Is it sinful and vain for women to wear makeup?

[Brad Huber]

btw: one of my childhood fantasies was to know everything.
and i've found that God just about requires me to speak up about everything. its a heavy burden. especially when you have to make sure all your words have legal cause and foundation.

Knowing everything was one of my childhood fantasies as well. But the lesson of Lamentations and the Spirit of God told me how foolish that fantansy was for me, so I gave up my quest for knowledge (not completely, but mostly) and sought wisdom instead. Knowledge is power, but only wisdom gives us the ability to use that knowledge in the way God intended. For me, God desires for me to keep quiet about many things, even though I would wish to speak, but to not fear to speak up when the Spirit so moves me. That being said, I am far, far from perfect, and sometimes I do speak when I should stay silent.

 

[Fragrant Grace]

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
1 Peter 3:15

Look to the Scriptures for the answers to this topic so that all may be edified

While each person is able to hold on to their own personal opinion about anything and everything, when we consider outside of our opinion and look at what the Scriptures state, things like vanity lose their personal offence and become facts that if we are to be honest, we will either accept in obedience (agreement with action) or we will reject or deny as truth.

Debating or discussing a subject around the flesh (personal tastes and opinions) is for Christians vanity as they have passed from death to life by accepting and believing in what the Lord has both said and done.

Yes, we are at liberty to do all things but all things are not expedient (profitable) and at that point they are in fact vanity, and while each can hold fast to their opinion, we are quite clearly and expressly told to hold fast to our faith, the faith of God in Christ Jesus the Lord, which delivered us from the bondage of the flesh and set us at the liberty to do all things,

Yet the same liberty is such a liberty that many claim as their excuse for seeking to satisfy the flesh and the lusts thereof rather than to be totally and perfectly, content and free from all the ways of the old man, a liberty that allows us to walk in peace, and that peace is being clothed in His righteousness, not our own.

On that note, if we stop and realise that our opinions amount to our nothing more or less than our righteousnesses, we will honestly and clearly and thankfully see that such righteousness is/are, as the Scriptures state, filthy rags.

The question we really must consider is whether we want to clothe ourselves and adorn ourselves with unrighteousness and self opinion or to be clothed with His love.

Let us wear the robe of righteousness and let it be upon the garments of praise and salvation and let us be satisfied with the words of His mouth before Whom we desire above all things to appear.

Be not conformed to this world, walking in the vainity of your minds but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds clothed with humility and let this mind be in you resisting the devil and the flesh even unto death.

Let us do all things as unto the Lord Who gave Himself for us and Who gives us His peace, not as the world giveth, a peace which passeth all understanding. Guard your hearts and minds and and let your conversation be comely.

 

[B-A-C]

Debating or discussing a subject around the flesh (personal tastes and opinions) is for Christians vanity as they have passed from death to life by accepting and believing in what the Lord has both said and done.


On that note, if we stop and realise that our opinions amount to our nothing more or less than our righteousnesses, we will honestly and clearly and thankfully see that such righteousness is/are, as the Scriptures state, filthy rags.

The question we really must consider is whether we want to clothe ourselves and adorn ourselves with unrighteousness and self opinion or to be clothed with His love..

Be not conformed to this world, walking in the vainity of your minds but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds clothed with humility and let this mind be in you resisting the devil and the flesh even unto death.

Let us do all things as unto the Lord Who gave Himself for us and Who gives us His peace, not as the world giveth, a peace which passeth all understanding. Guard your hearts and minds and and let your conversation be comely.

I agree. Will wearing make-up keep us out of heaven? Probably not. Does sweeping vanity under the rug and saying it isn't really sin make it any less of one?
I don't think so.

Woman have always worn make-up and worn revealing clothing for as long as I can remember.
But there have been some new things come up recently.
I remember when homosexuality, abortion, pornography, lust, drugs, cursing in public and gambling were considered wrong. Even by society.
These were just things that wouldn't have even been considered as proper a generation or two ago.
Now these things are so rampant everywhere, television, the internet, radio, movies, billboards, and even in some churches, that most don't even really consider them sin anymore.
They were just some silly old law in the old testament that doesn't really apply anymore.

I can't help but wonder if there was a time, perhaps it was a few hundred years ago, I'm not sure.
When there was a generation that said "I can't believe those women getting all painted up", you never would have seen such a thing back in my parents (or grandparents) day!
Are we just getting more and more complacent to sin? Have we really reached the point where some things that "used to be sin" really aren't sin anymore, just because society accepts them?

I wonder if the women on the Mayflower had make-up, if the women in covered wagons crossing the American frontier had make-up?
When did it start becoming commonplace? When did it start becoming "the expected way to look"?
When did women start needing 'Vogue', Harper's Bazaar', 'Elle', 'Glamour',and 'Cosmopolitan' to tell them how 'to be beautiful'?

As for judging others.. is asking a question about sin judging others? Or when the asking of the question convicts you judging?
Don't get me wrong, my mother, my wife, and my daughters all wear make-up. Some of them wear famous name brand clothes and probably paid more than they should have.
Men can be vain too. Our clothing has different labels sometimes... Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Ferrari, and trust me, I've certainly had my share of vain prideful moments, (and probably will again). But does that mean we shouldn't discuss what sin is?

 

[amanda123]

Society excsues sin so much because its glorified in the media. Make up and pride are the same.

ANd some peopelare mak ing a joke of this thread . Shameful

 

[Coconut]

Society excsues sin so much because its glorified in the media. Make up and pride are the same.

ANd some peopelare mak ing a joke of this thread . Shameful

"Make up and pride are the same."

Please tell me, did God say that or amanda?

Shameful

It is most shameful to try to make the unlearned believe God said things He did not say.

If God did not say it, the woman who takes these foolish human rules seriously is to be pitied...

ANd some peopelare mak ing a joke of this thread .

We all fight against the restraints man tries to put on us in different ways ...and I choose to laugh them off as the flimsy ropes they are, as well as the clumsy (fumbling with the Word of God) attempts of men to bind me with them --- all they are good for, is taking away the freedom God has given me. Selah!

Gal 5:1 "Christ has truly made us free: then keep your free condition and let no man put a yoke on you again."

 

[jiggyfly]

Is worrying or keeping a track record of what others do in the flesh a breeding ground for vanity?

20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as,21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”?22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
Col 2:20-23 (NLT)

 

[Brad Huber]

I certainly rejoice that Jesus didnt mind His own business, but instead taught and shown us the right way to go.

 

[Fragrant Grace]

I started this thread/poll because my two oldest daughters have been doing a study on makeup and whether the scriptures indicate if it is right or wrong...

This started when my oldest daughters started to be teased and bullied at school because (through choice) they do not wear makeup. The peer group pressure was huge upon them to conform. So I suggested they started to look at the scriptures and the study started.

More questioning occured when we recently moved to a new area and tried out a few new churches

We attended one and walked in to see a very scantily clad, heavily madeup woman, (in the words of the song ...what she wasnt wearing looked too tight!!). She was dancing and girating, wiggling her hips on the stage.....singing 'praise the Lord' After the song we learned that this woman was going to deliver part of the message. I am not sure where peoples attentions would be focussed.

Another church we tried was full of young and old people, very, very madeup, very glamorous, very scimpy and revealing clothing. It felt more like attending a night club than a place of worship.

So again the question came.....Is this the way the Lord wants Christian women to look, behave, clad themselves. Is this glorifying to the Lord?
Is it vain or sinful for Christian women to be madeup/dressed this way?

Hence I thought this thread may be interesting for them to see what people see the scriptures as saying.

So thank you everyone for your input so far. It would be useful to see responses backed up with scripture.

I just wanted to remind people of the aim of this thread, to be a scriptural study rather than a judgemental argument.

I wondered how people here would answer the quesions posed by my daughters in the quotation above?
They were not referring to unsaved women when they asked.

Let us praise the Lord that He accepts us just as we are
Naked, madeup, mutton dressed as lamb, warts and all
And once saved we can grow in grace and truth, longing to be more like Him


Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15

Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Romans 6:13

 

[farout]

Not very many women look like Tammy Faye Baker did. There is also one woman on a big christian tv satation that has looked a lot like Tammy did. Iif you like gobs of misplaced gook on her face, then this kind of added beauty appeals to a very special man to whom beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

There is no reason the say women can't ware make up. I believe it is entirely up to the woman and who she is trying to please.

Should men ware wigs to cover over baldness? That seems to me to be along the same line.

 

[Boanerges]

1 Corinthians 2:15

the things we do, we have to ask why. what is the intent behind everything.

That will preach any day..

 

[Brad Huber]

Not very many women look like Tammy Faye Baker did. There is also one woman on a big christian tv satation that has looked a lot like Tammy did. Iif you like gobs of misplaced gook on her face, then this kind of added beauty appeals to a very special man to whom beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

There is no reason the say women can't ware make up. I believe it is entirely up to the woman and who she is trying to please.

Should men ware wigs to cover over baldness? That seems to me to be along the same line.

I cant remember where exactly, but it was in the OT, that a man who was a prophet came along a path from one city to another, and a BIG group of kids followed him and made a lot of fun of him, calling him baldy and such, and it sorta tormented the prophet. I dont know if he prayed that God help him or not, but at a time on the journey, a bear came along the group and killed a bunch of the kids. I take it this was to show us how we should treat prophets, and not even children are without fault in our treatment of others. But if I was that prophet, I would have been tempted to wear a wig (I am balding as well) to keep it from happening, but would that have been against the Lords will, sinse it was in scripture? I would hope not, but without our grace, it would have been a hard choice.

What am I getting at? Regardless of whether its wrong according to jewish tradition/laws that we would have had to hold to in that case, we can chose to do that which is wrong even in the eye of God, and certainly not lose our salvation or standing with God... due to living under Grace. But... living under Gods grace shouldnt mean that we should do whatever we want, regardless of who we might hurt, because we are under grace.

 

[B-A-C]

I cant remember where exactly, but it was in the OT, that a man who was a prophet came along a path from one city to another, and a BIG group of kids followed him and made a lot of fun of him, calling him baldy and such, and it sorta tormented the prophet.

Might be Elisha in 2 Kings 2:23

 

[Brad Huber]

Might be Elisha in 2 Kings 2:23

Thanks, I was thinking either Elijha or Elisha, but I wasnt sure.

 

[Fragrant Grace]

I just read an interesting article by Jack Zavada posted on a thread about gambling.

It opens with

Surprisingly the Bible contains no specific command to avoid gambling.
However, the Bible does contain timeless principles for living a life pleasing to God and is filled with wisdom to deal with every situation including gambling.

Could it be altered to read


Surprisingly the Bible contains no specific command to avoid makeup.
However, the Bible does contain timeless principles for living a life pleasing to God and is filled with wisdom to deal with every situation including makeup

Or is this too being in bondage to the law as some have suggested may be the case?

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel
1 Peter 3:3

In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
1 Timothy 2:9

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised[/B].
Proverbs 31:30

 

[revbrad]

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 1 Cor 6:12

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. 1 Cor 10:23

 

[B-A-C]

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 1 Cor 6:12

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. 1 Cor 10:23

Awesome verses. It seems some just take these to mean I can do anything. There's nothing to worry about.
I have been reading a few different translations, they are interesting.

(GW) Someone may say, "I'm allowed to do anything," but not everything is helpful. I'm allowed to do anything, but I won't allow anything to gain control over my life.
(MSG) Just because something is technically legal doesn't mean that it's spiritually appropriate. If I went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I'd be a slave to my whims.
(NLT) You say, "I am allowed to do anything"—but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything.
(KJV) All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

To me, they are all saying the same thing, the thing to be careful of here is that we can become a slave to the thing we are doing.
There are many more verses about being a slave to sin.

Rom 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So how do we know if we "are in Christ Jesus".
1 John 3:24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
1 John 2:3-4

So if we aren't under the commandments, if we are in him, but yet those who do the commandments are in him how do we resolve this circular logic?
Well part of it comes back to what we HAVE to do, and what we WANT to do.
The other part is that s that even though we are under the ordinances of the law, we are not under the penalty of the law.

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Rom 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!

The law of grace.. an interesting phrase, what does it mean? Grace = approval, mercy, pardon, reprieve, favor.
Mercy and pardon from what? Reprieve from what? Sin of course.

There are a couple ways to look at this....
Grace covers everything, every sin I have done and every sin I will ever do. So I might as well go for it and sin all I want to.
Grace covers everything, every sin I have done and every sin I will ever do. I should try not to sin, but if I do, grace has got me covered.

Some here are saying unbelief and not loving your neighbors are the only two sins we can do. That isn't what the Bible or Jesus say.
But if this is the case, then murder, adultery, homosexuality, lust, stealing and lying aren't sin.

Now at least some of these things are covered by the laws of men.
There are very few places where murder and stealing anything of substantial value aren't against the law.
As for everything else, some people are convinced they just aren't sin.

 

[Fragrant Grace]

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 1 Cor 6:12

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. 1 Cor 10:23

Frances Havergal wrote:

If He says what is in thine hand? Let us examine honestly whether it is something He can use to His glory or not. If not do not let us hesitate in dropping it.
It may be something we do not like to part with: but the Lord is able to give thee much more and ...will enable us to count those things loss which were gain to us....
If our hands are full of other things, they cannot be filled with the things that are Jesus Christ's...there must be emptying before there can be complete filling.

 

[Eric E Stahl]

Right and wrong are often determined by motive! I know a woman who has a large birthmark on her face. She uses a lot of makeup to cover the mark. There is nothing wrong with her doing that.

If a man or woman uses make up to send a sign to the opposite sex that they are on the hunt and to allure them, it is probably wrong.

 

[dannibear]

Right and wrong are often determined by motive! I know a woman who has a large birthmark on her face. She uses a lot of makeup to cover the mark. There is nothing wrong with her doing that.

If a man or woman uses make up to send a sign to the opposite sex that they are on the hunt and to allure them, it is probably wrong.

I agree. The heart is what Jesus sees. And I would like to add to that and say that I have freckles all over my face that I love, they are actually my favorite feature. I wear foundation that matches my skin tone to cover acne because I have the horrible habit of touching my face all the time. Since it matches well and is a liquid foundation, it doesn't cover my freckles, so I can keep what my mother used to call my 'angel kisses.' My sister has a large birth mark on her neck that is kind of light but noticeable and some kids like to pick on her for and say it's a 'hickey' but she doesn't cover it. She likes to use makeup to cover her acne, and you can still see all her freckles. (She has more than me.) She does not use makeup as some would say to 'attract men' or 'pump up her sex appeal.'

 

[Fragrant Grace]

Eric E Stahl[/B];216542]Right and wrong are often determined by motive! I know a woman who has a large birthmark on her face. She uses a lot of makeup to cover the mark. There is nothing wrong with her doing that.

If a man or woman uses make up to send a sign to the opposite sex that they are on the hunt and to allure them, it is probably wrong.

dannibear I agree. The heart is what Jesus sees. And I would like to add to that and say that I have freckles all over my face that I love, they are actually my favorite feature. I wear foundation that matches my skin tone to cover acne because I have the horrible habit of touching my face all the time. Since it matches well and is a liquid foundation, it doesn't cover my freckles, so I can keep what my mother used to call my 'angel kisses.' My sister has a large birth mark on her neck that is kind of light but noticeable and some kids like to pick on her for and say it's a 'hickey' but she doesn't cover it. She likes to use makeup to cover her acne, and you can still see all her freckles. (She has more than me.) She does not use makeup as some would say to 'attract men' or 'pump up her sex appeal.'

Yes, I can see how the motive for wearing makeup in these cases is totally different to a Christian woman who may, for example, utilise makeup to flaunt herself and attract men

The Lord searches the heart and knows all things.

...for He knoweth the secrets of the heart.
Psalm 44:31

I also know that the Lord loves us and accepts us just how we are....makeup or no makeup.
And that nothing we wear can make us more acceptable to Him, or make us 'better Christians'

How lovely to know that the Lord has blessed you with beautiful freckles dannibear
And He loves you no more or no less for having those freckles, or acne, or makeup

But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
1 Peter 3:4