Joseph Scibbe
Puritan Board Junior
First of all: The church building is not the house of God "Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands" Acts 7:48. I don't like the comments that say that people that don't "dress up" means that what I wear is simply picked out in a flippant manner. There is no correlation between the reverence in my heart toward the worship of God and the clothes I wear. If I were to wear a suit to my church and do all the exact same things with the same motivation then I really don't think God would look down and say "Finally he really wants to worship". That is legalism plain and simple.
Joseph,
FIRST allow me to take exception to your absolute distinction between the "church building" and the "house of God". Where a congregation owns, or has the use of a building for worship it ought to be recognized that when they are assembled in said building for the worship of God they are, at that time "the house of God"(1 Peter 2:4); they are where the special presence of the Lord is among His worshipping people.
SECOND, some in this thread have fixated upon the Western culture's preference for a suit. This is to miss most of what has been carefully presented showing how every culture recognizes when someone has chosen a more casual attire over a more formal attire.
THIRD, you must not expect me to take you seriously when you say:
.There is no correlation between the reverence in my heart toward the worship of God and the clothes I wear
If this were true then we might well find you attending in swimming trunks and flip-flops, all well intentioned and unaware that your attitude toward the worship of the Almighty was suspect.
Also, your use of 1 Peter is really bad form. The text even specifies that is a spiritual house and not any type of physical house. You must not expect me to take you seriously when you miss plain Scriptural meaning like that.