Trinity Baptist Church

God’s Perfect Ten

The Tenth Commandment

Exodus 20:17

 

Tonight we come to the last of the Ten Commandments, and while each of them are unique in their own way, this one is different from all of the others except the first in that the others deal with actions while this one deals with attitude. The others deal with deeds, this one deals with desires.

 

It’s almost as if the commandments come full circle.  He began with attitude about God. These Jews were to have no other Gods.

 

Then the next eight are about actions. They weren’t to make idols or speak God’s name in vain or violate the Sabbath.  Parents were to be honored.  No murder or adultery or stealing or lying.

 

Then we come to this tenth one and it is once again about attitude rather than action. To covet means to have an unlawful desire or want something that belongs to someone else.

 

And that desire could be almost anything. You might covet someone's influence or money; it might be their power or fame; it could be their appearance or popularity or even their health or possessions.

 

The verse runs the gamut on what not to covet. 

 

That doesn’t mean we're not to want things or never have a desire. As a matter of fact, it is right to want certain things.  Speaking of spiritual gifts, the Bible says to desire the best gifts.

There are certain things that you can desire, certain things that you want.  These things are normal and natural.  It's alright to want love or friendship, home, happiness, joy, success, victory, peace, a wife, a husband, that's alright.  But you're not to want that which is not rightfully yours, not lawfully yours.

 

And since it is such a prevalent problem in our society, I think we desperately need to understand what command is addressing.

 

So notice three things about this command.  First of all, I want you to notice

 

 

Mark 7:21

 

Why is a man covetous? One of the roots is sinfulness. It roots back to our relationship with the devil.  We explored that concept in regard to lying.  He is the father of lies.  In fact, I think it safe to say he is the father of all sin, including covetousness.

 

It was the original sin before the original sin.  Generally we refer to original sin as that of Adam and Eve in the Garden, but I will remind you there was a sin before that one.

 

It was the devil who coveted the throne of God and that's how Lucifer, the son of the morning, became Satan, the father of the night. The original sin was covetousness. Then the very first sin the devil spawned on earth with Adam and Eve was to tempt them to feed their desire for something that didn’t belong to them.

 

It was covetousness that corrupted mankind and since then we have a sinful covetous nature.

 

It is in us all.  Jesus said these things come out of the heart.  There's not a person here that at some time or the other has not coveted. Obviously, one of the roots of covetousness is sinfulness. 

 

It also roots in selfishness.  Because we are sinful, we are also selfish.  It is sin that separates us from God.  It is sin that causes a man to die spiritually and when he dies spiritually there's a part of him that is missing; so rather than being God-centered, he now becomes self-centered.

 

Man then becomes an ego-maniac and he lives for himself and that's why people are covetous.  They're seeking to satisfy themselves.

 

Charles Kinsley said if you wish to be miserable, think about yourself - about what you want, about what you like, what respect people ought to pay you - then to you nothing will be pure.  You will spoil everything you touch, you will make misery for yourself out of everything good; you will be as wretched as you choose.

 

So first of all, covetousness roots back to our sinful nature.  Secondly, we're selfish because we're sinful. What comes next?

 

 

Luke 12:15

 

First He gives the truth about which He’s teaching.  Here is the principle.

Then He tells a parable to illustrate the truth.

Verses 16-21

 

Now, what was this man's problem?  He was a materialist, he was a covetous man.  He knew how to make a living but he didn't know how to make a life.  He didn't own money, money owned him and he thought that he could satisfy his soul with material things.  What a shallow man this man was.

 

He thought that the deepest needs could be satisfied with material things. Listen:  we were made for the infinite and we can never be satisfied with the finite.  We were designed for the eternal; we can never be satisfied with the temporary.

 

And yet the whole world seems to be trying to satisfy itself with worldly things.  But Jesus said, “You can gain the whole wolrd and still lose your soul. The world is too small to satisfy you and what a shallow person the covetous person is because he's trying to satisfy the longings of his soul with things that can never satisfy.

 

These are the roots of covetousness:  sinfulness, selfishness and shallowness.  Do you know anybody like that?  There are a lot of shallow people.   Somebody asked a church pastor, “How big is your church field?”

 

He said, “About twenty miles wide and half an inch deep.”  God forbids covetousness for our own good.  He understands man has a vacuum in his heart and it will never be satisfied by simply getting what belongs to others.

 

 

Now the second thing I want you to notice, not only the roots of covetousness, but notice

 

Covetousness, first of all is

 

 

Turn to 1 Timothy 6:9 and let me show you what I mean.

 

Now notice the phrasing here.  It doesn't say they that are rich. Nowhere in the Bible is being rich called a sin. But the Bible says those who desire to be rich, those who set their goal, their ambition for this riches are the target of his words.

 

If that is the prime motivation of your life, if that is the will of your life, the driving force of your life, then you are in for a rude awakening.

 

Verse 10

 

The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It doesn't say money is the root of all evil, as some erroneously say, it says the love of money is a root, not the root, a root, of all kinds of evil.

 

If we had the time, we could make our way through the Bible and see illustrated over and over again how covetousness can cause you to break each of the other nine commandments.  The desire to get is an octopus that fastens itself upon the soul and cannot be shaken off apart from the power of God.  What a debasing sin it is.

 

 

I was reading a while back about a man who was very successful in a chain of restaurants.  He became even famous as a caterer, but when it came time for this successful businessman, this wealthy man to die, his family gathered around his deathbed, his relatives were there, they were bending low to find out what his last words would be.  He whispered something in a forced voice.  He said, Remember to slice the ham thin.  Now, he's dying and covetousness had kicked his soul to death.

 

It is a debasing sin.  It is

 

 

2 Thessalonians 2:5

 

The deceitfulness of of covetousness is it's a sin that nobody else thinks he has. You know what you're thinking right as I'm preaching.  Preacher, tell them about that sin of covetousness, they really need to hear it.  All of these folks near the front have a shovel and they're just shoveling it over their shoulder and all of those in the back have an umbrella and they're just letting it slide off on everybody else and they're just saying, “You tell them how they ought not to be covetous.”  Nobody ever thinks he's covetous.  That's a strange thing.

 

Do you know what Charles Haddon Spurgeon said?  He was a preacher of yesteryear and a great preacher and he said this tongue in cheek with a twinkle in his eye.  He said, “I've seen thousands of people converted but I've never seen one covetous man converted.”

 

 

What he meant by that is not that covetous people don't get saved because they may and they do, but what he meant is he never heard a man confess that he was saved from the sin of covetousness.

 

Do you know what Frances Xavier, the leader of Roman Catholics of yesteryear, had to say?  He said, “As an older man I have listened to thousands of confessions and I have yet to hear one person confess the sin of covetousness.”

 

We always think that it is for the other person but not for us.  It is a deceiving sin and if you're not careful it will deceive you and that's the reason the Savior said to beware of covetousness.

 

It is debasing, it is deceiving and it is

 

 

Some people think that this is just a little old minor sin.  After all, it's not such a big deal to want something that belongs to someone else.

 

And I promise you there are some people right here tonight to who wouldn't think of getting drunk or committing adultery, but you can’t stand that someone has a newer iPhone than you do and somehow you think it ‘s ok for you to be like that.  If that’s you, look at what we read in

 

Ephesians 5:5

 

Notice the company in which God puts you if you are covetous.  God's description of covetousness is that you are an idolater who has no part in the kingdom of Christ and of God."  It is a damning sin.

Think about the rich young ruler.  HE came to Jesus bragging about how he kept the commandments.  Jesus said, “Then go sell every thing you have, give it to the poor and come follow me.”

 

He is the only man Jesus asked to do that and it wasn’t a condition for salvation.  Jesus just wanted to reveal to this man what his problem was.  His problem was covetousness and little did he dream, he thought that he was a commandment keeper and he thought that he was so fine, but he was eaten up with the transgression of the tenth commandment.

 

And the Bible says he turned and walked away, damned to hell because he would not confess his sin of covetousness.

 

Did you know that there are people who will not come down this aisle and profess faith in Jesus Christ and become a part of a church because they think if they do, the church will want some of their money?

 

Have you ever heard anybody say, “All they want down there is your money”?

 

Do you know what motivates a man to say that?   Covetousness.

 

Did you know that there are people who would give up coming to church before they would give up getting a new car?  I’ve watched people wreck their life in order to take a job that kept them out of church so they could buy more stuff, and at the altar of covetousness they sold their soul for a little larger paycheck.  Covetousness is a damning sin.

 

 

We’ve seen the roots and the results.  Before we quit, let’s look at

 

 

How can old covetous hearts like yours and mine ever be changed?

 

I would suggest a three-fold remedy.

 

 

Everything starts there because when you commit your heart and life to Jesus Christ, you get a new heart and life.

 

Do you remember that passage that says, "out of the heart of man proceeds covetousness"?

 

Now if that's the problem with your heart you need a new heart.  And here’s the good news:

 

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

You get a brand new heart.  You see, Christians are not just nice people; they're new Christians who’ve been born again and given a new nature.

 

That doesn't mean that it will never be possible for you to covet again, but it does it need not be your way of life because Christ is in you and he's given you a new heart.

 

Now, that old nature will still be there also and from time to time you'll experience that old pull.  But when you yield to your new nature, then Christ will take over.

 But understand, there's no way to be victorious over this sin or any sin until you have the nature of Christ in you.  SO first of the rememdy for covetousness involves a commitment to Christ.

 

 

Some people have committed to Christ but they've not yet discovered all that they have in Christ and therefore they are not yet contented in Christ.

 

Hebrews 13:5

 

Now, the word conduct means behavior.  Let your behavior be without covetousness.  Now that's the command, how are we to fulfill it?

 

Keep reading.

 

Verse 5b

 

You say, “Content with such things as I have”?  But I don't have anything!  I beg your pardon!  Are you a Christian?  Are you saved?  Are you born again?

 

If you are, then you'll understand what he's talking about because he's not talking about material wealth.  If you want to know how wealthy you are, if you want to know how rich you are, you add up anything that you have that money cannot buy and death cannot take away, then you'll know how rich you are.

 

In fact, if you want to know what you have, keep reading. . .

 

Verse 5c

You've got Jesus.  And if you've got Jesus you've got everything and that's not just talk.  That's true.  You can be content in the Lord Jesus Christ.  I don't care where you are or what your situation.  Everybody enjoys living nicely and comfortably, but do you know what the apostle Paul says in the book of Philippians?

 

"I've learned in whatever state I kind myself to be content."

How could he say that?  Because Paul had Jesus Christ in his heart and Jesus had said to Paul, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.

 

Listen:  Only people in Jesus have the potential to be content.  And unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are saved, but not content. But you show me a Christian who has let go of this world with both hands and has taken hold of Jesus Christ with both hands and I'll show you a Christian who is content and has joy unspeakable and full of glory and has come to the place where he need not covet because he has what satisfies him - he has the Lord Jesus Christ in his heart.

 

I feel sorry for people who don't know Jesus Christ in this life.  Ernest Hemingway was brilliant, talented, wealthy, and all of the rest of it, but do you know what he said?  “Life is just a dirty trick, a short journey from nothingness to nothingness.  There is no remedy for anything in life.  Man's destiny in the universe is like a colony of ants on a burning log” and he ended his life by committing suicide.

 

He had wealth, he had intellect, he had talent, he had praise, he had popularity, but he didn't have Jesus Christ.

I want to tell you, we're not a colony of ants on a burning log.  We're children of the king; we're royal bluebloods.  We're somebody and God's spirit bears witness with our spirit that we're children of God.

 

God offers you absolute satisfaction in Jesus.  Listen:  to not want something is just as good as owning it; as a matter of fact, it's better because you don't have to maintain it.

 

Uncle Bud Robertson, Robertson was a Nazarene preacher.  He'd always preached in country churches.  One day they took him to New York City, he'd never been to New York City.  He was tongue tied, talked with a lisp, and he went to New York City, Time Square, all of those places, saw all of those things.

 

Finally he got back to his hotel room that night and he got down by his bedside and he knelt in prayer and he said, “Lord, I thank you that you let me see all of these things.”

 

Then he said, “Lord, most of all, I thank you that I didn't see a single thing I wanted.”

 

Amen!  "Be content with what you have because He has said, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee’."

 

Listen if you have everything you need in Jesus and can lay down at night in absolute rest and satisfaction you are the richest person in the world!

 

Now, you think about that.  The cure for covetousness is first of all, a commitment to Christ who alone can give you a new heart, who alone can change that old covetous nature.

Secondly, contentment in Christ to find out the riches that we have in Christ.

 

Then third,

 

 

Now watch this:  When I commit to Christ, He commits to me and he comes into me and when he comes into me, he gives me a new nature.  And then when I contain him, He starts to love others through me.  IN reality, it's not me loving you, it's Jesus loving you.

 

The Bible says, "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost."  Now, draw up your chair real close and listen:

 

It is impossible to really love someone if you covet what they have.  Could you imagine a husband being covetous of his wife’s happiness?  Of course not!  Your happiness is rooted in her happiness.  When she is contented, your life is better.

 

Have you ever seen parents who were covetous of what their children have?  Could you imagine being covetous of your children’s wealth and success and happiness? No, just the opposite.  When they’re happy and doing well, you’re happy and doing well.

 

Why?  Because you love your wife, you love those children and when you contain the Lord Jesus Christ and Jesus throws his love into you and puts his love into you and you begin to contain him and love other people, you won't find yourself coveting your neighbor's house and wife and stuff because Christ in you makes a difference and what a difference!

I heard about an old Amish farmer who promised 40 acres of prime farmland to anyone who was perfectly satisfied with what he had.

 

One day a man showed up to try and claim that land.  The old farmer said, “Art thou perfectly satisfied with what thou hast?”

 

The man replied, “Yes, absolutely!”

 

The old farmer said, “Then what dost thou want with my land?”

 

I want to remind you if you are a Christian, you already have everything you need to be perfectly satisfied.  To be tempted by the world’s stuff is to settle for less than the best.

 

Jesus said, "What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul and what should a man give in exchange for his soul?"  This world cannot satisfy.  It's not that it's too big, it's too small.

 

The ultimate need is for God and you will never find satisfaction until you find it in Jesus Christ.

 

Let’s pray.