To Jezebel or Not to Jezebel

Real women of God don’t need concealer to leave the house feeling their best; their confidence is rooted in Christ alone and not in beauty hacks.

Your beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but in Christ’s. Peter drives this point home in 1 Peter 3:1–6. True beauty is not found in outward adornment, but in our conduct, which is an extension of our heart (Matthew 15:18):

To Jezebel or Not to Jezebel

However, before we throw out all of our gold jewelry, stop wantonly braiding our hair, and trade our clothes for potato sacks, it’s important to look at how Christ adorns his bride:

I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. (Ezekiel 16:10–12)

As we continue to read this passage, we realize that the problem isn’t in the lavish gifts that Christ bestows upon Israel, but Israel’s vain trust in those gifts instead of in her Savior (Ezekiel 16:15). If adornment was the problem, Christ would not have lavished fine clothing upon her; rather, the problem is when our worship shifts from the Giver of beautiful gifts to ourselves.

God’s word makes it clear that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Whether we were blessed with perfectly symmetrical faces and bodies that just won’t quit, or acne scars and postpartum lumpiness, we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26) and are therefore precious in His sight.

The difference between a Backslider and a Reprobate. Backslider still has the Holy Spirit but is walking in a state the grieves the Spirit and needs to repent and turn back to Christ. A Backslider is still capable of turning back to Christ and being accepted. Reprobate no longer has the Holy Spirit as they have rejected God to the point where he gives them over to their desires to do what they want. A Reprobate is not capable of turning back to Christ and being forgiven.

Further, God’s concern for us reaches past our outward appearance and into our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). And if we are His children, those hearts are being transformed by and conformed to Christ (Romans 12:1–2). 

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is GOD’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.” -- 1 Thessalonians 5:18-22

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