CJ Mahaney: The Soul of Modesty
Brett and I are excited to share the following resource with you. It is heart-focused, grace-filled, gospel-centered message by CJ Mahaney, entitled The Soul of Modesty.
CJ Mahaney is the leader of Sovereign Grace Ministries, the man who mentored our brother Josh at Covenant Life Church, and one of Brett’s and my living heroes.
In his generosity and support of this project, Mr. Mahaney has given special permission to make this audio message available to our readers free of charge.
If we could, we would make everyone listen to this message before viewing the survey results. As it is, we strongly encourage each of you to avail yourself to this wonderful resource. We know you will be blessed.
+ ‘The Soul of Modesty’ +
Message by C.J. Mahaney © 2003 Covenant Life Church
- The Responsibility of Modesty (Part 1): Excerpted from the not-yet-released survey results, a 20-year-old Christian man shares a powerful summation of men’s responsibility in this area.
- The Responsibility of Modesty (Part 2): Excerpted from the not-yet-released survey results, a 22-year-old Christian man shares an insightful analogy explaining the responsibility of women to protect their brothers in Christ.
- The Purpose of Clothing: John Piper explains both the negative and positive messages God communicated by clothing Adam and Eve after they fell into sin.
February 3rd, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I have heard of this message, but have not yet listened to it. I am about to right now. I will comment later and let you know how I liked it! Thanks for posting it!
February 3rd, 2007 at 5:50 pm
All I can say about this message is…..WOW!!!! It effected me so much. Though I have always tried to dress as modestly as possible, it is hard because I don’t have a dad or any brothers to help me discern what is and what is not modest. My mom and I try our best to discern what is and what is not modest, but it is not easy.
Girls: There is a website called http://www.girltalk.blogs.com. It is a wonderful site and there is a section on modesty. You can download a modesty heart check. It is so helpful (I thought most of you would be interested in it).
I am so looking forward to seeing the results!!
February 3rd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
CJ and Carloyn Mahaney came to our church last year and spoke on this! We have the CDs also! The messages are great! Thanks for posting this! It is great encouragement and teaching!
Kim
February 3rd, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Thanks so much for posting that message. It really spoke to me.
Can’t wait to see the survey results!
February 4th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Thanks for posting that great message! It really is a challenge to dress modestly. Thankfully, I have a great dad who tells me when I’m wearing something immodest. Now I can hardly wait to see the modesty survey results!
February 4th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Thanks guys, and CJ for sharing!
A brief anecdote about this: A homegroup leader in our church asked his group–mainly single guys–to listen to “The Heart of Modesty” by CJ (on humility) for discussion. But he accidentally handed out “The Soul of Modesty” instead….
February 4th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Toward the end of the message, CJ mentions a detailed modesty check created by Carolyn….. anyone know where a copy of this is available online? I live in Australia.
Thanks!
February 5th, 2007 at 4:58 am
Here you are, Jess. It is in PDF:
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/pdf/teaching/modesty_heart_check.pdf
February 5th, 2007 at 12:21 pm
WOW!!! Great message! Thanks guys for making it availiable to us!!
February 6th, 2007 at 3:08 am
How are we supposed to approach non-Christian girls about immodest, if at all? Not in church (Mahaney was quite clear about that), but outside it.
February 6th, 2007 at 3:52 am
I took a look at the “Modesty Heart Check” PDF. I don’t want to poo-poo anyone’s sincere efforts, but I’d like to point out that the usefulness of such “checks” is limited by ambiguities. For instance:
“Is my shirt just plain too tight?” (How tight is too tight? In whose opinion?)
“…if what I’m wearing is too tight around my backside…”
“If I see too much leg…”
“Does it reveal too much?”
As Stephanie Amber comments above, it’s hard for a gal to know how much is too much, how tight is too tight, how high is too high, unless she hears it straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. That’s why I have high hopes for the Modesty Survey — it gets specific enough to be useful. Unfortunately, some things, such as “tightness,” can’t be communicated well in words. But the Modesty Survey is, I think, about as good as it can be.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
John R.: I have the modesty heart check on my mirror and, though I truly appreciate the Mahaney women’s effort, it is hard to know what is too tight, if it’s too tight around the backside, etc. Though, in many ways, it is helpful. I’m glad my first comment made sense: I wasn’t sure if people would understand what I was trying to say. You got it exactly.
February 15th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
[...] My instinct is to rely on myself, the gospel teaches me to seek help and advice. God has graciously saved a people so I have plenty of support from Christians around me. Partly this came from teachers (one of Jesus’s gifts to the church in Ephesians 4) as I listened to CJ Mahaney’s message The Soul of Modesty which set everything firmly in the context of the gospel and gave me the opportunity to seek, evaluate and fight the legalism which had crept in without me noticing. It also came from friends, namely my housemate whose wise words were to leave any reply until the morning after I’d slept - truly the best idea of the evening! [...]
June 18th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Is it possible to purchase a copy of this tape? I am a retired pastor’s wife who has been thinking of little else the last couple weeks than the subject of women’s dresss and modesty.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
[...] The Soul of Modesty: C.J. Mahaney’s heart-focused, grace-filled, gospel-centered audio message on the topic of modesty. Made specially available for free download by Sovereign Grace Ministries. [...]
May 10th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=A1170-06-59
Here’s where the pdf is now.
July 7th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
[...] The Soul of Modesty: C.J. Mahaney’s heart-focused, grace-filled, gospel-centered audio message on the topic of modesty. Made specially available for free download by Sovereign Grace Ministries. [...]
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Too tight is too tight! If a girl can see the shape of her bra distinctly through the fabric of her shirt, or if her pants are going to show crack when she leans over, or if the threads on the creases of her pants threaten to bust, it’s too tight or low cut! Pray to God for discernment. Your clothes should fit, but they should not “leave nothing to imagination.”
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:35 pm
It helps to ask a older brother, mature I mean, or a dad or close male relation for his perspective on what you wear.
ALSO BE AWARE OF THE RESPONSES YOU GET! I once received a funny look from a guy when I wore my purse strap across my chest. I never wear my purse like that now.
Guys see things differently, and even Christian guys are “lead astray” by what Sisters in Christ are wearing.
June 17th, 2010 at 12:51 am
[...] advantage of resources on The Rebelution website. You’ll find a sermon by CJ Mahaney, “The Soul of Modesty,” a statement from John Piper, “The Purpose of Clothing,” an article by Nancy [...]