How Can a Christian Woman Swim Safely Without Offending God in Dress?
1) Direct Answer
A Christian woman can swim without offending God by keeping modesty, separation, and a feminine testimony. Choose private or women‑only settings; avoid mixed bathing and beaches. Wear a loose, opaque, feminine swim garment that does not reveal the form when wet, covers the body well (neckline high, sleeves at least to the elbow, hem well below the knee—mid‑calf is safer), and is not transparent, tight, split, or clingy. Do it for health or family refreshment, not for show. Keep a meek, shamefaced spirit, and if there is any doubt in the heart, don’t do it.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- The Bible says women are to “adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety” (1 Timothy 2:9–10). Modesty is not only the cloth, but the spirit—yet it does govern how we dress.
- “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man” (Deuteronomy 22:5). So the outer garment should remain clearly feminine, not the form or style of men’s wear.
- Peter points to the hidden man of the heart, with a meek and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:3–4). The inside life shows on the outside.
- We must not be a stumbling block (Romans 14:13; 1 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus said a man can commit adultery in his heart by looking with lust (Matthew 5:28). So we guard our brothers by not displaying the body.
- God covered Adam and Eve with coats, not mere aprons (Genesis 3:7, 21). Isaiah 47:2–3 shows that uncovering the thigh is counted as nakedness; Exodus 28:42 shows covering from the loins even to the thighs. Now notice, Scripture treats exposure of the thigh as nakedness—so coverage below the knee is a safe, clean standard.
- “Love not the world” (1 John 2:15) and “be not conformed” (Romans 12:2). Beaches and mixed pools are built for display; separation keeps the testimony clean.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Water makes thin fabric cling and show the body. So choose garments and fabrics that stay opaque and loose when wet.
- Mixed settings put a woman’s body before men’s eyes. Even if her intent is pure, the effect can still stumble others and stain her witness.
- A feminine outer garment honors Deuteronomy 22:5. If functional underlayers are used for coverage, keep them under a proper, loose, opaque swim dress so the visible outfit remains clearly feminine.
- If you have to ask, “Is this too tight, too short, too sheer, or too revealing when wet?” it’s already a warning from the conscience. Better to please the Lord than to fit the culture.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Salvation is in the new birth, but the new birth shows itself. You see, holiness is beautiful when it’s simple, modest, and separate. Walk softly, cover cleanly, and keep your testimony above reproach.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Doors in door
65-0206 §66
...hese women out on the street. It's a disgrace! Maybe innocent little women with these little, bitty clothes on. Why, it's a disgrace the way they look. Well, you say, "Why, woman, you are committing adultery." They say, "Wait a minute here, young man, I'm just as virtuous as I..." That might be so, in your own thoughts. And it might be so, proving even by a medical examination, that you might be. But remember, at the day of the judgment, you're going to answer for committing adultery. Jesus said, "Whosoever looketh...
Life
58-0519 §48
And you women, at ten o'clock at morning when you ought to have prayer meeting, you listen to some old ungodly thing like Arthur Godfrey with his old dirty jokes and things with that bunch of women, and then call yourselves Christians. Go on. That's the truth. You say, "Brother Branham, I don't wear shorts. I wear slacks." That's worse! The Bible said that a woman that will put on a garment pertaining to a man is an abomination in the sight of God, and God doesn't change. And you wear these little old skirts that's...
The faith that was once delivered to the saints
53-1129A §38
I'm not here to tell you how to dress and what to dress. That's between you and God, but listen when a person gets right with God, God will take care of the rest of it. That's right. I don't have no ruling say you have to do this, and wear your dresses, and your skirts, and men have to do this. There's no rule. Just like up in my country. There's a oak tree, a little old scrub oak, it holds its leaves all winter long. When springtime comes, you don't have to go pick off the old leaves so the new ones will come on....
Door to the heart
59-1128 §30
...lady said to me, she said, "I don't wear shorts." And I said, "Well, good for you." She said, "I wear slacks." I said, "That's worse." It's the truth. The Bible said---and God is infinite and cannot change---"It's an abomination for a woman to put on a garment that pertains to a man." You see that door they keep closed up? If Christ could come in there, He'd make it different. You say, "I'm a Christian," but you keep that door shut. "He's not welcome. He can't be Lord." Even get mad at the pastor if he preaches ag...
Christianity versus Idolatry
61-1217 §75
Where it said, "Baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," they make "Father, Son, Holy Ghost," three gods, out of it. They take all kinds of dogmas, and make up all kinds of things, and sprinkling instead of immersing. Everything! Make some kind of a man-made wallow out of it, instead of putting it in the jewel, in the great King, Christ. Oh, hallelujah! That's God incarnate, Christ! They corrupt the ways of God. Let the people come in the church, women with bobbed hair, wearing make-up, dresses on that looks...