The following article by Nancy Leigh DeMoss is excerpted from the transcript of a May 2005 Revive Our Hearts radio program.

Before we get into the specifics of what’s right to wear, what’s wrong to wear, what looks modest, what looks immodest, we need to lay a foundation. I’ll tell you the starting place for all of us has to be answering this question: “Why do I live”?

What is my purpose in life? You know the answer: to glorify God. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” That’s a foundational principle in life and we should come to the place where we can say, “My purpose in life is to please God rather than to please others.”

We have to come to the place where we recognize that our ultimate purpose, our supreme primary purpose for living is to make God happy.

[And] that affects everything about our lives, including this matter of clothing. It affects our motives. Why am I wearing this? Why do I like this outfit? Why do I like this look? Is it because I want to fit in? Is it because I want to be accepted; I want to be cool; I want to be popular?

You see, if I determine to live my life for the glory of God—that will affect why I wear what I wear. It will make me think about what I wear, not just go to the store and pick up whatever is the current style.

The Principle of Ownership

The principle of ownership means that my body does not belong to me. It’s not mine. Now, in the last thirty years we’ve had a huge emphasis on a woman’s right to her own body. It’s your body, you do what you want to with it.

Some girls have taken that philosophy to the extreme and have abused their bodies with eating disorders, with substance abuse, with drugs and alcohol. It’s my body; I can wreck it. I can trash it. You know, how sad to think how cheaply some girls consider their bodies.

But to recognize the principle of ownership is to recognize that my body is not my own. It’s not mine; it doesn’t belong to me (1 Cor. 6:19).

You know what, it doesn’t make God happy when you and I take these bodies He’s given us and give them to somebody that they don’t belong to. An immodestly dressed woman is giving away something that doesn’t belong to her. This principle of ownership means that you and I are not free to dress in any way we please.

We’re accountable to God. He owns us, and if you’re not a child of God that’s a principle that you’re not going to like. In fact, you won’t like any of these principles if you don’t belong to the Lord.

But if you are a child of God, you will find great comfort and security in the fact that you do belong to God, that your body is His. It means that you can trust that God will take good care of His property. It also means that you have a responsibility to take care of it.

The Principle of Lordship

Jesus is Lord over all. Ownership, then Lordship. Romans 14:9 tells us: “For this very reason Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.”

You know what it means when we say that Jesus is Lord. It means that God has the right to regulate every area of our lives, including what we wear.

So I want to ask you, “Who runs your life? Who’s your Lord?” Most of us would say, “Jesus is my Lord.” But when it comes down to what you wear, who’s your Lord?

Are you governed by fashion? Are you governed by the culture? Are you governed by your friends’ opinions or are you governed by Christ and His Word? Who is your Lord? You see, you and I are not to be enslaved to anything or anyone other than Jesus—to have any Lord other than Him is to be a slave.

The women who have adopted the world’s philosophy of fashion and clothing are not free. You’ll never be truly free until you’re free to do what God wants you to do regardless of what anything or anyone else dictates to you.

Closing Challenge

Could I ask, based on these principles, “Are you willing to make whatever changes may be necessary in any area of your life, including your clothing, in order to live out those principles, to live under the ownership of God, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven?”

Additional Modesty Resources

• The Modesty Survey Petition: A list of seven encouragements from Christian guys to the girls reading the survey results.

• 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.

• The Responsibility of Modesty (Part 1): Excerpted from the 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 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.

In the second of a series of messages on the topic of marriage, John Piper turned his attention, briefly, to the issue of clothing, for men and women.

The sermon was delivered this past Sunday, providential timing for all of us as we prepare for the release of the Modesty Survey results. What is more exciting, Piper hinted at the possibility of a full message on the topic of clothing in the near future.

Take a minute or two to read and digest what Piper says in the following excerpt from his sermon manuscript. You can read, watch or listen to the sermon here.

Then God Clothed Them
By John Piper © DesiringGod.org

What does it mean that God clothed [Adam and Eve]? Was he confirming their hypocrisy? Was he aiding and abetting their pretense? If they were naked and shame-free before the Fall, and if they put on clothes to minimize their shame after the Fall, then what is God doing by clothing them even better than they can clothe themselves? I think the answer is that he is doing something with a negative message and something with a positive message.

Negatively, he is saying: You are not what you were and you are not what you ought to be. The chasm between what you are and what you ought to be is huge. Covering yourself with clothing is a right response to this—not to conceal it, but to confess it. Henceforth, you shall wear clothing, not to conceal that you are not what you should be, but to confess that you are not what you should be. One practical implication of this is that public nudity today is not a return to innocence but rebellion against moral reality. God ordains clothes to witness to the glory we have lost, and it is added rebellion to throw them off.

And for those who rebel in the other direction and make clothes themselves a means of power and prestige and attention getting, God’s answer is not a return to nudity but a return to simplicity (1 Timothy 2:9-10). Clothes are not meant to make people think about what is under them. Clothes are meant to direct attention to what is not under them: Arms and hands that serve others in the name of Christ, “beautiful” feet that carry the gospel to where it is needed, and the brightness of a face that has beheld the glory of Jesus.

• The Modesty Survey Petition: A list of seven encouragements from Christian guys to the girls reading the survey results.

• 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.

• The Responsibility of Modesty (Part 1): Excerpted from the 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 survey results, a 22-year-old Christian man shares an insightful analogy explaining the responsibility of women to protect their brothers in Christ.

• Free To Be Modest: Nancy Leigh DeMoss explains how living under the Ownership and Lordship of Jesus Christ, frees us to be modest.

By Shannon Moeller, a strong Christian young man from Illinois. Originally submitted as a text response to TheRebelution.com’s Modesty Survey.

Deuteronomy 22:8 says, “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.” My sister has often heard from other girls, “It seems the whole point to this modesty thing is to try and hide the fact that I’m female. If I do that, how will a guy ever notice me?”

In my opinion, modesty is no more about hiding the fact that a woman is a woman than having a parapet around a roof is about hiding the fact that the roof is a roof. The primary purpose of the parapet is so that no one falls off the roof and dies, bringing guilt upon the homeowner. One primary purpose of modesty is to prevent men from “falling” on account of a woman’s unguarded body.

“But won’t certain men lust no matter what?”

Yes, just like certain men will jump off a roof, despite the parapet. If a man wants to jump, you should do what you can to stop him. But, if he forces his way past and jumps anyway, the guilt is on his head, not yours. The parapet is there to keep men that don’t want to jump from falling. It’s the same with modesty.

“But how do I know what’s modest and what’s not?”

This question can be likened to asking: “How tall does the wall around my roof need to be?” Some people judge this choice by asking, “How low can I make the wall and still fulfill the requirements?” While others ask the better question, “How tall should the wall be so that it will protect those on the roof?”

The “how-low” group might build a 12-inch railing or a fence with four-foot gaps between the posts. Technically speaking, the roof has a parapet either way. The problem is that these railings might actually do more to cause someone to fall off the roof than if there was no wall at all. There is no safety.

The “how-tall” group of people might build a nine-foot-tall, solid-brick wall ensuring that even Goliath would have a hard time forcing himself over the railing. This would certainly fulfill the requirements, but it’s obviously overkill. Instead of a roof with a parapet, you’ve got a two-story house with no roof at all.

Conclusion: In Modesty, You Are Protected

You don’t have to hide the fact that your house has a roof or that you are a woman. You don’t have to build a nine-foot wall or wear a gigantic paper bag over your body. But you do have to do what you can to protect the lives of your guests and the purity of your brothers (the Modesty Survey should be a great help with that).

In this, you are protected. If someone falls, the guilt is not on your head. You show love and honor to your God, your father, your husband, your children, others around you, and yourself. Your modesty shines. Even if a guy doesn’t know what it is exactly, he will notice you and that there’s something different about you. That’s the right kind of attention.

Additional Modesty Resources

• The Modesty Survey Petition: A list of seven encouragements from Christian guys to the girls reading the survey results.

• 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.

• The Responsibility of Modesty (Part 1): Excerpted from the survey results, a 20-year-old Christian man shares a powerful summation of men’s responsibility in this area.

• 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.

• Free To Be Modest: Nancy Leigh DeMoss explains how living under the Ownership and Lordship of Jesus Christ, frees us to be modest.

The following article was submitted as a text response to TheRebelution.com’s Modesty Survey. We share it with you because the author provides an excellent summation of men’s responsibility in this area.

~ A Christian Guy - Age 20 ~

Let’s be honest. We’re men, and we’re responsible for ourselves. We’re responsible for our thoughts, for our lusts, for our character. We won’t be able to blame the girls when we’re called to give account for it in the judgment day. We won’t be able to say like Adam, “The woman you made…”

In fact, the Bible warns us that if our eyes are causing us to offend, it would be better to pluck it out than to allow it to lead us astray. Now you girls don’t want that to happen… Please?

We are responsible for bringing these senses into subordination to the will of God. We’re trying. And we get tested every day. That’s our job wherever we are, whether in the world or in church. But quite honestly, we’d rather do our battles with the world than with our sisters in Christ.

• The Modesty Survey Petition: A list of seven encouragements from Christian guys to the girls reading the survey results.

• 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.

• The Responsibility of Modesty (Part 2): Excerpted from the 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.

• Free To Be Modest: Nancy Leigh DeMoss explains how living under the Ownership and Lordship of Jesus Christ, frees us to be modest.

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.

One of the purposes of The Modesty Survey is to allow Christian guys to express their gratitude to their sisters in Christ who strive to dress modestly—to let them know that their efforts are both noticed and appreciated by their brothers in Christ.

To symbolize this, we will be releasing the survey results on February 14th, St. Valentine’s Day, as a gift to all Christian girls, and especially to those whose inner qualities of godliness, humility, and love express themselves in their outward attire.

What You Can Do Now

Pray for The Modesty Survey. The survey has closed, but there is much work yet to be done. Over 160,000 answers and 25,000 text responses must be processed and finalized. Pray for the Survey Team as we continue to work. Pray that God would give us wisdom and discernment as we make decisions. Pray that God will use The Modesty Survey powerfully, to glorify His name and to bless His children.

Keep reading the blog. Over the next two weeks, we plan to post special articles and resources on the topic of modesty. We may even share some of the best text responses from the survey itself. You won’t want to miss these posts.

Spread the word. Tell your friends about the The Modesty Survey. The more people who hear about it, the more who will, we pray, be blessed and equipped by the results. Word-of-mouth is the best way to spread the word, but if you want, you can also place a snazzy ad on your website or blog.

Finally, if you are a Christian guy, whether you participated in The Modesty Survey or not, your greatest contribution to this effort is yet to come—and it will only take a minute or two of your time. Keep checking back for details.

Additional Modesty Resources

• 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.

• 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.

The Modesty Survey is now officially closed. Over 1,750 Christian guys (ages 12-50+) submitted nearly 160,000 answers to the 150-question survey—including over 25,000 text responses.

More important than the numbers, the message is strong and clear. If you love modesty you will love the results of this survey. And, if you are concerned that the responses will tend towards legalism or slip towards lawlessness, we believe you will be pleased with the balanced tone of the message being sent.

The Survey Team now embarks on the mammoth task of processing the gathered data. We hope to release the survey results within the first few weeks of February. Keep checking this blog for updates on the release date.

To The Guys Who Participated

If you only completed part of the survey, don’t worry! All of your answers were processed as you submitted them. And we know we speak for thousands of women who are thankful for any time you invested in this discussion.

If you only just found out about the survey, we’re sorry you were unable to participate. Please continue visiting TheRebelution.com for continued discussion of the important issues facing our generation.

If you a Christian guy, whether you participated in The Modesty Survey or not, your greatest contribution to this effort is yet to come—and it will only take a minute or two of your time. Keep checking back over the next few days for details.

Additional Modesty Resources

• 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.

• 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.

The following (real) comments typify a general objection to The Modesty Survey. This post is primarily intended to address a specific method of voicing concern, not to condemn the voicing of concern. We have and do welcome your feedback.

I’m confused…what girl needs advice from male strangers about how to dress? Is this advice for blind girls? Don’t they have moms or sisters or friends or…someone? Maybe we should concentrate on the real problem: finding homes for these poor blind orphans!

I have a secret to tell you: Guys don’t actually like spineless females. You may think that acting subservient will make boys like you, but in the end it won’t. Don’t take the blame for the actions of horny teenage boys.

We are not required to shroud ourselves in drab, baggy clothes to protect the innocent eyes and hearts of our Christian brothers. Women have hips, boobs, legs, shoulders, lips, and skin. God put ‘em there, and apparently he was content with a fig leaf to cover up the “immodest” parts, so I don’t know why today’s boys need so much extra coddling.

Sorry… used to think this site was cool, but now I see what it’s really about.

While we gladly tolerate differing opinions, and even attacks on ourselves, these kinds of comments (e.g. girls who care about modesty are “spineless”) can come across as ridiculing the very girls the authors are apparently concerned for.

The Rebelution operates under the classical view of tolerance, in which you are not required to agree with your opponent’s ideas, but must respect them as people. We hope that everyone will embrace this principle in any future interaction.

In regard to the specific allegation—that The Modesty Survey places blame on women—we’re afraid this is a misinterpretation of our purpose.

From reviewing the results, we can tell you that 99% the guys who have taken the survey fully recognize their own responsibility to control their thoughts and actions. They are not blaming the girls, but they are admitting that some (not all) things can be a problem for them. The survey results are only intended for Christian girls who wish to assist their brothers in that fight.

It is actually slightly amusing that here we have 1,500+ men humbly admitting their weakness and voicing their need for women’s help—and all at the women’s request, we might add—and we’re still accused of being male chauvinists. [Note: For a more thorough explanation regarding how we view men and women, click here.]

Additional Modesty Resources

• 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.

• 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.

The following email was sent out this morning to all of the registered respondents:

Dear Modesty Survey Participants,

Don’t lose your chance to let your voice be heard! The Modesty Survey is quickly nearing completion. Over 105,000 answers from 1,100 Christian guys have been submitted in just 10 days! At the current rate we could be closing the survey as early as Monday, January 22nd. This means that your chance to share your thoughts on this crucial issue is quickly slipping away. If you have not yet completed the survey we would highly recommend that you do so over this weekend.

To complete the survey, click here.

Thank you all for your participation. May God richly bless you!

In Christ Alone,
The Survey Team

Since being launched last Tuesday, The Modesty Survey has captured over 70,000 answers from around 730 Christians guys, ages 12-50+. Roughly half (55.5%) the respondents have been teenagers (ages 13-19), 32.6% fall between the ages of 20-29, and 10.7% are 30 years old or older.

Most importantly, over 95% of current respondents (1) notice whether a girl dresses modestly or not, (2) agree (or strongly agree) that modesty is important for all girls, regardless of height, weight or build, and (3) say that modesty is an important quality for their future wives to have.

The survey will remain open until 1,000 Christian guys have completed it. At the current rate we should reach that number by next Tuesday, but we’ll need your help. Below are a few ways you can help speed up the release of the final results.

ACTION STEPS for WEEK TWO

GUYS: If you haven’t done so yet, sign-up for the survey and encourage your godly friends to take it too. If you’ve already started the survey, finish the survey. Don’t procrastinate or it may close before you share your opinion on important issues.

GIRLS: Keep recruiting more godly Christian guys to take the survey. If you’ve run out of guys to tell, make sure the guys you’ve already told have completed the survey. The sooner 1,000 guys have completed the entire survey, the sooner the results will be released.