Articles
Bible Bits
Modest Apparel
“I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1 Tim. 2:9-10).
Modest apparel is clothing that does not attract undue attention to oneself and is in accordance with “decency and propriety.” It is the opposite of the showy, prideful way the world chooses to dress. Generally, when we think of immodesty, we immediately think of dressing in a way that reveals too much skin and too much shape. While that is true, the specific application made in this passage is to the worldly practice of over-dressing. In either case, the problem is the same: dressing in an overly attention-grabbing manner. Ultimately, the clothes Christians should adorn themselves with are good works. We should be known, not for our outward attire, but for our good deeds of godliness.
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Troubling Questions
“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Let me know why You contend with me. Is it right for You indeed to oppress, to reject the labor of Your hands, and to look favorably on the themes of the wicked?’” (Job 10:2-3)
Job struggled with a misunderstanding over some aspects of his suffering. He thought God was oppressing him without cause. It didn’t make sense to Job why he, a righteous man, was being afflicted by God while the wicked were often blessed by Him. This apparent injustice led Job to demand an explanation from God, an explanation he never received. Amazingly, Job remained faithful to God in spite of the troubling questions that vexed his mind. So must we.
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Hidden Wisdom
"Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:6-8).
The gospel is “the hidden wisdom.” It is hidden from those who operate by human wisdom, whose immaturity and arrogance blinds them from what otherwise would be crystal clear – that God glories in humility. The wise of this world cannot, by definition, understand God’s wisdom. This is all by design. In this way God’s wisdom would be hidden in a “mystery” so that the rulers of this age would end up fulfilling God’s plan for salvation by crucifying the Lord without realizing what they were actually doing. They thought they were defeating Christ. Little did they know they were participating in His victory. This is a thought worthy of meditation.
