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43 Blessed assurance Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine Salvation purchase of God Born of his spirit Here in Washington is This is my Says my song raising my save This is my story This is my song Raising my save all the day long Perfect submission Perfectly line Visions of rapture now burst on my side Angels descending bring from above Echoes of mercy Whispers of love This is my story This is my song Praising my This is my story This is my song Raising my save all the day long Perfect submission all is at rest I and my savior Happy and blessed Watching and waiting Looking above Bill with his goodness Lost in his love This is my story This is my song Praising my Day long This is my story This is my song Raising my save And let's pray Heavenly Father Lord again We just want to thank you God for another Sunday that we get to gather in your house and to hear your word preached I pray Lord now that you would just receive all the honor and glory out of everything that's said and done We love you for it's in Jesus name. We ask all that. Amen Or you may be seated and take your mountain Baptist Psalms hymns and spiritual songbooks your blue folders there and turn to page number four Page number four in your mountain Baptist songbooks. We'll sing Psalm 67 on page number four God be merciful unto us and bless us, and cause the space to shine upon us, that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God. Let all the people praise thee, O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy, for thou shalt judge the people, righteously and govern the nations upon earth. Let all the people praise thee, O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy, for thou shalt judge the people, righteously and govern the nations upon earth. Let all the people praise thee, O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy, for thou shalt judge the people, righteously and govern the nations upon earth. Let all the people praise thee, O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy, for thou shalt judge the people, righteously and govern the nations upon earth. I hope everybody had a safe Fourth of July. Everybody still has their appendages. That's the goal, you know, usually at the end anyway. But I think everybody had a good time out on Friday. I ate way too much this weekend, so that is the season, I guess. As far as service times today, everything is normal. So obviously we're on our Sunday morning service right now. We're going to have our afternoon service at 4 p.m. And then before that, though, we're going to have our soul winning time at 1 o'clock. So 1 p.m., meet up here a little before that to get teamed up, go out soul winning today. And then also the regional soul winning times, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, just be on the church group there as far as times, locations and everything. Obviously everything on here is tentative, but that can shift here and there. And then on the upcoming events, we do have the prayer meeting, so the women's prayer meeting on the 21st. And then the men's prayer meeting on the 26th. And so soul winning marathons that are upcoming on the 27th, we have Cumberland, Maryland. Brother Chris is leading that one up and organizing that, so if you can make it to that. And then on August 31st, Moorfield, West Virginia. I know brother Nick and brother Jim were getting that kind of organized there as well. And then for our church anniversary service, we usually always on the Saturday before do a soul winning marathon, I think we're going to go up in the Pittsburgh area. I'm thinking Canonsburg, so I don't think we've ever done a soul winning marathon in Canonsburg, so that's my thought process. And it's not just because the Sarah's Chocolate Factory is there. That's part of the reason, but no. So that being said, that's not on the list yet, but we're going to get that one organized as well. And on the back of your bulletin there, our memory chapter for the month is Psalm 126. So if you've been singing Psalm 126 with us, they that sow and tear shall reap in joy. This one should be pretty easy to memorize since it's set to song. The only thing is when we sing these songs, obviously we're repeating some of the lines. So when you're reading through the song, you're like, oh, it only says that once. Well, that's just how songs work. So, but that being said, anything to song will help you memorize stuff. Whether it's the books of the Bible, names of the books of the Bible, whether it's the ABCs, whatever the case may be. So hopefully everybody can get this psalm memorized, Psalm 126. And then Deuteronomy 22 5 is our memory verse for the week. So the woman shall not wear that which pertains unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment. For all that do so are an abomination unto the Lord thy God. And you say, well, it's July, you should have preached this on June. Well, you know, better late than never. Actually, this has nothing to do with, you know, pride month or anything like that. But good verse to have memorized. And then as far as birthdays, we sang happy birthday to Amanda, right? So the fourth, all those fireworks were for her. And then Kelly Slagle is on the 23rd. So we still have a little bit until then. Did we miss anybody? I know a lot of people were out because of sicknesses and all that type of stuff. Did we miss anybody's birthdays since then? None of the adults will admit it, I'm sure. Where's brother Lane at? And then anniversaries, we do have some anniversaries coming up here, but I don't think this week, right? So yeah, it'll be, the Alaska will be next week, right? So and then a couple more there. And then on the pregnancy list, be in prayer for Crystal McCloy. Crystal McCloy due in August with twins. So be in prayer for the McCloy family there. And then Rachel Hiles on the list there. So congratulations and also be in prayer for her and the Hiles family there. I think that's about all I have for announcements. That I can think of right now. So offering boxes in the back there if you want to give Tyler an offering. Mother baby rooms for the mother babies only. Brother Anthony is going to be reading Matthew chapter 23 for us. But we're going to sing a song first before that. All right, take your song books and turn to song number 22. Song number 22 in your song books was singing Are You Washed in the Blood? And we'll sing song number 22. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you walking daily by the Savior's side? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Do you rest each moment in the crucified? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? When the brine-groom cometh, will your robes be white? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Will your soul be ready for the mansion's bright moon? In the blood of the Lamb, are you washed in the blood? In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb, are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Lay aside the garments that are stained with scent, and be washed in the blood of the Lamb. There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean, Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb. Are you washed in the blood in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? All right, take your Bibles and turn to the book of Matthew, chapter number 23. Matthew, chapter number 23. In your Bibles, we'll have Brother Anthony come and read that for us. Matthew, chapter 23. The Bible reads, Then spake Jesus to the multitude and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe and do, but do not ye after their works, for they say and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do, for to be seen of men, they make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi, for one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your Father upon the earth, for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called Masters, for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant, and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer, therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind gods, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing. But whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Ye fools and blind, for whether is greater the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold. And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing. But whosoever swearth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind, for whether it is greater the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift. Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, swearth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, swearth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, swearth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithe of mint and anise, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like unto whitest suffocres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead man's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up, then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes, and some of them ye shall kill and crucify, and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city, that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barakas, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stone is them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, for I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for this morning. We have been gathered. Continue to learn from your word. Pray it should be a Pastor Robinson film for the Holy Spirit, and help us all to be edified. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. So you're there in Matthew chapter 23, and I'm going to be preaching a sermon that's probably going to step on toes, but you know what? I just always step on toes, I guess. But I haven't preached a sermon on this probably since 2019, like where I've done a whole sermon on this, but the name of the sermon is Tattoos, Piercings, and Dress Standards. And so I'm going to be preaching on basically our standards, or just what the Bible teaches on this issue. But I want to preface this sermon in the idea, or just knowing that obviously dress standards and things like this are not the weightier matters of the law. Okay? So meaning this is that this is not something that I just, I'm super critical of, or that something that I'm just like, just constantly wanting to come down everybody's throat on. And so obviously I have dress standards, I think the church should have dress standards, and all that stuff. And as far as getting into these other things, I'm going to just show you what the Bible teaches on this. But a lot of this has a lot of liberty in it, in the fact that it's not going to tell you exactly what you need to wear, and exactly all these different things. But I just kind of wanted to start off with the fact that there are weightier matters of the law, and there are things that are not weightier, or I guess that I guess you would call lighter, but they're still important. And that's kind of what I want to get to with this sermon, is that though these aren't the most important things, as far as what you should be focusing on as a Christian, in the end though, shouldn't we be trying to get everything together? Shouldn't we be trying to basically smooth out all the rough edges, and all that stuff? So this isn't a sermon necessarily for the new Christian, though they still need to hear it. Meaning that if someone just gets saved, these are the types of things that maybe aren't on the top priority list, as far as what you're looking at. I would just say read your Bible, get good doctrine, get the foundations down, and obviously don't kill, don't steal, don't lie. Those things are way more important than what I'm going to be preaching on, but it doesn't take away the fact that it's still important. And notice what it says here, Matthew 23 and verse 23. Because you know what, some people will say, they'll hear a sermon like, they'll be like, oh, you're a big Pharisee up there. Well, I'm going to a passage where it's literally ripping the Pharisees face off, where Jesus just rips their face off. And so I'm using the passage where Jesus is ripping their face off, and what people do is they throw the baby out with the bathwater, right? Because dress standards and all that stuff are not the primary thing, they say, well, they're just not important at all. Well, that's not true. It's the inside that matters, the outside doesn't matter at all. No, inside's more important, but the outside still matters. So that's what I'm going to be getting into. Now, Matthew chapter 23 and verse 23 says, well unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumen, I'm going to say it right because everybody gets on my case for saying it the wrong way, apparently, even though Scorby says it the other way. Cumen and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. These ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone. So is it saying that you shouldn't tithe on mint and anise and cumen? Does it say you shouldn't tithe on it? No, you should, but guess what? Faith, mercy, judgment, those things are more important than you tithing on basically all your spices, okay? And so it's not just throwing that out. It's just saying, yeah, do that, but hey, get the important stuff in it, you know, like the really prioritized type of stuff in there. It says, verse 24, ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat and swallow a camel, well unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, and people just usually stop reading there. It's just the inside that matters. It's like, yeah, do that first. That's the priority, right? If you're going to talk about like what does priority mean, it's what's first, what's top of the list, principle. You know, that's going to be the first thing, right? Yes, the inside, but it says that the outside of them may be clean also, right? So the idea there is that you start from within, but ultimately you want that inside to clean the outside as well, but you don't start from the outside in, okay? And what's going on here is that the scribes and the Pharisees, they're completely wicked inside, but on the outside they have this facade, okay? And just for the kids, what is facade? Facade is like basically the brick on the outside of a building, okay? Or the siding on the outside of a building. Is the siding in the brick holding the building up? Is that that important? No, okay? That could all be ripped off, building's still standing. But it looks nice, doesn't it? Right, you obviously want to have that, and it's just like, it'd be like saying, okay, you know, I'm going to build this house, but the outside is going to look like pure garbage. It's like you could live in it, and it would be fine, and structurally speaking it's fine, but wouldn't you rather it look nice on the outside as well? Wouldn't you rather it match what's inside? Someone walks in and be like, this is a beautiful house, from the outside it looks like pure garbage, but I mean the inside it looks great. That's better than the outside looking great and the inside just falling apart and decaying and full of just trash and, you know, all that stuff. Does that make sense? Like, obviously the inside is more important than the outside, but the outside still matters. It says, well unto you scribes, verse 27, and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. Even so, ye also outwardly appear righteous on the men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. And so obviously, here's what the Pharisee is, they look good on the outside, but the inside is just wickedness. So you don't want to be, that's being the Pharisee when it comes to dress standards. Okay, meaning you go to a church and everybody's wearing a suit and tie and everybody looks good, but inside they're full of wickedness, they're full of false doctrine, you know, or they, you know, they're in deep sin or whatever. It's like, well, who gives a rip if you're wearing nice clothes, if you're wicked, right? Or if you're unsaved, what does that matter? But we don't want to go the other direction and say, well, because the inside is the most important, the outside doesn't matter at all. So I'm gonna be like one of those creatures that goes to Walmart wearing, you know, like whatever they woke up in a fever dream and, you know, you know what I'm talking about, okay? The idea here is that, hey, you know, be presentable, you know, all these different things with your dress standards, okay? And here's a life hack and I'm getting ahead of myself. You want people to respect you out in the world, dress nice, that's a life hack right there. You want people to call you sir, ma'am, you know, all those things, it's ma'am, no, I'm just kidding. Men, you want to be called sir, women, you want to be called ma'am, miss, like all that, you dress nice, it'll almost automatically happen because they think you're like on a mission somewhere, they're like, who is this person? Because it sticks out like a sore thumb in a lot of cases when it comes to dress standards of the world and anything. Anyway, so go to John chapter seven, John chapter seven, verse 24. I was just out soul winning on Wednesday and I had this conversation with this older lady and she was nice, but she was basically talking about like, she was like Methodist and she was talking about like how, you know, when it comes to Baptist, the Baptist, she's just like, they just seem arrogant and prideful and like just preaching hard and like all these different things. But it was all about the judgment stuff, you know, like, you know, we shouldn't be judgmental and so I obviously quoted her to this verse and John seven, verse 24 says, judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment. And what this means is that basically, I'm not to just judge someone just based on what they look like, right? When we go out soul winning, for example, I don't know whether someone's saved. I don't care if they're wearing a suit and tie when I run up to them. It's not like when I run up to them. I'm not exactly bull rushing people, but when I walk up to them and like ask them, you know, if they go to church or whatever, if they say they don't go to church at all, that doesn't mean that I'm not looking, I don't look at them and be like, well, they're not saved. Or if they're all, you know, they have tattoos all over them or they're wearing like some like biker outfit or something like that and they're just like, you know, in this, maybe like what you would consider not to be like the best dressed or whatever. Listen, a lot of times I'll find those people are saved because I ask them what they believe and they're right on. And then the person that looks really good, just got out of church and all that stuff is lost as a goose in the caboose in the snowstorm. And it doesn't really matter what they look like or whatever on the outside, it's what's in the heart when it comes to salvation. But, so we are to judge, but we need to judge righteous judgment. We need to judge, obviously, not based off the appearance, but based off the heart. And you know, James chapter two, go to James chapter two, covers this as well, and what this really gets into is that we don't want to be a respecter or a person, it's just based off what someone looks like. Okay? So hopefully after this preface of this sermon, you know that I'm not coming into this just to be like, hey, this is the most important thing. You know, when you get saved, you better get your dress standards right. That's number one. You know, when people, we'll win someone out to, you know, out, soul winning, and they'll ask about church and be like, what's the dress standards? You know what I tell them? Don't be naked. I'm like, we're good. And I say, you know, if you're a man, obviously don't wear a dress coming in here. But don't be naked. Cover your nakedness and we'll be good. Okay? And I obviously tell them like, hey, you know, obviously, you know, you're gonna come to church and you're gonna see people in suits and ties and all these different things, but if you're gonna see people not wearing suits and ties, you're gonna be, all that stuff, right? But that's not the number one thing I'm telling someone to do. You know what they need to do is get in, hear the word of God, get good doctrine, and listen, the inside needs to be purified and they need to have a desire to want to even change the outside. And it needs to be for the right reasons. And a big reason that I wanna preach, that I like preaching sermons like this is because we have a lot of young people in our church, right? We have a lot of kids in our church. And, you know, when our kids are under our roof, obviously, they're gonna have the dress standards that we give them. That make sense? Like, obviously, my kids wear what we buy them, okay? So by default, they're gonna wear what we tell them to wear, right? The question is, is once they get out of the house, what's gonna cause them to have good standards after that? I believe what's gonna cause that is that they don't do it because their dad told them to do it or their mom told them to do it. They realize that, hey, God wants this. Because when they're out of the house, they're no longer under the authority of the parents. Does that make sense? But they're always under God's authority, okay? And each person in here has to decide why they have the standards that they have. Obviously, when you're under your parents' roof, you gotta abide by what your parents say. But you need to decide yourself, personally, this is why I wear, you know, ladies, this is why I wear a dress. Men, this is why I wear what I wear, right? This is why I carry myself the way I carry myself. This is the reason why I act the way I act. And ultimately, you can look to the Bible and say, hey, here's a Bible principle, here's a Bible verse that says this is why. And it's not just because I said so. Now, obviously, when you're dealing with toddlers, you're not gonna reason with a toddler, right? You don't just be like, all right, listen, son. He's like two or three. You're like, let me explain to you why you can't have a cookie right now, okay? Have fun. Having like a serious conversation with a toddler. You just say, you can't have it because it said you can't have it. And you just have to be because I said so. But there has to become a point where it's not just because I said so. There needs to be a teaching there of like, here's why. Here's why I have the standard, here's why I believe you should have the standard, and when you leave the home, this is why you should still have that standard, okay? And it's not to please your parents, it's to please God, okay? Now, James chapter two, I just wanna also state this as well, is that when people come to the church and people are dressed different, different standards and all that stuff, I'm not judging their spirituality based off their dress standards, okay? Now, if you're going to be in leadership, okay? For example, if like you're gonna come up here and preach a sermon, I expect you to be in a tie, a shirt and tie. Does the Bible say, Al shall wear a shirt and tie when behind the pulpit? No, it doesn't, but I'm the pastor, I'm the leader, and I make the rules when it comes to who preaches, okay? So I have certain standards that I set up there, but I'm not gonna say, that person over there at that church is not preaching with a tie on, they're wicked, and you know, I'm gonna condemn them. Chapter and verse. In order to be sinning, you have to be transgressing the law of the Bible, right? And you know what? You don't wanna be guilty of making for doctrines the commandments of men. Like you're in sin because you're not wearing what I would wear, okay? Now, I'll give you a start. Obviously, our memory verse is a very, you know, stern verse when it comes to what you're wearing, but I'm gonna be getting into that. But James chapter two and verse one, okay? James chapter two and verse one says, My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. So it's basically saying, don't basically come into the church having this respect of persons. And what that is gonna be getting into is specifically on the outward appearance. You're respecting somebody. You're giving someone credence or not giving them credence. You're giving them honor. You're not giving them honor just based off what they look like, okay? This could get into dress. This could get into, you know, I hate to even talk about, like, skin color because it's just so overused, okay? But, you know, the idea of, you know, the fact that, well, someone, you know, whether they're black or whether they're white, right? And in America, it's just like, there's just such a divide there when it comes to that. Well, what does that matter, right? What does skin color matter? What does what you're dressed like matter? How much your clothes cost matter? What does any of that matter on the outside? Why are we judging someone's spirituality based off of that, okay? And so in verse two there, it says, for there come unto your, if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring in goodly apparel. Guess what? I'm wearing a gold ring and I got goodly apparel on. It's not wrong, okay? So when you're reading this story, it's not like it's wrong for that guy to come in there with a gold ring in good apparel. The principle that's being made here, though, is the contrast of how you're treating these people, okay? Notice what it says here. And there come in also a poor man in vile raiment. And what this means is that they just don't have good clothes on. But it's not because they're choosing not to put good clothes on. It's because they're poor and they can't afford that. Does that make sense? Like, it's very clear that you're talking about a rich person, you're talking about a poor person, and so it's basically saying, these two people that are walking in, how do you deal with that, right? It says, in verse three, it says, and you have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing. Now, gay obviously does not mean what it means today in 2024. I mean, I remember the Flintstones, that they're gonna have a gay old time, and it was not talking about Pride Month, okay? You know, we're gonna dawn the gay apparel. I mean, that's in a Christmas song, okay? So gay literally just means like happy, joyful, or in a case of this, kind of like more like bright. Like bright clothing, right? Because clothing that had bright colors costs more, because you had to dye them and all this other stuff, okay? And so anyway, basically it's just gonna be a more costly clothing, because it's obviously not just gonna be like the color of cotton, right? The color of linen, you know? It's gonna have to have more process in there. It says, him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, sit thou here in a good place, and say to the poor, stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool. So what are they doing? They're basically giving them seating, based off how they're dressed or their money. This is wrong, okay? It says, hearken, my beloved brethren, I'm sorry, in verse four, are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men impress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme the worthy name by the which ye are called? What it's basically saying here is that, if there were to be a preference, I mean think about it, if there were to be a preference on how you're gonna treat somebody, wouldn't you treat the poor better? It's not saying to do that, right? Because you're not, in the law, it basically says, it doesn't matter if they're poor or rich, just judgment needs to be given. You don't give someone a break because they're poor, and you don't give someone a break because they're rich, it doesn't matter. Just judgment, it is not to be a respecter of persons when it comes to judgment. But, it's kinda saying, I mean, if there were gonna be someone that you're gonna treat better, and give a better seat, wouldn't it be the poor that's rich in faith, than the rich that are the ones that are harder than a camel to go through the eye of the needle to be saved? So, it's just showing you that. So, there's my preface, okay? Hopefully everybody understands what I believe on this, and that when you come in here, and you're not wearing a suit and tie, know that I'm not looking down my nose at you. Just not. At all, okay? And if you come in here in a suit and tie, it's not like I'm like, yeah. You've just reached another level with me, okay? It doesn't matter to me. Like I said, I'm gonna give you my reasons as far as why I wear a suit and tie, why I dress up and stuff like that when it comes to church. And you may not have that standing. You may say, well, I respect that. Hopefully you respect that, right? Hopefully you're not just like, you need to be like John the Baptist wearing a leather girdle and camel's hair, eating locust and wild honey out in the wilderness. You can have that thought process, but in the end, we're gonna maybe have different standards when it comes to that. And I'm not here to fight you on that. I'm not here to be like, well, one day you'll get right with God, and you'll put on a tie. Go to Leviticus chapter 19. So I'm gonna get to dress standards. I wanna deal with a subject of tattoos, okay? Tattoos, okay? Again, if you have a tattoo, I'm not here to preach against you. I'm not here to like make you feel bad or anything like that. Again, half our church, more than half our church are children who don't have tattoos, okay? But this sermon is for you specifically and any adults that maybe are thinking about wanting to get tattoos, that the Bible teaches against it, okay? Like I said, is this like the number one most important thing? I mean, like getting a tattoo, you might as well just kill somebody. No, okay? Obviously, there are commandments that are more grievous than others, okay? But this is a commandment nonetheless, and you need to know that the Bible teaches against having tattoos, okay? Leviticus 19 verse 28. Leviticus 19 verse 28. I'm gonna show you the straight up commandment and that case closed, shut your Bibles. I mean, if the Bible commands it, do you need anything else? But then I'm gonna get into, I believe, the reasoning why, okay? And that's just a bonus, honestly, okay? Because you really should just say, thus saith the Lord, case closed. But in verse 28 here, it says, ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you, I am the Lord. So, printing any marks upon you is literally what tattooing is. You're literally taking ink and you're shoving it underneath the skin with a needle and you're making a permanent print on your body, okay? You know what some people say? Well, you know, but I had this tattoo because of someone that passed away and it's in memory of them. It literally says it for that reason. It says it in the verse to not make cuttings in your flesh for the dead, okay? And you say, well, you know, that's more for like satanic worship and all this other stuff and all that. Take it as you will, it's interesting that it talks about making carvings in your flesh for the dead and not printing marks on your body in the same verse, okay? But either way, would it really matter if it's for the dead or not? If it's for a past loved one or not? When the Bible says not to print any marks upon you, okay? Go to Leviticus 21, Leviticus 21. And I wanna give you the reason why I believe it because Leviticus 21 mentions this but I believe it's surrounding it with why you don't wanna do this, okay? Again, if you have tattoos today, well, there's not much you can do about it, okay? I mean, but know this is that, you know, like, well, I can get it removed. Have fun with that, you know? And I'm being facetious with that, meaning like, like if you're a young one out there, be like, well, if I get a tattoo, I can just have it removed. Go look up someone that's got a tattoo removed and see how it looks. It's not gonna look like just your skin was before. You're gonna know something was there, okay? You're gonna have some kind of marking still there, blemish that's still there. It's just not, you're just not gonna see what the tattoo used to be, okay? But Leviticus 21 verse one, I remember when I was younger, you know, like 18, 19, you're like, oh, it'd be cool to get like a tattoo of like some small tattoo or something like that. But you know why I could never do it, besides that my dad would probably beat me? It's just because it was so permanent. And I'm just someone that just, I just, anything that's that permanent, that's too big of a decision. To know like, this is gonna be there forever, am I gonna regret this one day? And that's one huge reason why I never got a tattoo. And again, I'm not here to just like, self-anggrandize myself in front of you and be like, I don't have a tattoo, therefore I'm better than you. Like I said, if you have a tattoo, it's not like I, I believe it's a sin, but at the same time, like, I don't believe it's like, I would compare it to like not tithing on mint and anise, right? But at the same time, there are some stark warnings against defiling the temple of God, okay? And we need to be careful with this. And Leviticus 21, verse one, it says, and the Lord said unto Moses, speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, there shall none be defiled for the dead among his people. Now, when it's coming to, it's talking about the priests in particular, but it's talking about being defiled, obviously. And it's talking about like dead, like people, someone died, right? And it's talking about basically not coming at a dead body, but it gives these exceptions. It says, verse two, but for his kin, that is near unto him, that is for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, and for his sister, a virgin that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband, for her may he be defiled. Okay, so there's kind of like this stark thing, basically, to not be defiled with a dead body, unless it's close kin. It says in verse four, but he shall not defy himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself. They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God, for the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God they do offer, therefore they shall be holy. They shall not take a wife that is a whore or profane, neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband, for he is holy unto his God. Thou shalt sanctify him therefore, for he offerth the bread of thy God, he shall be holy unto thee, for I the Lord, which sanctify you, am holy. And you may say, well, this is the Levitical priesthood, this is just talking about a certain group of people, but what you have to understand is that in the New Testament, we are the royal priesthood. That means every single one of you that's a believer is a part of that royal priesthood. That's just like going to Proverbs 31 and be like, well, that's just for King Lemuel not to drink wine and strong drink. It's like just for him. Or maybe you can hold yourself to a higher standard. Okay? And what you have to understand is that, you know, it's not like, basically it's stating don't be defiled and here's all these different things you shouldn't do. Okay? And what it really comes down to, when it comes to like, for example, the beard and stuff like that, I believe when it's talking about like baldness on your head, or it talks about marring the corners of your beard. Okay, so what this is really getting into is looking weird. Okay? Like just having a weird haircut, having a weird beard, like all these different things. Just be normal looking. Right? That's what this really comes down to. You're like, well, what's normal? There's a big threshold in normal. Okay? As far as where you're going to be at. But when it comes to this, don't just have, it'd be like me just shaving this part right here. Like shaving like right here and you're just like, what are you doing? Just look odd, right? Let me give you an example. The old fryers. Okay, you heard of fryer tuck from Robin Hood, right? What do they do? They like shave this part around here, right? And it's kind of like this half balding type of thing, right? But it's like, it's just this like part right here, his hair, and then right down here. Weird. Weird. That's what I believe this is talking about, okay? Does that, you know, like obviously you can have longer hair, men, and shorter hair, and there's a threshold within that, okay? And when I say longer, I'm not talking about down to your shoulders. But when it comes to this, when you think about what's the reasoning for not getting printings on your body, is to not defile the temple. Okay, go to 1 Corinthians chapter six. Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. And specifically in the New Testament, right? Because in the Old Testament, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost wasn't a thing, right? People would be filled with the Spirit, the Spirit of God would come upon them. But in the New Testament, the great thing about the New Testament is that the Holy Spirit is literally taking up residence in your body, okay? And He's always there. Whether you're sinning or not, the Holy Spirit is there, and that's why it says, Grieve not the Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Because He's there, and whether you like it or not. But that means that your body, as a believer, is the temple of God. And in verse 18 here, specifically, when it comes to defiling, in this passage, it's talking about fornication, okay? So obviously, if you're gonna say, well, what's worse, a tattoo or fornication? Fornication, okay? But I do believe tattoos would be in this mix, okay? Meaning that there's obviously different levels of how to defile the body. But in verse 18, it says, Flee fornication, every sin that a man doeth, is without the body. But he that comitteth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. So basically, your body's not your own. You need to take care of it because it's God's, okay? Go to 1 Corinthians chapter three, so go back a few chapters there. And this can cover tattoos, but this could also cover, you say, well, the Bible doesn't say anything against smoking, okay? I'm talking about smoking cigarettes or whatever, because you could make an argument with smoking, like, weed or something like that, that you're not sober. But I would say, obviously, with cigarettes, you're not exactly not sober, okay? I mean, you're probably still sober when you're doing that type of stuff. But it does hurt your body. But also, eating cheeseburgers every single day does, too. So you gotta think about that stuff. Whether it's smoking, whether it's eating really bad, and destroying your body, there's different ways to file and destroy your body. Does that make sense? Man, I'm not gonna get into all of them. But I believe tattoos would be one of these ways. But notice what it says in 1 Corinthians chapter three and verse 16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. And isn't that what Leviticus 21 is talking about, is be ye holy, for I, the Lord thy God, am holy? And Leviticus 18, 19, 20, 21 is all about being holy, being sanctified, and sanctifying your body for the master's use. That is what we're talking about here. And tattooing your body is not honoring that temple. And when it comes to this, we're fearfully and wonderfully made. And I don't believe that we should be just doing these big alterations in our body. Obviously, I'm not talking about this trans crap movement that's out there. I mean, that stuff is just out there. Obviously, that's wicked. What I'm talking about is doing life-altering things to your body just for appearance sakes and all these different things. Because like I said, if you agree with me that the outward appearance isn't number one priority, then why spend the money on a whole bunch of plastic surgery, on tattoos. Listen, tattoos are expensive. I used to lift a lot with a guy who's literally a tattoo artist. He's also an atheist. And I talked with him about religion. We talked about a lot of different things and all that stuff. But the thing is that these type of things are expensive. I remember just asking him, how much does it cost for a tattoo? And obviously, that's like asking how much it costs to design a building, how deep is a gallon, how wide is an acre, right? Because there's a lot of different factors there, right? But in the end, there's a certain amount, depending on the size and all this stuff, the intricacies and everything else. But you're talking hundreds, yay, thousands of dollars. That you're spending on this. And for what? Appearance? Because that's obviously what it's for. For appearance, so people see it. And so, that being said, the Bible, I believe, SARP command against it. And the reasoning behind it, I believe, is we want to be holy before the Lord our God. We don't want to file our bodies. And that's one way that I believe to file your body in context of where that commandment's even at, okay? And you say, well, that's Leviticus. Well, you know, Leviticus 19, where that commandment's at, also says, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. So don't be like the world that wants to just throw out Leviticus, okay? Now, go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, and what you have to understand is that a lot of this stuff, when it comes to this, is just a natural law, right? When it comes to hair length, it is just known by nature that men should have short hair, women should have long hair. That's just a natural law, okay? Because notice what it says here in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 14. It says, Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for a covering. That's just by nature. And what you have to understand, when it comes to your appearance, the idea is that, I'm not saying to be some crunchy hippie, okay, that doesn't wear deodorant, okay? That just like, or doesn't do anything to clean themselves. They're just like, I'm all natural, like just coming out of the woods, okay? But in the end, in the end, you want to just be normal looking, kind of natural looking, okay? But this doesn't mean that I'm against, you know, maybe this is controversial. I'm not against makeup. I'm against being excessive with the makeup, okay? Don't look like a clown coming in here, okay? This isn't Instagram. We don't have to filter your whole face before you come in, you know? I'm not against makeup, you know? I know all the women wish they could be like men and just naturally look this good, you know? I don't have to wear anything. I'm not against makeup. I'm not against, you know, obviously looking, you know, looking good and looking attractive and all these different things. These are all fine, okay? But don't go overboard, okay? It's kind of like the Amish and how the Amish have like good principles but they go overboard with it. It's like modest apparel. I'm going to look like a pilgrim. It's like, well, so much for being modest because, you know, modesty is like not drawing attention to yourself. That draws attention to people, okay? So in their zeal to be modest, they're actually going the opposite direction. They're not like maybe being naked and showing off nakedness, but at the same time, they're not exactly, you know, blending in as far as like not showing off, okay? Now let me give you one argument when it comes to tattoos that I've seen, okay? Now maybe there's other arguments out there and you can come to me later and say, here's why, pastor, I believe you're wrong and tattoos are great. But go to Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19. This is the one that I've heard or one that I can remember anyway. I didn't exactly look up arguments for tattoos in the Bible. Because frankly, I don't care. You know, if someone has some avant-garde passage that they're going to bring up to me, I have a commandment. That's like when someone's just like, hey, this parable over here teaches work salvation. How about for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. How about believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. Put that in your pipe and smoke it and take your parable somewhere else, okay? I have it straight up, here's what you must do, here's the command of what you need to do. You know, but people always want to do that. It's like how about take the commandment number one and then go into passages and parables should be like on the bottom of the totem pole as far as where you're getting your doctrine from, okay? Not saying it's not profitable, it's obviously profitable for instruction. Revelation chapter 19 of verse 16 says this, it says, and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, king of kings and lord of lords. And I've heard people say, well Jesus, he must have a tattoo on his thigh, okay? Which I don't believe for a second, okay? Now here's why. If you read Revelation 1 before you got to chapter 19, you would understand that he has a garment that's going all the way down to his foot, okay? Revelation 1, 13 says this about Jesus, it says, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot. Now, I don't know if you noticed, but I'm wearing a garment down to the foot. It's called pants, okay? Now, if I had a tattoo on my thigh, could you see it? If you could see it, guess what? I'm naked before you right now, because I'm gonna show you that the Bible defines nakedness from the loins to the thighs, okay? So, they would have to say that he's literally showing off his thigh to show this. What's really going on here is that he's got a name written on his vesture specifically where his thigh is at. Does that make sense? It's like on his thigh, on his vesture, there's a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, okay? So, but that's all that I've heard when it comes to like defending tattoos. Now, you may have one that's out there that you say, well, here's a good, compelling one. You can tell me later, okay? And listen, okay, just to be honest with you, if you come to me later and you're just like, you know what, Pastor? I think you're out to lunch. I think tattoos are great. I'm not policing you. I'm not gonna be like following you to the tattoo shop and picketing it and saying, what are you doing, okay? You can do what you wanna do, okay? But all I'll say with this is that don't say that I haven't told you this is what the Bible says, okay? Because my job as a pastor is to warn you and you take that for what you want, okay? Go to Ezekiel chapter 16, Ezekiel chapter 16. So I said tattoos, piercings, and dress standards. Now, by the title, you would assume that I'm against piercings, but you would be wrong, okay? I'm actually not against piercings. Actually, besides, obviously, the way it talks about they pierce his hands and his feet, obviously, I'm not for, you know, necessarily the crucifixion here. But when it comes to piercings in the Bible, like earrings and stuff like that, the Bible does not teach against that. Actually, the Bible more so affirms it, okay? I just took a turn right there. You're just like, I figured you were just gonna throw down on piercings, right? So, but actually, what I wanna show you, and here's the thing, don't you wanna know that, hey, I have earrings, that's okay? Hey, I have piercings, you know, like I have ear piercings, and that's okay, okay? Because, you know, there's probably sermons out there like condemning ear piercings and all this other stuff and everything else, but here's the thing. What I wanna show you first is where I believe that God is literally talking about the fact that he allowed them to have these things, and he gave them these things, okay? Now, go to Ezekiel 16. Now, Ezekiel 16, obviously, he's gonna be getting into, he's talking about Jerusalem. So it's kind of personifying Jerusalem, the city, as a woman, okay? So, but you can still look at what it's saying there, and that would apply to any woman that would be in Jerusalem or anywhere, right? And notice what it says in Ezekiel 16, verse one. It says, again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem. Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan. Thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite, which is like the first burn, like big burn that you'll see in the Bible, meaning that, you know, like your mom, your mom jokes. Well, your mom was an Amorite! You know, anyway. It doesn't really hit as hard in 2024, but back then, it was probably, that was probably a sick burn there. Verse 10, okay? So all joking aside, we're personifying Jerusalem. It's talking to Jerusalem, but it's gonna be talking to Jerusalem as if it's a woman. And in verse 10 here, it says, I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badger skin, and I girded thee with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. Notice this, I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck, I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears. Now, if this was wrong, to have earrings, then why would God say that, hey, I did that. I decked you with this. These are all blessings, by the way. This is basically showing you that I blessed you, and then he's gonna say, but then you turned from me, and you didn't do what you should be doing. But then it goes on to say, it says, and a beautiful crown upon thine head, thus wast thou decked with gold and silver, and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk embroidered work, and didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil, and now wast exceeding beautiful, and now didst prosper into a kingdom. So here, I don't see earrings as being, you know, like a sign of a curse or whatever. Now, you'll find places where it says that, you know, the men wore golden earrings because they were Ishmaelites. It's like, okay, you can find places where other people are wearing earrings, but that doesn't necessarily make it wrong. Meaning this is that they probably had specific earrings that, like, you knew that was an Ishmaelite, right? It's kind of like a certain type of clothing that, or whatever, that would kind of recognize them, right? Go to Isaiah chapter 30, or, I'm sorry, Isaiah chapter three, Isaiah chapter three. When it comes to this, you don't want to have earrings? Fine. You want to have earrings? Fine. Don't care. I don't believe that the Bible condemns it. Actually, it's kind of showing it as being a blessing that, hey, God has given you all these different things, whether it's good apparel, you know, you know, a chain about the neck. It's obviously talking about a necklace, okay? And so, you know, having jewelry isn't wrong. And even in the New Testament, what I'll show you is that it's not wrong to have jewelry. It's wrong if that's all people see from you, though. If that's the thing that they notice from you is just what you're wearing, what you look like, and all that, and that just, like, outshines the inward man, that's where the issue's at, okay? But it's not wrong to have a ring, or I wouldn't be wearing a ring, okay? Because then that would be called a Pharisee, okay, at that point, if I'm just like, don't wear any jewelry, you know? Now, in Isaiah 3 and verse 16, there's gonna be a curse that's put upon, basically it's talking about the fact that Israel's being cursed and all that, but notice what it says here. This one isn't as strong saying, like, signifying that God's giving them this stuff, but from Ezekiel, you can see that God gave him this stuff. This is more so saying, like, I'm taking that away, okay? It says in verse 16, And moreover, the Lord said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tingling with their feet, therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts. In that day, the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments upon their feet, and their calls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings, the rings, and nose jewels, and changeable suits of apparel, and the mantels, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils, and it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink, and instead of a girdle, a rent, and instead of well-set hair, baldness, and instead of a stomacher, a girdle of sackcloth, and burning instead of beauty. So it's basically saying all these good things that you have, taken away because of your wickedness. And let me just give you a couple proverbs. You probably noticed nose jewels in there. You're like, are you telling me that it's okay to have that? Listen, I'm just telling you what the Bible teaches here. And take it with what you will. When it comes to jewelry and all that, all I'm saying is that show me a verse where it says you're not to have a piercing. I can show you a verse where it says not to have a tattoo. It doesn't say tattoo, but printings upon your body I would say is what a tattoo is. At that point you're just saying the definition. But go to Proverbs chapter 25 and verse 12. Proverbs 25 and verse 12. Proverbs 25 and verse 12 it says, As an earing of gold and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. Doesn't sound like a bad thing. Now notice what it says here in Proverbs chapter 11 verse 22. As a jewel of gold and a swine snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. Now on the surface you'd be like, well this isn't a good verse for it. But what you have to understand is that there's a comparison here. The jewel of gold and the swine snout. Now any kid can see what matches in the next portion. The fair woman would match with the jewel of gold, wouldn't it? And the swine would match with the woman without discretion. And what it's saying here is that a beautiful woman that has no discretion is like looking at a jewel of gold that's very beautiful but it's in a swine snout. At that point you're just like, a pig's wearing it though. So I believe that in this case that could very well be the case. Now I'm not saying to get a stud between your nose like a pig. I'm just saying that this is what, you know, the Bible shows this as being apparel that people had. This doesn't mean you have to wear bonnets. It doesn't mean that you have to wear, you know, all these wimples and crisping pins. I don't even know what half this stuff is. And maybe ladies you know what this stuff is. You know, but I'm reading through this and I'm like, I know what a stomacher is, right? Isn't that like one of those things that they tighten up to like, anyway, corsets. Anyway, you know, I don't care about these things because I don't have to wear them and I don't have to worry about it, okay. Now you say, well what about, you see all these for women, what about men? Well, you know, in Exodus 32 it talks about how they took off the earrings of their women to make this golden calf, okay. And of their sons and their daughters, okay. I wouldn't use that as strong, a strong case for why men should wear earrings, okay. Because that's not exactly a good story to be working with there. They weren't exactly right with God at the time, okay. But let me show you a case where the Bible literally commands a man's ear to be pierced, okay. Not to necessarily put an earring in it. But go to Exodus chapter 21. So in order for piercings to be wrong, it'd be really odd if God's commanding it to be done in a certain case. Okay, now obviously most people aren't going to be in this case, okay. So, now here, let me just give you my reasoning why I believe men should stay away from piercings and all this stuff, okay. Because we live in a world that's a gender-bending world and we don't want to give any credence to look feminine, okay. But also, just know this, is that jewelry in general on men is just odd because we are out there doing work. I don't wear my ring when I'm like working out on my property, when I'm lifting, or anything like that. Because I'm going to rip my finger off, okay. So, it's not because I'll be like, well you don't want to show people you're married. Not, the chickens don't care, okay. But, obviously if I'm out in public, I wear a ring for a certain purpose, okay. But, I believe that men should stay away from that type of stuff just for the practicality of it. Does that make sense? The practicality of it is that that's more of a feminine thing because women aren't the ones that are out there just doing manual labor and dealing with stuff to where you're worried about your earring pulling out of your ear. I wear things to be practical in most cases and I want to just be like, hey, you know like I said, men think about like if you're going to take out a bear. You don't want the bear, you don't want to be thinking about your earrings while you're trying to take out a bear. Or you're trying to protect your family or different things like that, okay. These are just things that tend to be on the feminine side, okay. Rings tend to be on the feminine side, but I think that a wedding ring has a purpose and therefore I think it's a good thing to have. But if you didn't want to have a wedding ring, I don't think you're wrong. I don't think you're wicked. But that's my thought process on it. But let me just show you here. In Exodus chapter 21 and verse 5 here it says, And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife and my children, I will not go out free. So it's talking about basically someone that's an indentured servant. They've done their servitude. They're to go free, but instead they just want to stay a servant to their master, okay. And what it says here, then his master shall bring him unto the judges and he shall also bring him to the door or unto the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl and he shall serve him forever. Now, it doesn't say pierced, but I'm pretty sure that's what that means, okay. That he's basically putting a hole in his ear to signify that, hey, you're my servant forever, okay. So, I'm not against piercings, but I'll say this, in moderation, right. I've seen, listen, when it comes to piercings, that people will be so pierced up that they don't look normal. And again, it gets into the normalcy, right, of it. And the fact that, do you look normal? And so, and you say, well, where's the line of being normal? It's like, figure it out, okay. Like, I'm not a peer to just determine what's the normal line, but I'll say this, having earrings in your ears, like having both ears pierced is normal. The Bible doesn't condemn it. Actually, it seems to say, give credence to it. So, you're, I mean, at that point, you know you're good, right. But when it comes to any of this type of stuff, do you want to tread the line or you just want to just be on the safe side? And any time that maybe you're doubting, listen, he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not with faith. So, if you think it's wrong or think it could be wrong, then don't do it. Any time anybody ever asks me something, they're like, well, I'm not sure this is right, then don't do it. But if you're convinced of the law and you say, well, the law says, hey, this is fine, and you're convinced, then okay. But that being said, when it comes to all these different standards, know that there's like a threshold there and my advice is just to make sure that you're not treading the line. When it comes to your hair length, don't tread the line. You're like, well, is my hair short or long? It's like, well, if you have to wonder, then maybe you should make it a little more extreme, okay. Deuteronomy 22.5, Deuteronomy 22.5, this verse right here, listen, you know, young ones, you say, well, why do we have dress standards? Well, this should be number one on the priority list is that you don't want to be an abomination to the Lord, okay. Notice what it says in Deuteronomy 22.5, the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God. Okay, so it's interesting because most people would know that you say, well, this is talking about cross-dressing. Okay, yeah, exactly, okay. So, should a man wear a dress? No. Well, let me ask you a question, what should a woman not wear then? Because what usually happens with this verse is that it comes into this effect that, well, there's something that a man can't wear but basically not women, there's nothing that a woman can't wear. That wouldn't make any sense. Now, let's just, what I believe it's talking about is pants and skirts, okay. And why I say skirts is because a dress is obviously, you know, more of a full garment. But really what you're talking about is from the loins to the thighs, okay. And obviously the thigh would go to the knee, okay. So, it's that garment that we're talking about. But it's that garment on the outside that we're talking about. So, let me be very clear, I've had people ask me questions like this. Is it wrong for a woman to wear long johns in the winter time? Well, no, it's not wrong. Because it's underwear, okay. The definition of, well, I guess I don't know the definition of long johns but basically a thermal underwear, okay. Now, what this really gets into, okay, is that there's going to be garments that would be considered britches, okay. Now, what are britches? Britches have a breech, okay. Go to Exodus chapter 28 and I'll just show you that, Exodus chapter 28. But britches are derived from breeches or, you know, basically there's a breech in the garment. And it's always funny to me when people are just like, well, you know, the pants weren't invented back then and everybody wore, you know, all the men wore dresses. It's like, I'm going to disprove that in the Bible. But at the same time, they figured out shirts. They figured out how to do this right here. But this was just a conundrum. They're just like, I just don't know what to do. Like, how do we do this? It's insanity, my friends. And by the way, I mean, even secular history will show you the pants that Persians wore back like 3,000 years ago. They have them preserved in a museum. But even if you were to read literature about like the Persians and the Grecians wore and the fact that the Persians were making fun of the Greeks for wearing dresses because they were wearing pants. And what you got to get out of is stop looking at Leonardo da Vinci's paintings of what they said the apostles and Jesus looked like back, you know, over a thousand years, you know, after Christ was walking on the earth because no one had a camera back then, just so you know. And there's not paintings of Jesus back when he was actually walking on the earth. This is what people, that'd be like me making a painting of like, of someone that lived a thousand years ago and then say, but there was no picture of him. I'm just going off what I think he looks like. Like, well, you know, but the culture back then. Yet there's really no evidence secularly of what the culture was back then. Okay. So when you're dealing with this, really the Bible is what you're going to have there and show me where it says that Jesus wore a dress. Like, well, he had a coat. I have a coat on. Does that mean I'm wearing a dress? So that being said, I'm going to rip this thing off. Ultimately, men should wear pants. Women should wear skirts. And in Deuteronomy, Exodus chapter 28, verse 42, it says, And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach. Now, so when it comes to the upper garment, I'm not really concerned about that. Like, well, can women wear a t-shirt? Can women wear a hoodie? Can women wear, it's like, I don't really care what they wear up there. Now, let me say this and let me just tell you what I'm really against. Women wearing suit jackets with shoulder pads. And I don't know why this ever became a thing. And I don't think it's a thing right now. But in the 90s, it was a thing for whatever reason. It's just like, women with big shoulders is not attractive. If there's something accentuating a masculine feature, then don't do it. The whole idea here is that women, you want to be feminine. Men, you want to be masculine. But let me just state this. There are garments that would be under the britches category that I would not put in Deuteronomy 22-5. For example, if my wife put on my Duluth pants, that's a man's garment. Amen. Where's my Duluth guys at? Amen. But here's the thing. If a woman was wearing pants in what I would call like, women pants. Let me just use that terminology. Girl jeans, whatever. The issue there with me is not Deuteronomy 22-5, it's modesty. And what you're going to get into, and listen up young ones. This is where you have to determine this. One, you want to make sure you're not in Deuteronomy 22-5. Number one, just be like, I'm not wearing what men wear. When it comes to the pants. But when it comes to a lot of these garments that women wear that would be considered pants, or considered like, where someone would say, well that's a man's garment. No, I'm not wearing that. That means skinny jeans are out, men. Because skinny jeans are pretty much women pants, in my opinion. And what it comes down to is showing every curve of your body. Modesty. Okay women, how do you wear a garment that's not pants and be modest? Skirt. That's how you do it. Can a skirt not be modest? Yes it can, it can be ill modest. So obviously you want to wear a dress or a skirt that's not just revealing every curve of your body. Does that mean that you have to wear the most frumpy outfit that's out there and you can't look good? No. Listen, I don't know about you, but if you were to ask me what the most attractive garment for a woman to wear is a sundress. Can I get an amen? A sundress. And obviously, listen, I realize when it's 20 below outside you're not wearing a sundress. But maybe you wear it with long johns underneath of it, okay? But here's where, you know, I draw the line. And you say, well I think you're at the lunch pass or whatever. Well listen, be fully persuaded in your own mind. This is obviously an issue when it comes to dress standards that's not necessarily just spelled out in the Bible. Know this, is that Deuteronomy 22.5 is a hard hitting verse that you need to make sure you're not crossing that line, okay? So, when it comes to, you know, you say well okay, can a man wear, obviously a man can't wear a dress even if it's not like tight or something like that, right? That wouldn't make any sense. That's obviously wicked and wrong. If you wore it tight, then it's definitely even more wrong, okay? But you have to say, okay, well there has to be a man's garment, there has to be a woman's garment, what is that? And then it gets into modesty. So let me state this, okay? Let me just bring it home a little bit by actually bringing it home. If my wife is in my house with me, modesty goes out the window. Does that make sense? So if my wife is wearing yoga pants in my kitchen with me, guess what? Not a problem. Now if she goes out in public in the yoga pants, then that's where we're going to have problems, okay? That's where I think that's not being modest. But I don't look at those yoga pants and say, that's a man's garment, you look like a man. I just don't, okay? But it's not modest, okay? So modesty, in a lot of these cases, okay, just being real with you, in a lot of the cases of dress standards with normal people that are out in the world, it has to do with modesty, okay? If there's a breach on women and it's not looking like a man's garment, it's going to be tight. It's just going to be tight, it's going to be revealing in some cases. And men don't be revealing either, okay, when it comes to your pants. You don't have to wear MC Hammer pants. Some of you got, some of you know what I'm talking about. They don't have to be parachute pants, okay? But don't be like the skinny, skinny jean type of stuff, okay? And I don't understand how people wear that anyway, it's just not comfortable. But, so hopefully that makes sense. You have to figure out that line, and everybody's line is going to be different. Listen, families in here are going to have different standards than I have. Some of you are going to be stricter than me. Just facts. You're going to be stricter than me in your house. You're going to be stricter, and you know what, fine. But listen, if you're going to come to me and condemn what my standards are, you better have chapter and verse. That's all I'm saying. If you're going to condemn someone else in the church, you better have chapter and verse. But here's the thing, like I said, dress standards are not the priority. So when it comes to looking down the nose at somebody, or basically attacking somebody because of dress standards, get your priorities straight. And know this too, unsought advice is rarely heeded. If no one's asking your opinion, then don't give it, okay? You're like, well you're up here giving your opinion. Well, this is a little different. I am the pastor. It's my job to give you my opinion on what the Bible says, okay? But know this is that I don't just go up to people personally and be like, hey, I notice what you're wearing. Hey, do you think that's right? Do you think that you should be doing that? I don't want to do that because one, I'm not even 100% sure in these cases. Maybe I have a standard, but you know, it's not like that's necessarily wrong. When we're dealing with these type of things, you have to understand that you're getting into a Romans 14 scenario. The fact that judging another man's servant based on things that are doubtful disputations. There's nothing doubtful about Deuteronomy 22.5. Does that make sense? Like if a woman came in here looking like a lumberjack, obviously she's dressed like a man, okay? If a man comes in here wearing a dress, they're dressed like a woman. That's Deuteronomy 22.5, okay? What we're usually dealing with is modesty though. So that's where the line needs to be drawn. That's where you have to draw that line, okay? And go to 1 Timothy chapter 2 and we'll be done. 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 8. So hopefully you understand where I'm coming from when it comes to dress standards. I hope you understand where I stand on this. And know this is that this sermon is for you and for your use, okay? I am not the garment police, you know? I am not policing your homes. I am not lording over what you do. And know this is that even if your dress standards are different than mine, I literally do not, and when I say I don't care, it doesn't mean I don't care about you. I just don't care to judge that, to look down on that, or anything like that, okay? So it's just not in my radar. There's way more important stuff to worry about, okay? There's way more weightier matters to deal with in the church than whether someone's wearing what they should be wearing and all this other stuff, okay? And so, in any end when it comes to this, take care of yourself and let everybody worry about what they're doing, okay? Mind your own business when it comes to this, and you know, be an example, you know? Anyway, so in 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 8 it says, I will therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting, in like manner also the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefacedness and sobriety, not with broided hair or gold or pearls or costly array, but which becometh women profess in godliness with good works. And it's saying basically be modest with modest apparel, and it's not saying that you can't have broided hair, because in 1 Peter chapter 3 it says, let their adorning not be the adorning, outward adorning of plating the hair and of wearing of gold and putting on of apparel. If it's saying you can't put on gold, then it's also saying you can't put on apparel, okay? What it's saying is that don't let it be that that people are seeing, okay? What they see is the hidden man of the heart, the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. Basically you're wearing something, you look fine, you look great, that's fine, but it's not distracting, and what they really notice is that you're godly, that you're a wholesome person, and that, you know, hey, you know, this person isn't wicked and all that, that's what really matters. And so tattoos, piercings, dress standards, I'm against tattoos, I believe the Bible teaches against that. Piercings, obviously the Bible talks about ear piercings and all that stuff. I'm not against that, I don't believe the Bible's against that. Obviously don't go crazy with it, okay? Just as much as anything else, don't go crazy with your hairstyles, don't go crazy with, you know, your clothing and all this other stuff. Just be normal, okay? When it says to be a peculiar people, that's not talking about weird, okay? When it says that you're a peculiar people, it doesn't mean a weird people. That's not proper English, but who cares? Let's end with a word of prayer today, how many of you follow what we think of today? Thank you for your word, thank you for these passages, and Lord, just help us to be honoring to you both inside and out, and Lord, help us to have good dress standards to where we'd be honoring to you, help us to not defile the temple that you are dwelling in, and Lord, we just pray that you'll be with us throughout the rest of the day, pray that you'll be able to go out soul winning, Lord, we love you, pray also in Jesus Christ's name, Amen. Brother Dave, we'll come and sing one more song, and then we'll be dismissed. Alright, take your song books and turn to song 115. Song 115 in your song books will sing, No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus. If you would stand, we'll sing song 115. I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus Since I found in him a friend so strong and true I would tell you how he changed my life completely He did something that no other friend could do No one ever cared for me like Jesus There's no other friend so kind as he No one else could take the sin and darkness from me Oh, how much he cared for me All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me All my heart was full of misery and woe Jesus placed his strong and loving arms about me And he led me in the way I ought to go No one ever cared for me like Jesus There's no other friend so kind as he No one else could take the sin and darkness from me Oh, how much he cared for me Every day he comes to me with new assurance More and more I understand his words of love But I'll never know just why he came to save me Till someday I see his blessed face above No one ever cared for me like Jesus There's no other friend so kind as he No one else could take the sin and darkness from me Oh, how much he cared for me