No Coveting
Scripture: Exodus 20:1-17
I. Coveting looks like envy.
A. Coveting has to do with desire. It is desiring the wrong things. Or it is desiring good things in the wrong way. When you covet, you desire forbidden things. You envy what others have. James 1:14-15: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”
B. We see a story of coveting in action in 1 Kings 21 when King Ahab coveted a vineyard of his neighbor Naboth. Four of the 10 commandments were broken by Ahab and Queen Jezebel in this story: the commandments against lying, stealing, murder and coveting. But where did all this sinning start? It started with coveting. It started with Ahab’s envy of Naboth’s land. It is the forbidden desire of coveting that leads to other sins.
II. Coveting looks like greed.
A. Greed is the insatiable desire for more money and things. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” So, if you rarely think about God and His kingdom, and if you are regularly thinking about money and the things money can buy, you are coveting. The more that you possess, the greater the danger that those things start to possess you.
B. A covetous man meets Jesus in Mark 10. At the end of his conversation with the man, Jesus told him in vs. 21: “You lack one thing.” By breaking the last commandment, he has also broken the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Because of his greed, this man had put money and things above God in his heart and in his life. What is the antidote for greed? Gratitude. You replace the greed in your heart when you spend time thanking God.
III. Coveting does not look like contentment.
A. If you shall not covet, then what shall you do? The Bible’s answer is that you shall be content. 1 Timothy 6:6: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” The apostle Paul tells us how to be content in his teaching in Philippians 4:11-13: “For I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Application:
Kill and bury the idols that cause you to covet.
Sources:
The Bible
Books by Philip Ryken, Jen Wilkin, J.I. Packer, and Kevin DeYoung.
Sermon Discussion Questions
1) How does envy of our neighbors lead us to break the 10th commandment against coveting? Why is it covetous to think that if I only had what my neighbors have, I would be happy?
2) How did the rich young ruler in Mark 10 reveal he was covetous when he refused to give away his wealth? How does worry over money reveal a covetous heart?
3) Since contentment does not come naturally to us, how do we gain this treasure of contentment? What is the connection between knowing Christ’s love and being content?