Published on February 3rd, 2007 | by Alex and Brett Harris

CJ Mahaney: The Soul of Modesty

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TheRebelution.com's Modesty Survey Brett and I are excited to share the following resource with you. It is heart-focused, grace-filled, gospel-centered message by CJ Mahaney, entitled The Soul of Modesty.

CJ Mahaney is the leader of Sovereign Grace Ministries, the man who mentored our brother Josh at Covenant Life Church, and one of Brett’s and my living heroes.

In his generosity and support of this project, Mr. Mahaney has given special permission to make this audio message available to our readers free of charge.

If we could, we would make everyone listen to this message before viewing the survey results. As it is, we strongly encourage each of you to avail yourself to this wonderful resource. We know you will be blessed.

+ ‘The Soul of Modesty’ +
Message by C.J. Mahaney © 2003 Covenant Life Church

Additional Modesty Resources

The Responsibility of Modesty (Part 1): Excerpted from the not-yet-released survey results, a 20-year-old Christian man shares a powerful summation of men’s responsibility in this area.

The Responsibility of Modesty (Part 2): Excerpted from the not-yet-released survey results, a 22-year-old Christian man shares an insightful analogy explaining the responsibility of women to protect their brothers in Christ.

The Purpose of Clothing: John Piper explains both the negative and positive messages God communicated by clothing Adam and Eve after they fell into sin.

About the Author

Alex and Brett Harris are the co-founders of TheRebelution.com and co-authors of Do Hard Things and Start Here. They have a passion for God and for their generation. Their personal interests include politics, filmmaking, music, and basketball. They are both graduates of Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia.

Stephanie Amber

I have heard of this message, but have not yet listened to it. I am about to right now. I will comment later and let you know how I liked it! Thanks for posting it!
Stephanie Amber

All I can say about this message is…..WOW!!!! It effected me so much. Though I have always tried to dress as modestly as possible, it is hard because I don’t have a dad or any brothers to help me discern what is and what is not modest. My mom and I try our best to discern what is and what is not modest, but it is not easy.
Girls: There is a website called http://www.girltalk.blogs.com. It is a wonderful site and there is a section on modesty. You can download a modesty heart check. It is so helpful (I thought most of you would be interested in it).
I am so looking forward to seeing the results!!
http://www.lifesong-kim.blogspot.com Kim

CJ and Carloyn Mahaney came to our church last year and spoke on this! We have the CDs also! The messages are great! Thanks for posting this! It is great encouragement and teaching!

Kim
http://www.xanga.com/organblaster Hope

Thanks so much for posting that message. It really spoke to me.

Can’t wait to see the survey results!
erika_h

Thanks for posting that great message! It really is a challenge to dress modestly. Thankfully, I have a great dad who tells me when I’m wearing something immodest. Now I can hardly wait to see the modesty survey results!
http://www.unconformed.wordpress.com Jacqui

Thanks guys, and CJ for sharing!

A brief anecdote about this: A homegroup leader in our church asked his group–mainly single guys–to listen to “The Heart of Modesty” by CJ (on humility) for discussion. But he accidentally handed out “The Soul of Modesty” instead….
Jess

Toward the end of the message, CJ mentions a detailed modesty check created by Carolyn….. anyone know where a copy of this is available online? I live in Australia.
Thanks!
http://www.unconformed.wordpress.com Jacqui

Here you are, Jess. It is in PDF:

http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/pdf/teaching/modesty_heart_check.pdf
KateLou

WOW!!! Great message! Thanks guys for making it availiable to us!!
David Daniel

How are we supposed to approach non-Christian girls about immodest, if at all? Not in church (Mahaney was quite clear about that), but outside it.
John R

I took a look at the “Modesty Heart Check” PDF. I don’t want to poo-poo anyone’s sincere efforts, but I’d like to point out that the usefulness of such “checks” is limited by ambiguities. For instance:

“Is my shirt just plain too tight?” (How tight is too tight? In whose opinion?)

“…if what I’m wearing is too tight around my backside…”

“If I see too much leg…”

“Does it reveal too much?”

As Stephanie Amber comments above, it’s hard for a gal to know how much is too much, how tight is too tight, how high is too high, unless she hears it straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. That’s why I have high hopes for the Modesty Survey — it gets specific enough to be useful. Unfortunately, some things, such as “tightness,” can’t be communicated well in words. But the Modesty Survey is, I think, about as good as it can be.
Stephanie Amber

John R.: I have the modesty heart check on my mirror and, though I truly appreciate the Mahaney women’s effort, it is hard to know what is too tight, if it’s too tight around the backside, etc. Though, in many ways, it is helpful. I’m glad my first comment made sense: I wasn’t sure if people would understand what I was trying to say. You got it exactly.
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Sandra Gifford

Is it possible to purchase a copy of this tape? I am a retired pastor’s wife who has been thinking of little else the last couple weeks than the subject of women’s dresss and modesty.
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Clam

http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=A1170-06-59

Here’s where the pdf is now.
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http://att Banana

Too tight is too tight! If a girl can see the shape of her bra distinctly through the fabric of her shirt, or if her pants are going to show crack when she leans over, or if the threads on the creases of her pants threaten to bust, it’s too tight or low cut! Pray to God for discernment. Your clothes should fit, but they should not “leave nothing to imagination.”
http://att Banana

It helps to ask a older brother, mature I mean, or a dad or close male relation for his perspective on what you wear.
ALSO BE AWARE OF THE RESPONSES YOU GET! I once received a funny look from a guy when I wore my purse strap across my chest. I never wear my purse like that now.
Guys see things differently, and even Christian guys are “lead astray” by what Sisters in Christ are wearing.
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http://Rebelution.com Anna Rose

You know a good book to read that talks about modesty and stuff like that is “Who Calls Me Beautiful?” by Regina Franklin. it is such a powerful book!!!!! every person who reads this book will be changed forever!!!
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