Proverbs 12:2 Commentary and Bible Study

Although ‘none is good, save one, that is, God’ (Luke 18:19), believers are called ‘good’ by the word of God because goodness is a leading characteristic of the new nature created within them at the new birth. This new aspect of their characters prevails over the old nature and should have the ascendency at all times. To ensure this, they must consciously and deliberately pursue goodness, taking steps to put to death every impulse from the flesh that tends to advance self by means contrary to God’s law. Goodness is set in contrast to the use of wicked devices, because goodness is committed to using good means to obtain a good end. The word ‘obtain’ may also be translated ‘elicits’, which suggests that goodness causes the Lord’s favourable response to his people. That, of course, is not the true explanation, because the sovereign Lord initiates all things, but he places a power in our hands to please him, and he responds with favour for our encouragement. For such a man, every decision involves an element of asking, ‘Does this please the Lord?’ It is possible for those who are unknown to rulers and high officials to have the personal favour of the Lord. A good man values highly the favour of God, and is anxious to be open with his God and to expose all his motives to the Lord’s scrutiny. But a man of wicked devices operates in the realm of deceit. He too is observed by God, but his works produce a quite different response. This man sits there at the centre of a fortress constructed out of deceit. There he feels safe, but God will remove his screen of lies piece by piece until his nakedness is exposed.We keep the background picture in mind. An honest and diligent worker is concerned to earn favour; he wants to please. His attitude to his work is: ‘My boss will observe what I do, and I want to do a good job. He will either be pleased, or he will be disappointed, or even angry.’ But another man is cheating his employer, trying to get out of doing all the work, and finding subtle ways of covering up his shortcomings. He will be condemned nonetheless, which in the parable simply means that his work will not be approved.