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.
Church Ages, part 7: The Sardisean Church Age
60-1209 §87
...at's right. "Ped" comes from "pedestrian." That's on your foot. And that's exactly what they need. That's right. But, oh, you say, "Well, now I think it's more decent for a woman to wear that than it is for a skirt." God said, "It's an abomination in his sight for a woman to put on a garment..." And when a woman cuts her hair like a man... God wants a woman to look like a woman, dress like a woman, act like a woman.
Questions and Answers on Hebrews, part 3
57-1006 §85
Now listen to this: For the man is not of the woman; but the woman is of the man. For this cause ought a woman to have power on her head because of the angels, Any of you read it? I Corinthians, the 11th chapter, and the 10th verse. If you notice, "power of the angels," I Corinthians, because the angels is the man, the messenger. Look, it's a little "a" again. Where Angels are concerned, of heavenly Angels, it's a big "A," capital "A." Where it's a little "a," it's men---angels. Nevertheless neither is the man ......
Questions and Answers, Part 2
64-0823E §33
Now, I know you Nazarene people, it used to be that you wouldn't even baptize a woman with a wedding ring on, see. I don't believe that as necessary. In the Bible they wore wedding rings, only it was a tablet they called it, around their head, nine pieces of coin in it. But I ... to show they were married. Now, I think that's all right. If women want to dress and make themselves look decent, clean, ladylike, why, I think there's not a thing to that, to me. But when you get to going to put that thing into making it...
Has the Lord spoken only to Moses?
53-1130 §21
And she said... Just so, like, just dressed like a man and you know the Bible says that a woman that'll put on a garment that looks like a man's is an abomination to God. You know the Scripture says that. It's the truth. And look, young ladies, if you'll just leave all that there stuff off, you'll look a lot prettier. That's right. Just take a little James 5:14 and mix in a little John 3:16, and add it all together and stir it up; that's the best makeup you'll ever have. Is that right? It's true. Let me tell you so...
A True Sign that's overlooked
61-1112 §110
...join churches---Pentecostal churches---come back out and never change a bit, stay the same thing, never move a bit. Oh, mercy! What is it? Modern Jezebels. There's only one woman in the Bible that ever painted her face, and God fed her to the dogs. Modern Jezebels dragging their Ahabs around by the collar. Any little sissified man that'll let his wife do like that, wear shorts and things, and get out here on the street, and dress in dresses look like she's skinned tight like a wiener, skinned up like that, and... I...