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.
The invasion of the United States
54-0509 §124
...nds, back down yonder some hundreds of years ago, when there stood Jehoshaphat standing there by the side of King Ahab. And a little spirit down in his heart, still left of God, though he had made a mistake, told him, said, "This is wrong. This is wrong. It's not clean. It's not holy. The prophet has said these things couldn't go on like this." And the little fire of God woke him up. And then You had somebody to answer that little fire, which was Micaiah, the true prophet of God. Though he might have come up there...
Blind Bartimaeus
56-0407 §48
God, that's the way I present it to You tonight. I can't speak very much, but, God, I just... Maybe You can pick it out and give it to each heart just the way we meant it. May You open right at this time, many spiritual eyes, Lord, that's never seen the light of day, and the light of God's glory, and an experience of being born again. Grant it, Father. And while we have our heads bowed, the organ playing, I wonder if there would be someone in here just now, without God, without hope of eternal life. Would you slip...
Christianity versus Idolatry
61-1217 §91
...ing the other day, or had a little note and somebody said that if a man wasn't saved, and... If a man was saved and his wife wasn't saved, would they go in the rapture? The woman couldn't go in the rapture, there'd be no such a thing as a woman going in the rapture because they're one. Nonsense. Jesus said, "There'll be two in a bed, and I'll take one and leave one." It's an individual affair between you and God. Surrender your body, whether mama, papa, children, anything else receives it or not. Amen! O God! This...
Expectation
61-0207 §47
So Simeon was a man of great reputation amongst the people. But he wasn't ashamed. Some of us claim to have the Holy Spirit. We get a revelation from God that we should stop doing the things we're doing. "But yet, if I do... I run around with the Joneses over here. What will they think about me?" Some of you women bobbed off your hair, you know, because Suzy did it. "Well, if I have to let my hair grow, they'd call me old-fashioned." Uh-huh. But the Holy Ghost tells you you should do it. The Bible said so. Now, if...
Hebrews, Chapter 7, part 2
57-0922 §54
Now, this Melchisedec, this great Person that was met on the road, Abraham paid tithes to Him. How great a man He must have been! Now, notice quickly: Who is made, not after the law of ... carnal commandments. Now, see that legalist law? The law said, "Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal." Jesus turned right back around, said, "It is said of them of old times, 'Thou shalt not kill,' but I say whoever is angry with his brother, without a cause, has killed already. It is said of...