The Sin of Cross dressing

Probably the most hated thing for ministers to preach against today is the sin of women wearing pants. Women who do so are oftentimes angered to hear preaching like this and usually nag their husbands, and sometimes even give their preachers an earful. Because the world does it, and because many women so often have worn pants all their lives, they can't see anything wrong with it. And when a preacher preaches against it, it makes them furious, claiming the preacher has gone to "meddling" instead of simply preaching the Bible. But is this so? Is a preacher just trying to shove off his own convictions on the females of his congregation when he preaches this, or is he indeed preaching the Bible? Let's look at the verses and then the arguments against it and I ask you to search your self and see what you believe about the issue.

My wife and I have our own convictions on the subject, and I'll tell you from the get-go what we believe. We don't believe in wearing each other's clothes! My wife doesn't wear my slacks, and I don't wear her dresses. She has a conviction against wearing pants, blue jeans, shorts, suits, etc. And I have a conviction against wearing dresses, skirts, kilts, blouses, etc. These are our own personal convictions.

And I'll further state we don't try to push our convictions on anyone (like the Pharisees did). However, we do believe in pointing out the Bible verses we use to prove why we believe what we do, and we encourage people to pray about it after they've seen the verses and do what they know is right to please God. If a woman can wear pants and think it's pleasing to God, then let her do it. If a guy can wear a dress and he thinks this pleases God, then more power to him. Our only desire is to show them the scriptures and then pray they will make a decision based upon what GOD says about the issue.

Many Christians don't know there is a verse in the Bible that deals with this issue. Oftentimes preachers preach against women wearing pants, but they don't back it up with scripture. When they do, they usually use verses that are taken out of context, or oftentimes are stretched to the desired goal of the preacher.

The main verse in dealing with cross dressing found in Deuteronomy 22:5. It states:

The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Because this verse is found in the Old Testament, many are quick to say, "Oh, that's written only to the Jews way back when under the law and it's not applicable to us today."

But is that the case? Of course we aren't under the law. In other words, we don't have to keep the law to be saved or stay saved.

However, look at that verse again. Notice it says it's an "abomination" to God for a man to wear that which pertains to a woman and vice versa.

Have you ever done a study on things in the Bible that God calls an abomination? You really should. For they are not only an abomination to God in the Old Testament, but they are still an abomination to God today. Just because we are under grace and not under the law doesn't mean it's not an abomination to God anymore.

Using this arguement, I could say the following, "Well, homosexuality was called an abomination to God in the Old Testament, but we are under grace, so it's okay today, and we as Christians should practice it!"

If I said that, I'm sure Christians would attack me vehemently and say, "NO! It's still wrong today!"

Well wait a minute? Then if that's wrong, because the Bible called it an abomination, then wouldn't women wearing pants be wrong as well?

Suddenly there is a great silence...

You see, you can't make an arguement like "Oh, that's just Old Testament law" and then say wearing pants is okay, unless you logically follow through with that argument and make all the things God said were an abomination to Him okay as well. And boy are there a lot of abominations in the Old Testament.

For my wife and I, we both don't want to be guilty of partaking in something God said was abominable. That's why for us personally we don't do cross-dressing. I don't wear dresses and she doesn't wear pants. That's our own personal conviction we've formed after reading the scriptures.

What we don't understand is when Christians hear this and know this that they can say, "Well, I don't care. So what if it's an abomination to God. I like my pants, and I'm going to wear them!"

How does this please the Lord? Shouldn't a women want to please God? And shouldn't a man want to do so as well? Doesn't a Christian woman's want to wear pants after she's heard and understood this show her rebellion against God and his word?

I'll let you answer that question for yourself. Once again, we aren't pushing our convictions on anyone. I'm not saying, like some crazy Fundamentalists do, "If a woman wears pants, she'll go to HELL!" That's ridiculous. However, I do point out the scriptures and the whole "abomination" thing and then look at how Christians respond to it. For me, we can't cross dress. My wife and I just feel we'd be dishonoring God if we did so. So how do others, who've heard the truth, continue doing so and it doesn't bother them at all?

Then the question becomes, "Well, is it a sin?" I'll neither say yea or nay. All I'll say is for me and my wife it is. While for others it might not be.

But one good thing about my wife wearing dresses only is that people notice her and see she's different. I can't tell you how many times we've been approached by people asking if we were Christians. Why did they say that? It was because of how we were dressed.

Wouldn't other Christian women get a chance to witness as well if they only wore dresses? But not doing so, are they robbing God of opportunites to witness for Christ?

I'll stop there. There are many more things I could say. But that's a lot for you to chew on. All I can say is, "I'm not going to wear dresses and my wife is not going to wear pants, and we like it that way! And we feel we are pleasing God! And it's been a great opportunity to witness for Jesus Christ, as people see our convictions and know we are different!"