols they're communist symbols they call them peace symbols but they're communist symbols they wear their communist symbols they're not ashamed not ashamed at all why should God still be ashamed young ladies the honest simple truth is when you walk down a street in the city of Hammond with your skirt down to your knee a modest sweet young lady you ought when folks look at you and maybe laugh a bit or smirk a bit you ought to bow your head bow your head and say thank you dear God that that kind of person thinks I'm peculiar a man who hires ladies a man of this church who hires numbers of ladies in his office recently hired one of our finest girls who grew up from infancy here at this church this young lady went to work in his office and those men who would not agree with the thing I said tonight probably I'm sorry they wouldn't admit it the boss men said to this man from our church where did you get her where did you get her and he said she's from first baptist he said do you have any more like that there's not a male in this house tonight who's unmarried not a one who's unmarried who wouldn't rather have someday sharing your house with you as your wife not a one of you but what wouldn't rather no matter how wicked you are how vile you are not a one of you what wouldn't rather have a sweet chased nice modest christian young girl as your wife and to have some thigh showing female that appeals to youth the lust of the flesh now what are you going to do about it what are you going to do about it what you going to do about what what you going to do about it what are you