Women’s Dress

The Bible says:

^"A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this." Deuteronomy 22:5

The Bible does not address the style of clothing that Christians are to wear. It does say that women are to dress modestly. Message believers, as well as some other Christians, interpret Deuteronomy 22:5 to say that women should not wear pants. We should respect any woman's desire to abstain from wearing pants if she believes it's the Lord's will for her, but this verse does not say that women are not to wear pants. It addresses the issue of cross-dressing, which is actually a perversion to the Lord. The issue is really with the heart. Women are to dress like women without the desire to appear masculine and men are not to partake in a perverted pleasure by wearing women's clothing. Paul said that women were to dress modestly. 

Do you know what was modest in Paul's day and culture? Men and women wore identical undergarments. The women's outer garments differed from the men's only in that it was longer so as to cover the feet. And historically speaking in many ancient cultures, including Assyria and Egypt before the time of Moses, women wore pants first and men followed. You would be hard pressed to find many Message believers who follow this "biblical" description of modesty or not wearing that which pertains unto a man. William Branham's "dress code" was not based so much on the Bible as it was on retaining the old fashioned American style of dress. In America today, a woman can be perfectly modest and free from "cross-dressing" while wearing pants. In our culture, pants do not pertain to a man (unless a woman is intentionally wearing men's styled pants to appear masculine). Yes, there are styles of pants that are immodest. Tight fitting jeans, or jeans with holes in inappropriate places in order to attract the wrong kind of attention, etc. 

The Lord gave Israel the Law to teach them what sin was. We as Christians are no longer under Law, but have the Law of God written on our hearts. The dress code of the Message is based on man-made laws derived from William Branham's interpretation of the Law of Moses. We as Christians are not governed by that Law, but by obedience to the Spirit of God who lives in us.