You can turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5 as we conclude our study of the Ten Commandments. Tonight, with the Tenth Commandment, chapter 5, verse 21, you shall not covet. But I want to read beginning in verse six, Deuteronomy chapter five. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the water or earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. These words, the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain, from the midst of the fire, the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice. And he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, thank you for the written word of the living God. Thank you for your law. As David says in the Psalms, oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation day and night. God, may that be the case for us as well. And may we hide your word in our hearts that we might not sin against you. Grant us the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit now. Help us with reference to this 10th commandment. Give us the grace, Lord God, to understand it, and give us the grace to obey and to comply and to do the things that are pleasing in the sight of the Holy God. Again, we thank you for the gospel of our salvation. Just a reading of the law shows us our our need for Christ. A reading of the law shows us that we fall short of it. And God, how we praise you that Christ never fell short, that Christ always did what the Father gave Him to do, that Christ obeyed this law perfectly, every jot and every tittle, that He died as a sacrifice and a substitute in our place, and that He was raised again the third day. We give praise to you that in justification you pardon all our sins and you accept us as righteous in your sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. We give praise to you for the gospel of our salvation, and we ask now that you would bless us in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, as we saw last week, the second table of the law, the fifth through the 10th commandments is summarized in Leviticus 19.18, which says, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The commandments in the second table are given to protect family, the fifth commandment, life, the sixth commandment, marriage, the seventh commandment, property or possessions, the eighth commandment. And then we move from the actual act of transgression to word and to heart issues. So in the ninth word, we have a prohibition against lying. And here in the 10th word, we have something that speaks specifically to the heart. And I think that shows us that the whole of the law is to be understood in that manner. So we'll look at tonight, first, the prohibition of the commandment, and then secondly, the positive aspect of the commandment. But under the prohibition, I want to first take a moment to explain what covetous is. It's a pretty broad statement. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines it this way. To desire inordinately, to desire that which it is unlawful to obtain or possess. One commentator, Harmon, says, illicit desire was the root from which all the other sins would spring. In other words, this is directly connected to the other nine commandments, and we'll see that as we move along. Covet can also be used in a more general sense, desiring, wanting, or craving. So the objects specified indicate what is sinful covetousness, and the end of verse 21 highlights that. anything that is your neighbor's. You're not supposed to covet. You're not supposed to desire that which is owned by or possessed by your neighbor. Remember, neighbor doesn't mean that person that lives next door to you. Neighbor doesn't mean that person that lives on the same street. It doesn't mean somebody necessarily that you're familiar with or you're in close proximity to, but it's anybody and everybody that you come into contact with, either actually or potentially. That's what a neighbor is, according to Scripture. Now, in terms of the relationship of the Tenth Commandment to the other nine, the Tenth Commandment deals with the heart. Very specifically, you shall not covet. All of the other commandments are treated as crimes in one place or another in the Bible. The 10th commandment is not a crime. Now hear what I'm saying. I'm making a distinction. Crime is punished by the civil government. The civil government does not have the prerogative under God to punish thought crime. It does not have the prerogative under God to punish covetousness. Covetousness is strictly a sin. And by all means, God will punish you for that. I'm not suggesting there's no punishment connected to the transgression of the 10th commandment, but it's not a crime in terms of which the cops come over to your house and say, we know you had an untoward thought about your neighbor, so we're gonna haul you off to jail. That is not the case. What the 10th commandment does is show us the internal nature of God's law. The sin of covetousness often leads to acts of transgression. You can turn to the prophet Micah for just a moment to see that connection. Micah chapter 2, verses 1 and 2. Micah 2 says, verse 1, woe to those who devise iniquity and work out evil on their beds. At morning light, they practice it because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and take them by violence, also houses and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. So the sin of covetousness often does lead to the actual act of transgression, but does not necessarily have to in order to still be a sin. In other words, if you covet but you don't act upon it, you've still sinned against God. You've not committed a crime. The government should have no interest in your covetous heart, but God Most High sees it as a sin whether or not you act upon it. This is foundational for Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. I say to you, if you look upon a woman to lust, you've already broken the commandment in your heart. The internal disposition is what is underscored here in the 10th commandment and highlights, as I said, the internal nature of God's law. Craigie says it is this dimension of the commandments that is taken up in the teaching of Jesus. Not only the act, but also the desire is condemned, partly because the desire is what leads to the act and partly because whether or not the desire leads to the act, it betrays the same wrong attitude toward a neighbor. So whether you've done it or not, you have still fought it. And as far as God is concerned, that is a sin, a transgression of this 10th commandment. Now the 10th commandment as well is linked to the first commandment by the apostle Paul. You can turn to the book of Ephesians. Ephesians chapter five, Paul links the 10th and the first. In Ephesians chapter five, I'll pick up reading in verse 3, but fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. You see that link between covetousness and idolatry. The same thing is taught in the parallel in Colossians 3, verse 5. Another commentator, Christopher Wright, says, Thus the commandments come full circle. To break the tenth is to break the first. For covetousness, now get this, because this is the issue, For covetousness means setting our hearts and affections on things that then take the place of God. When you desire inordinately somebody else's stuff, you are not glorifying God. You're allowing that object to remove God from the throne of the heart, and now that is your occupation, or rather, preoccupation. So it's a very pernicious, it's a very bad thing, and Scripture condemns it. Now, in terms of the prohibition of the commandment, when we look at Deuteronomy 5 at verse 21, in the first place, this inordinate desire of a neighbor's wife. Again, neighbor is not your next-door neighbor or somebody who lives on your street. It's anybody that you may actually or potentially come into contact with, and Scripture forbids that. The coveting of another man's wife is directly related to the lust condemned by Jesus, as I said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 27 and 28. And then consider the act of covetousness of another man's wife is an affront not only to God, but to the man and his wife and to your wife also. You're not supposed to do that. Now, when the Bible uses this language, it is obviously not authorizing a woman going ahead and coveting another woman's man. The commandment runs both ways. Everybody is prohibited from coveting another person's spouse. It is wicked, it is wrong, and it is an offense against God. Secondly, there is an inordinate desire of neighbor's goods. Notice what it says. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey. But then it goes on with this large, broad statement, or anything that is your neighbor's. The prohibition covers specific items, but then there's that catch-all at the end of the prohibition, which indicates anything that is your neighbor's comes under this particular commandment. The prohibition, or rather the Lord does not condemn physical things. The Lord does not prohibit having physical things. I think the 10th commandment and the 8th commandment certainly work hand in hand to legitimize private property. That's not an issue. God's not agnostic. God is the owner of all things, and he gives us stuff to be stewards of. He gives us wives. He gives us husbands. He gives us houses. He gives us the sorts of things that are indicated here. I realize not oxes or male servants or female servants, but whatever the modern equivalent to that is, he gives us those things. So he's not anti-personal property. He is anti you being discontent with what he has allotted to you, and you cravenly desiring what your neighbor has. That's the condemnation that God addresses in this tenth word. And then the presence of covetousness, as said earlier, often does lead to sin. And I want to show you several instances of that. Turn first to the book of Genesis. Again, you don't have to actually engage in the transgression, the act of sin, in order for covetousness to be said, but there is a close relationship between covetousness and the actual transgression of God's law. in a specific act, not that covetousness is not in and of itself a transgression of God's law. Genesis 3, 6. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were open, and they knew that they were naked. And they sowed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. So the serpent comes along, cunning and crafty as he was, and he subtly introduces doubt in the mind of Eve concerning the goodness and the kindness and the benevolence of God. Has God really said or has God done this or prohibited you from this? He doesn't want you to be like him. God has these bad motivations in terms of not allowing you to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So the devil comes and cunningly causes her to begin to doubt, to begin to question, and to begin to ask with reference to God's kindness and benevolence. But then it's that eye gate, then it's that seeing that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. That covetousness led to an act of transgression very specifically relative to the prohibition given by God. The incident with the Israelites in Joshua chapter 7. Remember Joshua chapter 7 and Achan at Ai takes for himself stuff and he indicates what predicated this. In Joshua chapter 7 at verse 20, Achan answered Joshua and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done. When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing 50 shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent with the silver under it. Whether he had taken them or not, the fact that he coveted was indeed a transgression of this 10th word. But this 10th word is intricately connected to these other commandments. And so when he covets, this then becomes the occasion for him to seize these goods and ultimately cost Israel a victory with Ai. We have the incident of King David in 2 Samuel 11. 2 Samuel chapter 11. Again, this is why Jesus is stern in the Sermon on the Mount. Behold, I say to you, if you look upon a woman to lust, you have broken the commandment. What should we take from that? Try as you're able to not look upon a woman to lust. Try as you're able to not open that door. Try as you're able to take heed to the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs chapter 5, 8. Remove your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house. Why? Because if you go near the door of her house, it's just a couple further steps to her bedroom. And if you do not see this, if you do not value this wisdom from both Jesus and Solomon, you will certainly be led as a slaughter animal to the slaughter itself. That's what Solomon goes on to say in Proverbs chapter 7. Notice David, 2 Samuel 11, verse 1, it happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman, and someone said, Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? Then David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him." That is another instance where he didn't guard his heart. Again, had he looked and not acted upon it, he still would have violated the 10th commandment if he had that inordinate desire. But he acted upon it. And more often than not, when persons covet and they entertain these things, they roll it around in their minds and their hearts, it becomes a whole lot easier to act upon it. This is one of the reasons why you need to maintain carefulness when it comes to computers. Why you need to maintain carefulness when it comes to what you set your eyes on. This is why David said, set no worthless thing before my eyes. Brethren, there is such a close connection between the 10th commandment and the 8th commandment, stealing, and the 7th commandment, adultery. And then as well, we have 1 Kings chapter 21. Remember, Ahab wanted Naboth's vineyard. He looks at Naboth's vineyard and says, hey, that'd be a great addition to my supply. I can use it for a vegetable garden. Well, that covetousness led him to then initiate this process of seizing this property from Naboth. Of course, he enlists the assistance of the woman of the year, Jezebel, and she concocts a horrific way to go about pursuing that, and it ends up with Naboth being dead. And then, of course, Ahab gets the land. So we have to appreciate the close connection here. Proverbs 6, verse 25. Proverbs 6, verse 25. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. James 1, 14 and 15, again, showing the often inextricable link between the 10th commandment and the commandments that precede. James 1, verses 14 and 15. Well, verse 13, let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. It always begins there, doesn't it? It typically doesn't just end up in the act. You don't just end up stealing something. You've looked at the item. You have rolled it around in your mind. You have coveted it like Achan did with that stuff there in Ai. There is that inordinate desire, which more often than not, with us as sinners, leads to further transgression of God's holy law. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." So in terms of the prohibition, we have the inordinate desire of a neighbor's wife, the inordinate desire of a neighbor's goods, but again, two other things are given here. The expression of discontentedness. Coveting other people's stuff is essentially saying to God, I'm not happy with what you've given me. When you want somebody else's wife, or you want somebody else's husband, or you want somebody else's car, or you want somebody else's whatever, what are you saying to God? You are saying what you have given me isn't good enough for me. This is a terrible posture to assume before God most high. As well, it often vents itself in horrible ways of dealing with your present possessions. For instance, you might say to your wife, boy, I wish you were more like so-and-so. Brothers, can I encourage you to never ever do that? One, because it's absolutely loathsome, and two, you may get punched right in the nose. As well, ladies, that is a horrible way to deal with your husband. Boy, I wish you were like so-and-so. He's so great. He's so wonderful. He's so godly or whatever. That is not a characteristic of godly speech one to another. We are to edify one another. We are to impart grace to one another. And this expression of discontentedness to God and to those around us is an offense. It is an affront. It is vile, it is wretched, it is reprehensible. Charles Hodge says, it includes the positive command to be contented with the allotments of providence and the negative injunction not to repine or complain on account of the dealings of God with us or to envy the lot and possessions of others. When we desire what our neighbor has, our problem ultimately isn't with our neighbor. Our problem ultimately is with God. Psalm 24 1 is a reality. The earth is Yahweh's and the fullness thereof. Anything we have is given us by sovereign grace. Anything given us is according to his providence. It is according to his allotment for us in our lives. So to murmur, to grumble, to complain, to engage in comparison, or to roll about in your mind how wonderful it would be to have a different set of circumstances is ultimately transgression against the God of Providence. But a fourth way that this commandment is violated is an expression of envy. Now, envy is jealousy with a malicious intent to see our neighbor deprived. Gary North defines it this way. Envy is the desire to see a successful person brought low, even when, should the person be brought low, the envious person does not benefit directly. In other words, it's not so much that I want what you have. I don't want you to have it. Sure, I'd like it. Sure, it'd be great. But if it doesn't benefit me directly, I want you to be deprived. Doesn't that set on its head scriptural teaching, rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep? Somebody rejoices over the good gifts that God gives them and we envy them. That is contrary to the commandment to rejoice with them. We want you to be deprived of that good thing. We don't think you should have that good thing. We think deprivation on your part would be a better way to proceed. This envy is horrid. This envy is wicked. This envy is condemned often. It finds itself in vice lists in the New Testament. Romans 1, verse 29, 1 Corinthians 3, 3, Galatians 5, 21, 1 Timothy 6, 4, James 3, 14 to 16. Envy is bad, bad, bad news. the deprivation of the good gifts that someone else has. If that makes you joyful, you've got big problems. If seeing others suffer gives you delight, then you're going to have problems with Paul when he says, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. And it's completely and utterly inconsistent with love. 1 Corinthians chapter 13, we are told, we are instructed that love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not go out there and want to see the deprivation with reference to brothers and sisters. Love doesn't say, boy, I wish that guy would lose whatever it is he had, and if it finds its way into my driveway, wouldn't that be wonderful? Again, Hodge says, as envy is the antithesis of love, it is of all sins, the most opposed to the nature of God, and more effectually than any other excludes us from his fellowship. And you might think, well, that's a pretty strong statement. Turn to the prophet Jeremiah for a moment. Jeremiah chapter 32. Jeremiah chapter 32, it's a promise given concerning the new covenant. And some of the stuff that God says in here is just amazing, it's glorious, it's wonderful. But if you look at Jeremiah 32, beginning in verse 36, now, therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, it shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in my anger, in my fury and in great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be my people and I will be their God. Then I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good. That's God. I will not turn away from doing them good. That is God's nature. That is God's being. That is how God responds to his people. So when we rejoice to see bad occur in the lives of the blood-bought children of God, or anybody that's our neighbor, they don't even have to be a blood-bought, The bottom line is we are acting contrary to God. God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. God causes the sun to rise on the just and the unjust. God is benevolent. God is generous. God is gracious. God is good. And God does rejoice over them to do them good according to his word. And so envy puts us in a position that is contrary to God himself. I don't think Hodges engaged there in hyperbole. So in terms of the prohibition, the inordinate desire of a neighbor's wife, the neighbor's goods, an expression of discontentedness, and an expression of envy. In terms of the positive aspect of the commandment, in the first place, we ought to recognize God's sovereign ownership of all things. Anything that you and I have, it has been given to us by God. I mean, as hard as you've worked, as good as you've been, as faithful as a servant to your master, as punctual, as, you know, perfect attendance, all of that, God gave you that ability, God blessed you accordingly, and any good gifts that you have received as a result of that are from the hand of God. Again, Psalm 24, 1, the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. So positively, this 10th commandment should cause us to reflect upon God's ownership of all things. Secondly, this or the positive aspect of the 10th commandment should cause us to recognize God's promise and provision to his people. Turn to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13, a passage that we spiritualize and we're not supposed to. Not that we can't, the Bible certainly teaches it, but this verse doesn't teach it. There is such a thing as a right doctrine from the wrong text. We should really try to get the right doctrines from the right texts. The Bible tells us in terms of our spiritual connection to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, that the Lord will never leave us, nor will he forsake us. There is nothing, Paul says at the end of Romans chapter 8, that shall separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Philippians 1.6, I am confident that he who began this good work in you will complete it unto the day of Christ. John 10, no one can snatch a believer out of the hand of the Savior. There is no one who can come along and deprive you of that relationship, that spiritual communion, that one has with God vis-a-vis salvation. But in Hebrews chapter 13, the promise is temporal. The promise has to do with the physical. The promise has to do with the here and the now. Notice in Hebrews 13, specifically at verse five, let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, I will not fear, what can man do to me? You see, we know that it's temporal, we know that it's physical because of the command in verse five, let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have. On the heels of that, the apostle Paul then says, he will never leave you nor forsake you. Now this probably doesn't mean steak and lobster every night. This probably doesn't mean the keg five times a week. This probably doesn't mean the best in terms of the food and clothing, but the Lord God has promised to sustain and to bless and to help his people. I think this affords a great deal of comfort, not just for the current situation, but for every situation. There is concern that people have. There ought to be at least a desire in the hearts of God's people to work, to labor, to do as they're told, to do what they're supposed to do in terms of, you know, making money, buying products, whatever it is. But brethren, it ought never to paralyze us with a carnal anxiety, the various concerns that may come upon us. God's got us. according to Scripture, and we need to find contentment there. Thirdly, in terms of a positive aspect of the command, the recognition of the surpassing importance of eternity to come. The recognition of the surpassing importance of eternity to come. Turn to Mark chapter 8. Mark chapter 8. Probably know these particular texts, but they're texts that definitely have help in them for us. Mark chapter 8, verse 38. For whoever is ashamed of me and my words... Let's just back up a little bit. Verse 34. When he had called the people to himself with his disciples also, he said to them, Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake in the Gospels will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? That's such a great question, isn't it? It's a great thing for us to keep in mind in this situation when we talk to various people. Again, not just this situation, but in every situation. To turn conversations to eternity. I realize that most persons outside the church don't want to think about that. They want to think about what is immediately in front of them at the latest or the longest. They want to think about college or jobs or marriage or family or things like that. Persons don't typically want to consider eternity if they're not rightly connected to Christ by faith. And it is good for us to ask that simple question on occasion. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and he loses his soul? What is most important in this world? Is it the stuff or is it the right connection to God through our Lord Jesus Christ? Or what will a man give, verse 37, in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy angels. And then turn over to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. Again, another instance where it demonstrates for us the surpassing importance of eternity to come. Luke chapter 12 verse 13, then one from the crowd said to him, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. You kind of get that, right? Jesus is there. I mean, he can answer. He can solve everything. I mean, his notoriety is increasing. His fame has gone out. People know that he has the goods theologically. He's a great rabbi. He's a great teacher. But as he's in this crowd, one from the crowd said, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you? Interesting answer. And he said to them, take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. Then he spoke a parable to them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. This fellow had the Midas touch, we might say. He's a rich man, and the ground that he touches yields plentifully. I mean, he was the talk of the town. He was the, you know, the farmer of the millennia. He was the one that everybody whispered, hey, that guy's really good at what he's doing. He's got it. The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself saying, What shall I do since I have no room to store my crops? It's a tough problem, isn't it? It's a first world problem right there. I don't know where to store my loot. I have so much. I mean, think about that problem, brethren. Jesus has these people on the hook and he's reeling them in at this particular point. This man's problem, his issue, the great crisis of life is how am I gonna store my crops? So he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build greater. not just renovate the old barns, not build additional barns, but tear down the old ones and build the new. And this guy sounds like an American. He sounds like a Canadian. He sounds like somebody who's really got it together. So he said, I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build greater. And there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. You can visualize this, can't you? Here's a self-made man. Here's an accomplished man. Here is a man of business, a man of agriculture, a man who has subdued the earth, and he is reaping the benefits as a result. And now he's contemplating. This is called a soliloquy. He's talking to himself, and he's saying, man, I've just got it made. Everything from here on out is easy street. My sister lived in Garden Grove in Southern California, and the street over from her, no lie, was called Easy Street. This guy would have lived there. Now notice the contrast. Verse 20, but God said to him, fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. This particular sin of covetousness, or rather the commandment prohibiting covetousness, causes us to reflect on the surpassing importance of eternity to come. Fourthly, we ought to appreciate the happiness of others. I already touched on this earlier. I won't spend time here. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Again, if you're given to inverting that, you rejoice when people weep, and you weep when people rejoice. You need to repent. That's a bad way to live. You are not a good, godly, faithful believer in Jesus Christ. I'm not saying you're not, because we all have our struggles. But there is an immediate need for repentance if you're the sort of person that weeps with the rejoicing of others and rejoices at the weeping of others. Fifthly, the cultivation of biblical contentment, 1 Timothy chapter 6. Some of this stuff we have covered in other contexts not too long ago, so I'm just going to read the statement by the apostle. 1 Timothy chapter 6, beginning in verse 3. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such, withdraw yourself." Don't you love the way Paul writes? Timothy wouldn't have said, well, what do you mean, Paul? It's pretty clear what he means. It's absolutely positively clear what Paul means. Paul does not pull any punches when he's dealing with such types, and he tells Timothy to withdraw himself from them. These persons think that godliness is a means of gain, and by that he does not mean eternal spiritual communion with God gain. He means gain in terms of money, dinero, dollars, cash, whatever you want to call it, They think there is money to be made in promulgating religion. And so Paul's admonition to Timothy is to stay away from that. Now he says in verse 6, Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." So the cultivation of biblical contentment is a most excellent thing that comes as a corollary from the positive aspect of this commandment. And then finally, the exercise of a charitable spirit. The exercise of a charitable spirit. Turn to 2 Corinthians 9. 2 Corinthians 9. So if we are prohibited from covetousness positively, we see the need to have this charitable spirit towards others. Instead of desiring inordinately what they've got, we ought to be more benevolent with what we have. That is a great antidote to the sin of covetousness. Notice in 2 Corinthians 9.6, but this I say, He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. And then in Ephesians chapter 4, same sort of an emphasis. Ephesians chapter 4 at verse 28. He says, let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. So giving is a great antidote to coveting. If you've got a problem with covetousness, obviously confess it to God, repent before the Lord, and displace that covetous spirit with a charitable spirit, and be a kindhearted person, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep, and not conducting yourself in a manner that is contrary to the very nature of God. Well, in conclusion, the use of the Tenth Commandment, same framework, same grid that we've looked at. In the first place, there is the civil use of God's law. The law of God is given by God to creatures. And the law of God functions to restrain creatures from engaging in their sinful propensities and engaging in the sorts of lawlessness that is ours in Adam. When you consider the civil use, isn't advertising, at least to some degree, built on this particular commandment or a violation of it? Buy this and get this. You know, buy this car and you'll get a beautiful wife. And it's all such non-sequiturs, too. I think I said in the confession study a week or two ago, we need to study logic and reading comprehension. It's not the case that if you buy a nice car, you're going to get a beautiful wife. Those things don't necessarily go together. Last I knew, car dealers couldn't promise a woman along with a car. but advertising often goes after the covetous heart of men. And we need to appreciate that, not in the sense of, yay, good, I'm gonna fall prey and be the mindless drone and buy everything they tell me that I need, but appreciate the reality that this is part and parcel of our society. The relentless pursuit of stuff stems from a covetous spirit. I remember years ago, there was a bumper sticker that says, he who dies with the most toys, wins. You don't win dying with the most toys. There's no victory in that. There's no, hey, he had all this stuff. Again, what does Jesus say? What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but he loses his soul? What will you give in exchange for your soul? The presence of personal indebtedness, now listen to my language carefully, is often symptomatic of a covetous spirit. There are occasions, there are difficulties, there are hardships, there are those times where God's people fall into a situation that they have not chosen for themselves responsibly. Engaging in the sorts of things to try and get themselves out of it is the course of action. But oftentimes, personal indebtedness is connected to this craven desire for stuff we don't need. Has anybody, you don't need to raise your hand, ever moved Whenever you've moved, what have you said in a constant refrain? We have what? Not enough stuff? We have way too much stuff, right? I mean, some people have stuff in their home, stuff in their garage, and then a storage place for more stuff. It really is incredible. I mean, my beloved is telling me, turn my hangers around. If I don't wear a shirt for three months, get rid of it. That's good counsel. My whole closet's filled with stuff I don't typically wear. You all know me. I wear the same thing. I'm getting into the place where I'm alternating eating every other Sunday. But there's just too much stuff. Life isn't about stuff. There's better things to turn our attention toward than stuff. Now, brethren, I'm not suggesting I hate stuff or that any of us should hate stuff. Again, God, not a Gnostic. He has given us good things. He has blessed us with refrigerators, with cars, with all these sorts of things. But it's this inordinate desire for stuff that is symptomatic of a covetous heart. and then the societal decay that results from a rejection, ultimately, of the First and the Tenth Commandment. When a society has so profoundly and deliberately abandoned the First and Tenth Commandments, the moral vacuum that results from the loss of all those commandments in between soon follows. That again was Christopher Wright. You cannot live in a culture or in a context where stuff is the overarching concern and people benefit, and people thrive, and people flourish, and people achieve all that they're supposed to be. Because life isn't about stuff. Secondly, the pedagogical use. We all like our stuff, and we all probably have an issue with this commandment relative to covetousness, and we need to guard our hearts. Now, Jesus uses the commandment, the 10th commandment, with reference to the rich young ruler, Matthew 19, 21. Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says, you know the commandments, go do that. It says, all these I've kept from my youth, or Jesus rattles off the commandments, the second table, except the 10th. And the young man says, all these I have kept from my youth. Wow. You have not pondered seriously the law of God Almighty. But anyways, Jesus says, okay, go sell all your stuff, give the proceeds to the poor and follow me. What's the rich young ruler do? He leaves sorrowful. Notice the reality. Jesus tells him the 10th commandment. Jesus says to him, do not covet. He used it as a pedagogue to show him his need for Jesus. He's not saying salvation can be had by you perfect people just getting rid of your stuff and now following me. Jesus wasn't preaching gospel in that instance. He was preaching the law as a preparation to show that young man his need for the gospel. And then, of course, Paul in Romans 7. I think I've shared with you some suspect that Paul was the rich young ruler. It's an interpretation. When I first heard it, I just thought, no way. The longer I live and the more I move and breathe and have my being, I don't think it's as outlandish, at least as when I first stumbled onto it. What was Paul's sort of foray into the pedagogical use of the law? It was the 10th commandment. Romans 7, 7, what shall we say then, is the law sin? Certainly not. On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, you shall not covet. So the apostle Paul himself, it was that 10th word that stood up as the pedagogue and pointed to him, thou art the man. That is what caused him to seek out Christ. And then in terms of the normative use, in terms of the 10th commandment, we need to understand the proper relationship of the law. It's not just external. It is not just an outward compliance, but whatever is going on in our heart doesn't matter. That's not the case, and you parents know this. You've told your children to pick something up and to take it into the other room, and they've got a frown, or they look upset, or they look irritated. Do you allow that to go unchecked? Do you just let them have terrible attitudes, or do you say, look, you're not supposed to have a terrible attitude. It's a blessing to own socks. It's a blessing to pick those socks up, to take them into a beautifully furnished room, and deposit them into a clothes hamper so that your mother can wash them. And you've got the gall to grimace? You've got the gall to express a negative attitude? We don't do that, do we? We not only want the compliance relative to the command that we issue, but we want the heart disposition. We want a willing, yes, daddy, yes, mommy, pick up the socks, run to the room, deposit them in there, and then even offer to mommy, I will bring the hamper to help you clean the clothes. That's getting at it. That's the law. That's the compliance to the law. As well, the recognition that the law extends to our internal disposition. Not just our words, not just our actions, but our thoughts, wills, and affections. And then I think this 10th commandment calls us to constant and diligent watch over our own heart. Again, Solomon says, keep your own heart with all diligence, or keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. So brethren, this, the 10th commandment, is by the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, hopefully doable. When we sin, We have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. But do not think for a moment that this isn't something that we ought not to ponder. Paul links covetousness with idolatry. And I've often thought, or I've often mused on the 10th commandment. When I was in the military, the United States military is governed by their own set of laws. They're certainly supposed to respect federal law as a whole, state law, whatever the base is, or whatever state the base is at, but they have their own law. It's called the Uniform Code of Military Justice. And there's an article, the last article, it's called the General Article. It's 134. And we always said and we always saw that if articles 1 to 133 didn't get you, 134 would. Okay? It was the catch-all. Whatever we didn't address previously, you're guilty under 134. In other words, we'll get you. Now, I'm not suggesting God started coming at it like that, but the 10th Commandment, all these I have kept from my youth, the rich young ruler says, when he's told not to murder, when he's told not to commit adultery, when he's told not to steal, when he's told not to lie. But what was it that brought him down? What was it that showed him his sin? What was it in the life of the Apostle Paul? I would not have known, except the law had said, you shall not covet. It is an effective and a wonderful pedagogue, not only for sinners to first come to Jesus Christ, but for saints. to renew repentance, to go to God, asking Him for grace, help, and strength, so that we'll be content with such things that we have, that we won't be envious people, contrary to God Himself, but we will operate from a charitable rather than a covetous spirit. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for these commandments of God. And I pray we'd all use them lawfully, because we know the law is good if one does use it lawfully. And I pray that you would bless and strengthen us in our congregation. I pray that you would help us to delight in the law of God, help us to see its relationship to the gospel, and help us to see we're never saved by that law, we're saved by that gospel. And Christ in the gospel then points us to that law as a pattern for our sanctification. As he prayed, may we pray, sanctify them by thy truth, thy word is truth. And we pray through Christ our Lord, amen.