Well this evening I want to talk to us on the 10th commandment, which is the 17th verse of chapter 20. This will conclude our series on the 10 commandments. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant. nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's. The Lord Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mountain, particularly in chapter 5 of Matthew, taught his disciples and teaches us that it's not necessary to physically, to actually commit a particular sin in order to violate any of these Ten Commandments. The very desire to commit a particular sin is an internal sin in the heart or of the heart which in itself violates the law of God. And this principle is found particularly and especially in this Tenth Commandment. Because to covet that craving for the things of the world is a hidden inclination or desire of the heart. And this 10th commandment prohibits something which in the first place is not an action like murder or adultery or theft, but it's a sin within the realm of a person's thoughts, emotions, and feelings. somewhat hidden. And this internality of the law, once understood, cuts the ground from the feet of anyone who thinks that they have kept or can keep the Ten Commandments. The rich young man in Matthew 19 said to the Lord Jesus that he had kept all the commandments. All these things have I kept from my youth up. What luck I yet, the young man said to the Lord Jesus. He really believed that he had kept the Ten Commandments. He hadn't understood this internality, this inner principle within the law of God. And Jesus, the Lord Jesus, showed him the internality of this 10th commandment in particular by saying to this young man of wealth, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come follow me. Well, that just showed up what was in the man's heart, didn't it? Because when the young man heard the Lord Jesus say that, he went away, the scripture says, sorrowful, for he had great possessions. This young man who, I believe he truly believed that he had kept all the commandments, but the Lord Jesus had to show him that the law was more than just keeping certain external forms or avoiding certain external sins. There's this inner nature, this internality of the law. He was a lawbreaker despite his respectability, religiosity. He was a very respectable Jewish young man and yet he was a lawbreaker because he had a covetous heart. At the end of the day, he put more value on his wealth than on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, following on from the Lord Jesus, showed how covetousness, the desire to have more and more and to have what belongs to others, lies behind all sins. It is the primal urge of Eve to look and to take and to hide. And Paul writes in Romans 7, 7, "'Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law. For I had not known lust, except the law had said, thou shalt not covet.'" There was something about this particular, this 10th commandment, which showed Paul for the first time in his life that although he had been a Pharisee of the Pharisees. He had been very, very eager and careful to keep the law from an external point of view. Yet the Tenth Commandment, in a way, cut everything from under his feet and showed him that there's this inner principle, there's this inner nature to sin. Thou shalt not covet. It's possible to have a covetous greedy, grasping heart. And this showed to the Apostle Paul for the first time that he was a man, despite his Jewishness, he was really a man of lust. He lusted just the same because the sin was within his heart. The sin of covetousness is something all too familiar to all of us, I would argue. It can strike us at any time. It's like a deadly kind of snake or adder that can just pounce from behind a bush and get us at the times that we least expect it. We don't have to learn how to do it. We seem to know how to covet quite naturally. It begins very early in life. The little child's quite happy with his Christmas present until his brother opens his, and he likes his brother's present better. And that sense of covetousness comes in. It's natural. It's deep within each one of us. It can take obvious sort of vulgar forms like wanting to have a car like the neighbours or a house just like theirs, but it can often be more subtle than that, particularly for us as Christians. Envy and desire for someone's gifts, perhaps, and abilities. Envy and desire for someone's position or role. There's no end to the deceitfulness in the human heart, even for us as Christians. When we were born again, we were changed, but sin was not eradicated. Perhaps we wish it had been, but it will be, but not yet. And our hearts can be very wicked even now, as Christians. At its core, covetousness is a craving for more of this world, and often it's involved in wanting what other people have, but at its core it's a craving for the things of this world. And it can bring strife and hostility and division in families and churches, and it can bring discontent, and it's a sin that can drag you right down into the gutter. It can take you to a very low, dark place to the point of theft and adultery and even murder. If you don't believe me then listen to James 4 verse 1. From whence come wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust and have not. Ye kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. Ye fight and war, yet ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not because ye ask not amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. So if you're not sure what covetousness is, then just look within your own heart. You'll find it soon enough. is one of the many evil things that spring from the human heart and which defile a man. Jesus said, from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness. wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. See, this sin and this particular sin of covetousness is a sin of the heart and it's a particularly dangerous sin for each one of us. It's dangerous because we can, in a way, we can get away with it. You can't really get away with adultery and murder and theft. I suppose you can, but most people get caught. But adultery is very hidden, isn't it? And it's a very dangerous sin. I always find one of the most frightening verses in the New Testament is, frightening as a Christian, It is 2 Timothy 4.10 where it says, for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world and is departed unto Thessalonica. When we think Demas, There he was commissioned and trusted by the Apostle Paul to help in the apostolic ministry. That was a high position. Not many were chosen to do that. And all the time he had this secret craving for the world. That's frightening things, isn't it? People looking at Demas, he's one of the in crowd, he's one of the apostolic team, look at him. Look how holy and useful he is in the ministry and all the time there was something in his heart that craved the world more than it craved the things of the Lord. The Lord Jesus commissioned Judas to be one of only 12 apostles He gave Judas authority to preach. He wasn't given less responsibility than the other apostles. He was given authority to cast out demons, the same as the others. He was an apostle with a capital A, the same as them all. And yet the whole time, he was stealing from the communal money bag. And it was so covetous in his heart that he valued Jesus less than 30 pieces of silver, something around 350 pounds in our money. That's how much he valued the things of this world compared to our Lord Jesus. And there's so many examples, aren't there? We won't go through them, but we think of Ananias and Sapphira. There they are in the early church, almost being part of the foundation of the early church, handing over their property, their fields. Very important that the church had those funds at the beginning. And yet the whole time, they were lying about the value. It's just one of the most stupid sins, because it was theirs anyway. But they just wanted to look good. So I think the covetousness wasn't just about keeping the money, it was about having a good reputation with others. They lied to the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost took their lives. And so as Christians we must heed the warning against covetousness. particularly given, shall we say, by the Apostle John in 1 John 2 verses 15 and 16. This is a really important verse for every Christian life, where he writes, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father but is of the world. The object of covetousness is either the lust of the flesh, the appetites of the body, food and other things. the lust of the eyes. Again, the internality of that lust of, I've seen something I want. I like the look of it. I like the newness of it. And if we're not careful, even as Christians, we can get onto this cycle of the next new thing and we have the new car, the new computer, and then we go on to the, I want the new thing. And we become caught up in this world system. And the lust of the eyes is what's feeding our souls instead of the Bible. And then there's the pride of life, reputation. Other people seeing me in a good light because I want others to see my good works, even my fasting. I was very suspicious about people that let others know they're fasting. There's no reason to tell anyone, or maybe your wife, but otherwise she'll kick you dead. But no, the pride of life. All these things, we have to guard our hearts against this sin, and particularly this envy and craving for what others have, for things for which we have not been given. or neighbour's house, neighbour's wife, manservant, maidservant, ox, ass or anything, whatever the modern equivalents of those are. And this is, as I say, a most dangerous sin. Jesus said in Luke 12, 15, take heed and beware of covetousness. For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. There's something about covetousness that Jesus says we have to really take heed over. Thomas Watson, the Puritan, called covetousness the mother sin. In other words, it's a sin which is pregnant with all the other sins. Because if you've got a covetous, greedy, craving heart for the world, you're going to be unfaithful to your wife. You're not going to be faithful to the rules, to the law, and all these things. You're going to go deeper and deeper into sin. It's the mother sin. And Paul called the love of money, or covetousness, the root of all evil. Just saying the same thing in a different way. It's the root of all evil. It's the root from which all the branches of sin seem to grow. It's a deceitful sin because, as I say, it's hidden, but we can hide covetousness. under a cloak of deceit. Paul talked about the cloak of covetousness in 1 Thessalonians 1.5. In a way, covetousness, we can put a coat over it. We can cloak it in in language which others will think is commendable, like, well, we're providing for our family. Of course, we do have to provide for our family. But we can use that as an excuse to gain more and more wealth for things that we don't need. We need to provide for our church. Well, yes, we do. But we can use it as a cloak for sin if our heart is not right. Thomas Watson in his book on the Ten Commandments gives six tell-tale signs of a covetous heart. You might want to test yourselves against these six points. Thomas Watson said that we are covetous when our thoughts are wholly taken up with the world. So when we spend our day, when we wake up, when we go to bed, when we're lying on our bed, are our thoughts wholly taken up with the world, always plotting and projecting about business or gaining wealth or reputation or the things that belong to the realm down here, rather than the kingdom of God? when we take more pains for the getting of earth than for the getting of heaven. We'll moan and struggle and groan about going to church, but we'll get up at five in the morning to get to work, or whatever it might be. We'll take great pains to advance ourselves, but if it requires us helping with street witnessing, because it was hard, and it is hard. But we won't make that effort, but we'll go to all sorts of lengths if it'll be a few hundred quid for us. When we take more pains for the getting of earth than for the getting of heaven, that's a telltale sign that there's something wrong. When all our discourse or conversation, when all our discourse is about the world, our conversation is worldly. I think we're very good in our church about speaking about the Lord after meetings, but Sharon and I have been in churches where the conversation's all about farming, and the cows are dry, and the weather's bad, is all about the conversations, all about the world. That's a sign of a covetous heart when all that's pouring out of our mouth is to do with this sphere, this world. Thomas Watson writes, a covetous man's breath, like a dying man's, smells strong of the earth. the bad breath of a covetous heart, because all that you can smell is the world, sin, the values of this world. And yet when you're in the presence of a spirit-filled Christian, the words that come out are heavenly, aren't they? They lift you up. They take you to Christ. That's what we need to be like. I'm not saying we never speak about practical things. I'm not saying that, as you know. On the whole, our conversation is centred in and on Christ. Fourthly, he said, when a man would rather part with Christ than with all his earthly possessions. It's like the rich young man that Jesus spoke to. And then fifthly, when a man overloads himself with worldly business. That's possible, isn't it? We're so taken up with ourselves and our lot here and building up our security and our pension and our future that We take on more and more and we take on these extra hours and this extra responsibility and all these complicated investments that require monitoring, otherwise you'll lose a lot of money and life becomes so complex because you're trying to build up money and money and money that there's no time left for your soul. There's no energy left, there's literally no time because You've squeezed God out. And there are Christians like that. They're so entrenched in complicated affairs of the world that where is the time for church? Where is the time for spiritual life? And then when our hearts are so set upon the world that to get it, to get the world, He cares not what unlawful means he uses, treads on other people, doesn't mind hurting others to get what they have or to beat them to some promotion or whatever it might be. So having looked at the sin which breaks this commandment, what does this commandment require from you and I as Christians tonight? What is the Lord requiring of you and I as Christians from this commandment? The Westminster Shorter Catechism gives a very helpful summary of what this commandment requires. The shorter catechism was mainly designed for children, natural fat measurement. You think, well, what would the children like in those days? But this is what was taught. It says, the 10th commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition. with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbour, and all that is his, and forbiddeth all discontentment with our own estate, envying or grieving at the good of our neighbour, and all inordinate motions and affections to anything that is his. I won't break that down because I want to talk about it in a different way, but you'll notice there, and generally speaking, the Puritan divines, when they made these summary statements in the different catechisms and creeds, they considered the whole of the Old Testament and New Testament data on a particular doctrine, doesn't matter what it is for a minute, and they compressed the general truths into these, of all that biblical scripture, they compress the truths into these summary statements of biblical truth. And that's a good way of, we must all try and learn to do that. Just sit back from the Bible and say, what's the Bible saying generally about this particular thing? And when we consider particularly the teaching of the New Testament, in relation to covetousness. I think we see three broad teachings, interrelated teachings, on the way we as Christians should respond to the Tenth Commandment. But in another way, I believe the New Testament shows us three broad ways in which we can keep our hearts free of covetousness. We don't have to be defeatist about any of these things. We can keep these commandments. The law's now written on our hearts. The Holy Spirit's living within us, and we won't be perfectly consistent, but we can live lives, generally speaking, of keeping the law. We're now changed So what are these three ways in which we can keep our hearts pure and free from covetousness? Well, first, as the Catechism said, as I just read it, in order for covetousness to have no hold in our lives, we must learn to live in contentment. We are to live in such a way, in such a manner, that we can say with the Apostle Paul, I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know how both to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. See, Paul's there is describing his life, which is not static. He has good times, bad times, times of plenty, times of poverty. Life's like that, isn't it? But what he says is that I've learned to be content wherever the graph is, whether it's up or down, I'm just content wherever, whatever is happening, I'm content in God. Paul instructs Timothy in 1 Timothy 6, verse 6 to 10, and in the same chapter in 17 to 19, he instructs Timothy in this way, but godliness with contentment. Note that, godliness with contentment. is great gain. That's something that you and I really need to learn, isn't it, through life, through the Christian life. Godliness, yes, with contentment, is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be there with content. Not a Porsche or a Rolls Royce or a million pound house. Food and raiment, but they that will be rich fall into temptations and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts. which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." It's a terrible thing when a Christian ruins our Christian life. through being pierced through wealth and all the complications. I mean, wealth obtained and desired in the wrong way, in a covetous way. Charge them that are rich, Paul says to Timothy, his son. Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches. but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. So that I believe is the principle that lies behind this 10th commandment, the value if you like. What is the value? That God is good and that he is all we need even in times of trial and suffering and want. That's the positive value behind this 10th commandment. God is all you need. And this isn't some kind of letting go of everything. It's not like a Buddhist emptying of self. They try and empty themselves of everything. zen-like state. This has nothing to do with meditation or anything like that. The Christian doesn't romanticize poverty, doesn't romanticize trials or persecutions. Only the fool goes looking for persecution or trials. There have been some who've done that. Origen went out of his way to make himself a martyr, didn't he? He deliberately provoked because he wanted to be a martyr. But we don't need to do that. In the New Testament, there is a theological rationale for Christian contentment. What reformed theologians have called the doctrine of providence. That is to say, in reference to the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Jesus put this in terms of God causing the sun to shine and the rain to come upon the righteous and the unrighteous. What I'm trying to say is that whether you and I are rich or poor, whether you and I have good health or bad health, is not a matter that sits in the realm of our Christian salvation. It sits in the realm of providence, of God's sovereign providence. And this is something that the prosperity gospel preachers in the Word of Faith movement don't understand. They say, well, if you're a Christian, You should be rich, you should be wealthy, you should be well, because part of salvation is health and wealth and prosperity. The reformed faith says no. Some Christians are dirt poor. Others are rich. Some Christians have terrible health. Some are athletes and they don't seem to have any health problems at all. It's got nothing to do with their salvation, it's to do with God's providence. God does not give special privileges to believers when it comes to material blessings. In fact, sometimes the unrighteous have a better deal than the righteous. There are many righteous that are very poor and many unrighteous who are very rich. Asaph nearly lost his faith over what I've just said. He nearly gave up his faith. In Psalm 73, Because he looked at the wicked, he looked at those who mocked God, and he looked at him and others who were righteous and keeping the law, and they were dirt poor, and yet the unrighteous were rich. And he says, but as for me, my feet were almost gone. I almost lost my faith. My steps had well nigh slipped, for I was envious of the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. You see, he had to learn the fact that it was no commentary on the value of those men's lives, that they were rich. It was just God's providence. Part of providence is different gifts being given to different people. Some have better health and abilities and intellect, or in manual terms, more skill. And so, yes, there's a principle that we reap what we sow. We're not robots. Fundamentally, God orders the steps of man. He even decides where we live and the boundaries of where we live. So never think that there's something sinful about being a poor Christian, nor a rich Christian, if they're not covetous. It's God's providence. It's not to do with their salvation. The Apostle Paul, a most holy Christian man, believed in the sovereignty of God and he knew God's providence would provide for his needs, but he had no expectation of consistent abundance or wealth. He didn't expect that from God. He had times of plenty and he had times of need, but whatever he possessed, it was sufficient for him and he was content in it. He knew theologically speaking that there was no contradiction between the Christian enjoying every spiritual blessing in Christ and all the riches of Christ, spiritually speaking, and being filled with the riches of his grace in salvation. There's no contradiction between that and the Christian in providence being given far less of this world's goods than the unrighteous. There was no contradiction in his mind. That's not what you'll hear in the charismatic church, of course. So contentment. The second broad way we can guard our hearts from covetousness is to set our desires in Christ and not in the world. That seems to me something that the New Testament teaches as a broad theme. This is something you and I need to ask ourselves as we consider this Tenth Commandment. Where is your heart? Where's my heart really? No one can see it apart from the Lord. What delights our hearts? Are we lit up by thoughts of Christ, his beauty and holiness and standing in heaven? Or are we more excited by this world's honor, success and material possessions? If you and I were in a prison cell and all we had was a Bible or our memory of what was in the Bible, could we function? Could we survive? Could we even prosper? Or would we be miserable because we were missing the things of this world? We might find that out sooner than we want. The truth is that if you're not content in Christ now, you probably won't be willing to suffer for Christ in the time of trial. And Jesus said in relation to our need for food and clothing and housing and so on, he said, seek first, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto you. God may have given us much of this world's goods. I mean, we have loads more than we need. We have a nice house and everything that we could possibly want. There are other Christians that have little of this world's goods. God knows, he has his reasons, but all Christians are called upon to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The more we desire Christ, the less we long for the things of this world. And even if God has given us the things of this world, we have a very loose attachment to them. Think of that lovely hymn. I'll never know why it's not in reformed hymn books. Somebody's got something against the hymn book. Where it says, turn your eyes upon Jesus. look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. And so if we set our hearts on Christ, or set our minds on him, then the covetousness will disappear. There won't be room for it. And finally, it seems to me that the New Testament The New Testament emphasises the importance of thankfulness as an antidote to covetousness. If you're continually giving thanks to God for his provision Whatever that is, that will steer your heart away from covetousness. Thank you Lord for what I have, for my food, for my health, for my home, for my job, just for what I have now. Thank you Lord for that and I'm content with what you've given me because I'm content in you. And you're the source of my joy and satisfaction anyway. And all these other things, you know I need them. And you decide how much I have. But my heart's set in you. And I give you thanks, Lord, for all that you've given me. Thankfulness is an expression of faith in the goodness of God. and it builds faith in the goodness of God. You see, unless we're convinced that God is good and he's good to me and good to you, we're always going to have a covetous heart. In a way, it's a lack of faith. But once we believe God's good, we can rest in his goodness and in his provision. That's why anxiety can be a killer in someone's life because It's taking you away from that security in God because God is big enough to look after you. He's big enough to look after your physical, emotional, mental, psychological, family, work, needs, everything. He's bigger than any of your needs. Paul said, my God will supply all of your needs. in Christ Jesus, not just some of them, all of them. He's big enough to look after you. Be careful for nothing, Paul says, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. We have so much to thank the Lord for. Most of the time, probably all of the time, we're well-fed and well-clothed. Yes, providentially God takes us through trials, periods of good health, periods of bad health, but he's sufficient. He can look after us through all these different times. And so this is something of the The New Testament picture, if you like, of the non-covetous 10th Commandment keeping Christian heart. And I wonder if our hearts are like that. We need to look deep within, don't we? Where is our heart set? May the Lord speak to our hearts, the heart which is so deceitful May we repent from all covetousness and turn to Christ. May he be our greatest treasure, the pearl of great price that we're willing to sell everything for, to find him and to be content in him. And I pray that for each one of us tonight. Amen. Feel free to contact us at Sovereign Grace Church in Tiverton. Email us at grace2seekers at gmail.com. That's grace2seekers at gmail.com. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.sovereigngracereformedchurch.co.uk. you