Ask The Pastor

October 15, 2006

> Question:
>
> My husband And I are having a disagreement about women wearing pants.I
> would like to get your input on the matter. He keeps bringing up Duet.
> 22:5 about women wearing clothing pertaining to a man. I think my
> girls and I should be able to wear them we live Michigan and it gets
> pretty cold. I would like to know your take on this matter.

This Scripture speaks of a distinguishing of the sexes in that a man should appear as a man and a woman appear as a woman in all matters of life including clothing. The rule was given because maleness and femaleness are giftings from God.

There is a second issue involved in matters of cross-dressing. Sometimes a man wishes to be seen as a woman or a woman wishes to be seen as a man. This would be an abomination to the Lord.

Another matter to consider is that during the time of Moses, no one wore pants as an outer garment. Both men and women wore robes. What distinguished them was the type of robes that they wore. Women's robes were womenly. Men's robes were manly. Which, of course, brings us back to the kind of pants a woman today would wish to wear. I don't think any man today would wish to be seen in women's pants.

Now to your question -- Wearing pants that are designed for women should not be a problem in most instances as long as the woman is not attempting to look manly. But in the case of culture, many churches today still frown on a woman wearing pants. What do you do in such cases? My suggestion is not to wear pants to church. Otherwise I don't see this as a problem.

It is important to understand that the law of Moses was never intended for any people group other than Israel. Many laws were given to give Israel a distinction from other nations. A case in view is the use of phylacteries which the Jews take from Deu6:8; "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead."

To go back to the Law to prove a thing isn't always a good thing to do. Paul said that if we wish to apply the law of Moses as pertaining to our righteousness before God, then we must apply all the Law and not just selected portions. The reason is because the Law of Moses contained a curse on the person who did not apply all the law.

This does not mean that the law of Moses has no moral codes to consider. Paul said that the Law could be used as a teaching instrument as long as we used it 'lawfully,' which means that we cannot use the law as an instrument of righteousness. We are not under the law of Moses, but under the law of Christ. 

Hope this helps a bit.

Blessings,

Buddy

Bro. Buddy Martin - Ask the Pastor

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Lawrence "Buddy" Martin
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org

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