I used to hate the Proverbs 31 woman. If you've spent any time pondering this passage of Scripture you'll know what I mean. She's perfect!
Let's make a brief list, shall we? First off, she sees to it that her expenditures are not wasteful--her husband doesn't need a second job. (Okay, I'm translating into 21st century reality here.)
She has a home-based business that pulls in enough income to allow her to purchase land. Because of her carefulness and industriousness, she wears nice clothes and her household are all suitably attired. Her husband is well-respected, and we get the feeling that it is in large part because his wife has things under control at home--he's fed well, and I'll bet his pants have a nice crease. He's happy and can concentrate on things "in the gate"-- public life.
Despite her outside activities, you know her heart is at home. On her tongue is the "law of kindness." Her husband and children love her and she is respected by all.
Do you feel like a loser yet? If you're like me, you're thinking of all the ways you fall short of this standard. Actually, if you think about it, all the commandments of Scripture set an impossibly high bar: . . . thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Lev. 19:18) Thinking about such a command can be discouraging: it reveals our selfishness.
Believe it or not, that is what the law of God is designed to do. The Apostle Paul described it this way: Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Gal 3:24) This "tutor" was a Greek household slave whose job it was to take the child by the hand and lead him to school.
You see, before we get to the "school," we dwell in the house of condemnation. We try to be good, either because our conscience demands it or perhaps we live in a home or church or society that expects certain things of us. Perhaps we even get a glimpse of our sinnership before God. At times, the Word of God can even seem like our enemy. We can only see our sin, and looking at the Scriptures make our shortcomings seem even worse. But that's a good thing. We need to realize the impossibility of earning favor with God. Only then will we desire another Way.
The School of Christ is our liberation from the pit of self-effort. We learn that He obeyed the law perfectly while here on this earth--not for Himself, but for us. We believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and not only are our sins washed away, we receive His robes of righteousness. His righteousness was "imputed" to us:
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (I Cor 5:21) This is a real, legal transaction.
The new heart given to the believer no longer desires to sin. True believers will not walk in sin as a habit of life. But sometimes, even true believers will see their shortcomings and make a wrong decision: they go back to the Law for their deliverance.
This is the "try harder" mentality. "But," you may protest, "the Bible says that we should mortify our sins!" In reality, our old man is crucified already. The mortification Paul speaks of is the choice of faith to lay aside the old ways and walk in newness of life.
He doesn't say, "Make sure you feel really bad for a while. Then form resolutions against this sin. After a period of time God will forgive you." That's penance. There is no such thing as penance in the Bible--only repentance, which is a turning away from sin and toward Christ. There are no prerequisites, nothing to earn here. Just look and live--whether it's for salvation, or for the forgiveness of the sins we stumble into so frequently after salvation.
Let's look again at the Proverbs 31 woman. If you are Christ's He will work in you many of these character traits. Not perfectly--there is no perfect woman. But study this passage, asking for the grace to walk in its truth--and notice the last section. The woman that "fears" the Lord shall be praised. This goes to the heart of the matter. What was this woman's motivation? It wasn't to quiet her conscience or to look good before others.
This woman had a gospel motivation: to please her King, the Lord of Life, the One Who forgave her sins. Let's start with that and let the rest follow.
