Is it wrong to wear makeup?

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Legalism includes the erecting of specific requirements of conduct beyond the teaching of Scripture and making adherence to them the means by which a person is qualified for full participation in the local family of God, the church. This is where unbiblical exclusivism arises and this is rampant within the Message.

In fact, William Branham admits that he has no Biblical support for his prohibition on makeup.

What does the Bible say about makeup?

Old Testament

There are many examples of jewelry being acceptable in the Old Testament. For example, Rebekah was given gold and silver jewelry by Abraham's servant:

When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.

As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring.

“I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ “She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.’ “Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, and I bowed down and worshiped the LORD.</ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ge 24:47–48.</ref>

Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.

The women of Israel wore jewelry which they gave as an offering to God:

So we have brought as an offering to the LORD the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.”

Solomon described his love as wearing jewelry:

Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver.

Jehovah is even described as giving jewelry to his bride, Israel:

‘I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you.  I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen.  And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD.

Makeup

Jezebel is described as wearing makeup but it is not condemned:

2 Kings 9:30

Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she put on eye makeup, arranged her hair and looked out of a window.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 4:30

What are you doing, you devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why highlight your eyes with makeup? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they want to kill you.

Ezekiel 23:40

“They even sent messengers for men who came from far away, and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, applied eye makeup and put on your jewelry.

The New Testament

The New Testament says nothing against wearing makeup. However, women are encouraged to dress with modesty:

I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

It would appear that the women were dressing immodestly to the point that it was causing disruption; they were becoming preoccupied with the externals of beauty (the clothing being condemned is opulent, the jewelry excessive) and neglecting things that were truly important such as doing good deeds. Therefore, Paul says that they are to dress in a way that is in keeping with their Christian character and to concentrate on what is most important. While their dress is an issue, their attitude is Paul’s true concern.

Peter says something similar to Paul:

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.

The Greek text literally says, ‘Let not your adorning be the outward adorning of braiding of hair and wearing of gold or putting on of clothing.’ It is incorrect, therefore, to use this text to prohibit women from braiding their hair or wearing gold jewellery, for by the same reasoning one would have to prohibit ‘putting on of clothing’. Peter’s point is not that any of these are forbidden, but that they should not be a woman’s ‘adorning’, her source of beauty.

It is acknowledged, but not condemned, that a man might come into church with a gold ring and that should not result in favoritism:

Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.

The Bible encourages modesty in dress. Both men and women are to be careful not to dress in a way that flaunts their sexuality or is unnecessarily ostentatious and seductive. But we have no right to condemn others for their wearing of colorful clothing or the use of makeup or a particular hairstyle.

What Paul is emphasizing is that Christian women should adorn themselves with clothing, hairstyles and jewellery which in their culture are inexpensive not extravagant, modest not vain, and chaste not suggestive

John R. W. Stott, Guard the Truth: The Message of 1 Timothy & Titus, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 84.

where does the Bible say that wearing makeup and jewelry is sinful? Where does the Bible condemn all drinking of alcohol? Where does the Bible teach us to measure sanctification by whether a woman wears slacks or by whether we go to the movies? The answer is nowhere. These rules do not come from the Bible but are part of the “doctrine of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1–5), which Paul here summarizes under the slogan, “Do not handle it! Do not taste it! Do not touch it!” (Colossians 2:21). Why does the church continually fall into this trap? Because keeping rules like these is a whole lot easier than dealing with envy, bitterness, hatred, lust, and other real sins. Moreover, the human heart is very happy to come up with its own rules, but resists submitting to God’s revealed law. We can persuade ourselves that we are holier than others if we don’t smoke or drink. But God is concerned with real holiness, not the superficial pseudo-holiness of the doctrine of demons.

Tabletalk Magazine, September 1992: Statism: One Nation over God (Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 1992), 20.

Thus, when we read in 1 Peter 3 that women are not to braid their hair and wear jewels and nice clothes, we have to take this statement in its biblical context. Some have ripped these verses out of context and argued that all makeup is sinful, that it is sinful for a woman to do anything with her hair; but such applications of these verses are sadly misguided.

Tabletalk Magazine, October 1992: Martin Luther: Man of Courage (Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 1992), 46.

Peter’s strong statement against jewelry and nice clothes needs to be interpreted the same way as Jesus’ statement that we have to hate our wives in order to be His disciple (Luke 14:26). We know from plenty of other passages that we are supposed to love our wives. But when we compare our loyalty to Jesus with our love for our family, the degree of difference should be so great that by comparison we almost “hate” our family. Similarly, it is perfectly fine for a Christian woman to wear nice clothes, jewelry, makeup, and have a nice hairstyle, but in comparison to the effort she makes to cultivate her character qualities, it should be as if she had no regard for her outward appearance at all.

Tabletalk Magazine, October 1992: Martin Luther: Man of Courage (Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 1992), 46.

Quotes of William Branham

Makeup is ungodly

You've took these precious sheep of God, these ladies, that caused them to bob off their hair, and wear makeup, and look like things that the Bible condemns.

Don't bob off your hair; don't wear makeup; don't do this; get it rugged. You'll appreciate me when I come to--to the end of the road. See?

But I have to admit I am just making up the rules as I go along

...Well, there's nothing in the Bible to say for you not to wear makeup. We just know it's wrong, 'cause it's of the world.

But when you pull out your real good teeth, because they're just not as bright as they should be, then you done wrong. If you've got red hair, and you want black, and you go down here and color it black, just because; you done wrong. Yeah, I think so. But the main thing… There's no Scripture for that.

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