Yesterday during the sermon I spent some time discussing some of our past legalism concerning dress code for Sunday morning. My intent was to show that God is looking at our hearts not our appearance. When God sent Samuel to anoint the new king, he said “I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” As Samuel was looking at the sons for the next king he looked at the outward appearance. “Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” He then went through all the sons but God said no to all of them. Samuel said there must be another and he anointed David to be King.

I am not really sure where the dressing up for God came into being but it eventually turned into legalism. Somehow people thought that God looks at our outer appearance, which is not the case.  “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) There are too many people dressing up the outside but not taking care of the heart. The same applies to those who dress casually; it is still about the heart. The appearance of Christianity does not cut it. Jesus was really harsh with the Pharisees when he called them whitewashed sepulchres. Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean.” We see this same thing when it comes to sacrifices. 1 Samuel 15:22 “But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” Going to church for an hour dressed up or not, without obedience will not make you a Christian. So the bottom line is make sure your heart is right before God. If you want to wear a suit and tie or dress, go ahead and like wise if you want to wear casual wear. Either way make sure your heart is right before God.