NEWSTART + 6 The Forgotten Law of Health, Dress (Part 1)

BIBLE:

Genesis 3:6-11, 21 – “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? (Genesis 3:6-11)

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”  (vs: 21)

***DISOBEYING GOD (SIN) causes us to dress inappropriately/it caused Adam & Eve to be naked.

Genesis 1:27 – So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  ***God made man in His image.

WHAT CLOTHING DOES GOD WEAR?

Psalms 104:1-2 – “Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

• Honor
• Majesty
• Light

ADAM & EVE WERE CLOTHED IN THIS LIGHT, BUT BECAUSE OF THEIR SIN/WICKEDNESS, THAT LIGHT WENT OUT

Job 18:5 – “Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out…”

Psalms 119:53 – “Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law.”

***The moment that Adam & Eve forsook the Law of God, the Light was put out because of their wickedness, and now that light was no longer covering them.

THE BIBLE SAYS:

“Thy word is a Lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalms 119:105)

• They were covered in the word of GOD
• They were covered in the righteousness of GOD

THEY HAD THE LIGHT OF GOD

• It was an illuminating light that surrounded them and covered up their nakedness, but the moment that they sinned, the light went out because sin extinguishes the light of God.

WHAT IS THIS NAKEDNESS FOUND IN THE BIBLE WHERE ADAM & EVE WERE NOT ASHAMED?

We see they were ashamed of their nakedness after the fall, but not ashamed before the fall.

Genesis 2:22-25 – “And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”

• This is when Adam & Even consummated their marriage vows. This is their honeymoon state
• Adam & Eve did not walk around the Garden of Eden naked, prior to sin
• Many story books portray Adam & Eve as walking around naked before sin, but THIS IS A FABRICATION OF THE TRUTH

“God instructed our first parents in regard to the tree of knowledge, and they were fully informed relative to the fall of Satan, and the danger of listening to his suggestions. He did not deprive them of the power of eating the forbidden fruit. He left them as free moral agents to believe his word, obey his commandments and live, or believe the tempter, disobey and perish. They both ate, and the great wisdom they obtained was the knowledge of sin, and a sense of guilt. The covering of light about them soon disappeared, and under a sense of guilt, and loss of their divine covering, a shivering seized them, and they tried to cover their exposed forms. The Lord would not have them investigate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, for then they would be exposed to Satan masked. He knew that they would be perfectly safe if they touched not the fruit.”  {1SP 40.2}

AS A RESULT, THE FOLLOWING HAPPENED:

• The covering of the light disappeared and they got cold
• As soon as they sinned, they lost their original covering of light
• Because of this, they made a garment of fig leaves
• They were coming into the presence of God, and they knew that they had to be clothed
• The more people sin, the more they want to come into the presence of God naked
• It is better to come in fig leaves than with nothing at all
• God then explained the plan of Salvation

THE PLAN OF SALVATION:

Genesis 3:15 – “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

• Before He fully clothed them, they were still in those fig leaves, and He told them about the Plan of Salvation
• He wanted them to look at themselves as to what happened as a result of sinning against the Lord
• No matter how small a sin may be, the end results are fearful. All this woe and sorrow is upon us all because Adam & Eve ate an apple. (See 5Bio 304.2)
• Don’t let the Devil deceive you into believing that it’s okay if you eat that item, or drink that item, or watch that particular thing, or listen to that particular thing, and that you’re going to be okay. These are the suggestions of the devil whispered into the ears of Eve.

GOD GAVE THEM A CHANGE OF CLOTHING AS A SYMBOL OF CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS (Genesis 3:21)

HE GAVE THEM COATS OF SKINS                    

As we study this subject of dress reform, dress & physiology, dress reform, however you want to look at it. We need to keep in mind and go back to the Garden of Eden. We need to understand where nakedness came from. We need to understand where improper dress came from. When Adam & Eve were improperly dressed, they clothed themselves. God came and showed them what proper attire was. And that proper attire was an acceptance of Christ’s righteousness. So when we look at how were’ dressed properly, it’s not to lift us up, but it’s to be a reminder of what happened in the Garden of Eden.

HOW DO WE KNOW THAT IT WAS THE SKINS OF LAMBS THAT GOD USED WHEN IT SAYS THAT HE CLOTHED THEM?

Proverbs 27:26 – “The lambs are for thy clothing…”

***The lambs represented Christ.

***God actually skinned the lamb, causing blood to be shed and gave Adam & Eve coats of Skins (Gen. 3:21).

IF WE PRESENT DRESS REFORM FOR ANY OTHER REASON THAN CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS, THAN IT IS “SELF- RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

“Much unhappy feeling was created by those who were constantly urging the reform dress upon their sisters. With extremists, this reform seemed to constitute the sum and substance of their religion. It was the theme of conversation and the burden of their hearts; and their minds were thus diverted from God and the truth. They failed to cherish the spirit of Christ and manifested a great lack of true courtesy. Instead of prizing the dress for its real advantages, they seemed to be proud of its singularity…”  {4T 636.3}

WHY WAS DRESS REFORM GIVEN TO ISRAEL?

WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE FOR THE RIBBON OF BLUE?

Numbers 15:37-41 –  ‘And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: and it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: that ye may remember, and do all My commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God…”  (1T 524.1)

“…Here God expressly commanded a very simple arrangement of dress for the children of Israel for the purpose of distinguishing them from the idolatrous nations around them. As they looked upon their peculiarity of dress, they were to remember that they were God’s commandment-keeping people, and that He had wrought in a miraculous manner to bring them from Egyptian bondage to serve Him, to be a holy people unto him. They were not to serve their own desires, or to imitate the idolatrous nations around them, but to remain a distinct, separate people, that all who looked upon them might say: These are they…who keep the law of Ten Commandments…”  (1T 524.1)

“The order given by God to the children of Israel to place a ribbon of blue in their garments was to have no direct influence on their health, only as God would bless them by obedience, and the ribbon would keep in their memory the high claims of Jehovah and prevent them from mingling with other nations, uniting in their drunken feasts, and eating swine’s flesh and luxurious food detrimental to health. God would now have His people adopt the reform dress, not only to distinguish them from the world as His ‘peculiar people,’ but because a reform in dress is essential to physical and mental health. God’s people have, to a great extent, lost their peculiarity, and have been gradually patterning after the world, and mingling with them, until they have in many respects become like them. This is displeasing to God…”  (1T 524-525)

THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WERE GIVEN A RIBBON OF BLUE

• To be a reminder of God’s law
• To distinguish them from the idolatrous nations/people around them
• To cause people to look upon them and say “these are those that keep the commandments of God”

WHEN MOSES WENT UP TO GOD TO RECEIVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, GOD CARVED THEM OUT IN

• Blue Sapphire Rock
• Blue represents the Law of God
• It is said that one of the reasons the sky is blue is so when we look up, we remember God’s law

BLUE = The Law of God

RED = Blood that was shed because of our sins

             ***When you mix these two you get…

PURPLE – which = Royalty

***Purple is for Kings.  Jesus is “King of Kings” 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Revelation 17:14, 19

***All of these colors may be found on the entering gate of the courtyard of the sanctuary.

THE PURPOSE OF DRESS REFORM IS:

• An open acceptance of Christ’s Righteousness
• To remember the Garden of Eden
• To remind us of what Christ did for us
• To remind us where God has brought us from
• To make us distinct and separate from the world
• To give us health of body and health of mind
• To help us to bring glory to God (This will be our noble object…See Revelation 14:6-7)

 ***We are not to look at our distinct dress and say we are special. There is to be no self-righteousness.

PEOPLE READ US IN THE WAY WE DRESS:

2 Corinthians 3:2 – “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:” (2 Corinthians 3:2)

THE WORLD WILL BE WATCHING US; WE SHOULDN’T CARE WHAT THE WORLD THINKS IF IT’S NEGATIVE:

“…If they are dead, the laugh, the jeer, and scorn of unbelievers will not move them. They will feel an anxious desire to be separate from the world, like their Master. THEY WILL NOT IMITATE ITS pride, FASHIONS, or customs. The noble object will be ever before them, to glorify God and gain the immortal inheritance…and as soon as any have a desire to imitate the fashions of the world, that they do not immediately subdue, just so soon God ceases to acknowledge them as his children…”  (1T 136-137)

“Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”  (1 Cor. 10:31)

ADDITIONAL QUOTES:

“Our words, our actions, and OUR DRESS ARE daily, LIVING PREACHERS, gathering with CHRIST or scattering abroad. This is NO TRIVIAL MATTER to be passed off with a jest. The subject of dress demands serious reflection and much prayer. Many unbelievers have felt that they were not doing right in permitting themselves to be slaves of fashion; but when they see some who make a high profession of godliness dressing as worldlings dress, enjoying frivolous society, they decide that there can be no wrong in such a course.”  {4T 641.3}

“GOD HAS NOT CHANGED, neither does He propose to change our physical organism, in order that we may violate a single law without feeling the effects of its violation. But many willingly close their eyes to the light...they must be controlled by principle in their eating and dressing, rather than be led by inclination, FASHION, and appetite.”  {CD 161.2}

“He who is converted from errors in eating, drinking, and DRESSING is being prepared to hear and receive the truth into a good and willing heart…”  {CH 221.4}

HOW SERIOUS IS THIS SUBJECT?

What are the requirements for baptism regarding this subject?

***Before we get baptized, we are counseled that we must know and understand the subject of dress:

CANDIDATES FOR BAPTISM ARE TO BE INSTRUCTED REGARDING RESS AND FOLLOWING ITS TEACHINGS BEFORE BEING BAPTIZED:

“INSTRUCTIONS ON DRESS and pleasure.—The principles of the Christian life should be made plain to those who have newly come to the truth. Faithful, Christian men and women should have an intense interest to bring the convicted soul to a correct knowledge of righteousness in Christ Jesus. If any have allowed the desire for pleasure or the love of dress to become supreme, so that any portion of their mind, soul, and strength is devoted to selfish indulgences, the faithful believers should watch for these souls as they that must give an account. They must not neglect the faithful, tender, loving instruction so essential to the young converts, that there may be no half-hearted work.”  {Ev 268.1} (1900)

“THOROUGH CONVERSION TO THE TRUTH.--The preparation for baptism is a matter that needs to be carefully considered. The new converts to the truth should be faithfully instructed in the plain “Thus saith the Lord.” The Word of the Lord is to be read and explained to them point by point. When they give evidence that they fully understand their position, they are to be accepted.”  --Testimonies to Ministers, p. 128. (1897) {Ev 308.1/.3}

“THOROUGH PREPARATION FOR BAPTISM. --There is need of a more thorough preparation on the part of candidates for baptism.

They are in need of more faithful instruction than has usually been given them. The principles of the Christian life should be made plain to those who have newly come to the truth…It is by conformity to the will of God in our words, our deportment, our character, that we prove our connection with Him…” 

{Ev 308.4} (6T 91,92) (1900)

“EXAMINATION OF CANDIDATES. –The test of discipleship is not brought to bear as closely as it should be upon those who present themselves for BAPTISM. It should be understood whether they are simply taking the name of Seventh-day Adventists, or whether they are taking their stand on the Lord's side, to come out from the world and be separate, and touch not the unclean thing. BEFORE BAPTISM, there should be a thorough inquiry as to the experience of candidates. Let this inquiry be made, not in a cold and distant way, but kindly, tenderly, pointing the new converts to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Bring the requirements of the gospel to bear upon the candidates for baptism.

One of the points upon which those newly come to the faith will need instruction is the subject of dress. Let the new converts be faithfully dealt with. Are they vain in dress? Do they cherish pride of heart?  The idolatry of dress is a moral disease. It must not be taken over into the new life. In most cases, submission to the gospel requirements will demand a decided change in the dress.” {Ev 311.2268.2-312.1}(6T 96.1)

“…OBEDIENCE TO FASHION is pervading our Seventh-Day Adventist Churches and is doing more than any other power to separate our people from God...”  {4T 647.2} 

SOP ABBREVIATIONS:

1SP = Spiritual Gifts, Volume 1

1T = Testimonies for the Church, Volume 1

4T = Testimonies for the Church, Volume 4

5Bio = Biographies, Volume 5

6T = Testimonies for the Church, Volume 6

CD = Counsels on Diet and Foods

CH = Counsels on Health

EV = Evangelism

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