Would it shock your socks off if I said "Yes"?Before we get to that quetion, I'd like to lay down some ground work upon which I'll build up to my final answer.
The Bible clearly teaches that God is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere at all times; He sees everything that goes on and nothing is hidden from Him (Ps. 139:7-8). So we live our lives “in the fear of the Lord”, this doesn’t mean being frighten of Him, but rather living with the knowledge of His constant watch over us.But also the Bible teaches about God’s special presence; that God especially makes His presence known at certain times and occasions. Like when He spoke from the burning bush to Moses, or the pillar of fire and cloud leading the Israelites through the desert, or filling the temple with His glory at Solomon’s dedication. But even more clearly in the New Testament God promises His special presence to be with the gathering of the local church “for where two or three are gathered in My name, there I AM in the midst of you” Mat. 18:20 (also see 1Cor 5:4, Rev. 1:12-20, Rev. 2:1).
So then we ask ourselves: how did men of the Bible act in God’s special presence? What examples do we have? Moses and the burning bush, bowing low and trembling, even taking off his shoes (Acts 7:32). Joshua falls on his face, (2Chron 7:3) the Israelites fell on their faces and worshipped when they saw the glory of God filling the temple (2Chron. 7:3) as does Ezekiel in Ezek. 44:4. When Isaiah is in God’s special presence he cried out “Woe is me, I am undone for I am a man of unclean lips” (Is. 6:5). Even in the new testament church, when someone new came into the church while the word of God was coming in power, the apostle Paul says he would fall down on his face in reverence and awe of God’s presence (1 Cor. 14:25). So we have a clear view of God’s special presence met with a certain reverence, awe and respect because it’s a special occasion.
Now let’s get back to clothing. I think we would all agree that there is an unwritten general principle that governs the way we dress. If we consider the clothing we have in our closets all falls into a spectrum from “nice” to “not-so-nice”; who ever you are, whatever your socio-economic status, you have some clothes that are nicer than others and you wear the nice clothes on different occasions than your less-nice clothes. This is just how it is. It’s not a principle derived from special revelation (the Bible), but rather from general revelation; its just common sense (the old writers, including the apostle Paul, (1Cor 11:14) would call the “light of nature”). Certain occasions like weddings, job interviews, or funerals would require you to go to the top of that spectrum, the “nice” clothes, for something to wear. Not because we are trying to impress someone necessarily, but out of respect for the occasion (our friends’s wedding, our future employer, our deceased loved one…). Other clothes near the middle or bottom of this spectrum are reserved for casual, every day or recreational occasions.
Now, knowing what we know about God and the visitation of His special presence during worship in the local church, does this occasion fall into the bottom, middle or top of all occasions? I would hope it would be near the top. So it’s not so much that you have to wear this or that; a tie, a suit, a sweater, I don’t think anyone has to go out and buy special clothes for church. All I’m saying is, whatever is in your wardrobe, doesn’t God and His worship deserve something near the top of your wardrobe? Isn’t that just common sense? So if jeans are the best you got; then fine, it’s not the type of clothing, per se, but the heart attitude about the clothing you are wearing with respect to the occasion. So let’s not pretend that “dressing up” is going to scare people away from church. I think it is equally disingenuous. When anyone has a concept of visiting church, it is not because it’s a social club, but because it is the house of God, and if an outsider or non-religious person comes into our midst as sees NO difference in our appearance, THAT is equally dangerous and likely of “scaring” them away because they might think: “Wow, these people say they are coming to worship God, and they just show up so casually. They must not think very highly of their God!”
Now, I'll be plain, I don't think wearing a tie makes me more holy. But neither do I think that my clothes have no relevance at all to my heart attitude towards God's worship, for the reasons i've just given. But really, with the clothing arguments out of the way, if outsiders are really going to be impacted by anything for good, it will not be our appearance, but rather the impact of hearing the truths of God’s word “laying bear the secrets of their own heart” as 1Cor. 14:25 makes clear. So even more than what they SEE, we need to make sure what they HEAR has the stuff that will have this very effect.
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