Christian Womanhood
The Proverbs 31 Woman
Lesson 1 The Virtuous Woman
Scripture: Proverbs 31:10 � �Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.�
(All scripture references are King James 1611 only)
INTRODUCTION: God, in His infinite wisdom, has devoted a chapter in Proverbs specifically for the description of a Godly woman. This chapter contains every area of life in which a woman could be involved from her home to the business world. In each area she is above reproach and respected. There is not a chapter in the Bible devoted to men in this way. So, we must reason that we are so special to God and that He is so concerned with our behavior that He took the time to include this wonderful chapter in His perfect Word. In this series of lessons we will look at each aspect, and verse, in detail of this chapter. In this first lesson we will look at THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN.
I THE DEFINITION OF VIRTUOUS
Webster defines VIRTUOUS as �morally good; upright; chaste; pure.� Most of us understand �morally good� (high standards, separated), but what about upright, chaste and pure? The �virtuous� woman is all of these:
A. UPRIGHT � an upright person is one who is fair and honest; respected. Your family will see you as you are at home. Are you fair in your dealings with discipline; are you honest at the grocery store; does your family respect you because of your testimony for the Lord?
B. CHASTE � the basic definition of chaste is �lady-like.� A virtuous woman won�t dress outlandishly or gaudy as to draw attention to herself, but as a lady who could go to the mall and not be watched by security or to a ball game and not be mistaken as �one of the guys.� Her actions are just as tasteful as her dress and are that which becometh a lady. (I Timothy 2:9-10; Titus 2:5)
C. PURE � �free from any foreign matter that might lower its quality.� The virtuous woman carefully guards her testimony and keeps her life free from ANYTHING that might be a stumbling-block to those around her, especially her family.
II THE RARITY OF A VIRTUOUS WOMAN
�Who can find a virtuous woman? After reading all that is involved in being a virtuous woman, it is understandable as to why Solomon asked the question, �Who can find. . .� When a virtuous woman IS found, she is a rare find and should be treated as such. This is why it is so important and urgent that we begin training our daughters, granddaughters, and students at the toddler age to become virtuous women. They are so rare and it is up to Godly parents to train a generation of pure, chaste, morally upright women.
III THE VALUE OF A VIRTUOUS WOMAN
�. . .for her price is far above rubies.� The Lord compares the virtuous woman with a ruby. A ruby, in its purest form, is the most valuable of all gems. A lot of work goes into making a ruby the beautiful stone you see in your ring. When it is mined, a ruby is actually ugly to look at and must be taken to the jeweler to be polished and cut. It is the jeweler who gives the stone its value. Without the polishing and cutting, the stone is worth very little. The same is true in our own lives. We are the ruby and must be given to our Heavenly Father, the Jeweler, for polishing and cutting. One thing is true about the ruby that we need to learn is the fact that the ruby never complains about the methods of the jeweler nor does it climb off the workbench. One other note here is that the jeweler is the one who can see the value of the stone because he looks beyond the outside appearance. We tend to �write off� someone who has some rough edges instead of trying to be a tool in the polishing process. Praise the Lord that YOU weren�t written off by someone and that they had patience with you! �He saw not what I was, He saw what I could be.�
IV THE ROLE OF VIRTUE IN THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN (II Peter 1:4-9)
After we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior by asking Him to forgive us our sin and to save us, we are instructed to grow as a Christian. (II Peter 3:18) After the first step of obedience, baptism, is taken, our Christian growth is only hindered by the steps we DO NOT take. Here in II Peter we are told to add some character traits to the faith that is in us. (*Note: These traits do not SAVE us, but are part of our Christian growth.) The foundation trait we are to lay is that of VIRTUE. After virtue is added, these other traits are to be added also:
A. Knowledge (Hosea 4:6; II Timothy 2:15)
B. Temperance (Galatians 5:22) � Notice that the fruit of the spirit is �the� � singular. We must have ALL to be counted as having the fruit of the spirit.
C. Patience (Romans 5:3; James 1:3-4)
D. Godliness (I Timothy 4:7-8)
E. Brotherly kindness (Ephesians 4:32)
F. Charity (I Corinthians 13:4-7) � Expect nothing in return
*Not only are these traits, including virtue, to be found in us, they are to ABOUND (be in abundance) so that we won�t be �barren� in the knowledge of Jesus.
*It is a command that we grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (II Peter 3:18), therefore these qualities are to be found in the Christian. Since virtue is mentioned first, it seems to be the foundation for building the other traits that God so desires to be in us. When you find a virtuous woman, you will also find a woman with spiritual maturity, the fruit of the spirit, and the other qualities listed in II Peter 1. You will have found a woman who is tender-hearted toward the things of God and whose price is far above rubies.