12/7/17 – Eph 6:2-3
The 10
Commandments, Pt 34
The 10th Commandments, Pt. 4
The 10th Commandments, Pt. 4
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
Grace Fellowship Church
Before we
begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, (If You have - Trusted
in Him for Eternal Life), it is important to prepare yourself to: Take-in God’s
Word and/or Participate in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite,
or acknowledge your sins privately, directly to God the Father. This will
assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father & the Holy Spirit’s
convicting ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the
real teacher.
1 John 1:9 says— “If we confess [simply
name, cite, or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
[all unknown & forgotten sins].”
For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please see: The Salvation Message @ the
end of this document.
2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is
not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward
you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
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The Doctrine of the Ten Commandments Related to the Church Age,
Part XXXIV.
Ex 20:17; Mat 5:28; 15:19; Rom 7:7; 13:9; James 1:15;
Phil 4:11-13; 1 Tim 6:6-10
The 10th Commandment, (conclusion).
Ex
20:17, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your
neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his
donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
New Testament Usage:
This Commandment is reiterated in Rom
7:7; 13:9, therefore, it is a NT doctrine for the Church Age. In these
passages it utilizes the Greek verb EPITHUMEO, which is synonymous with the
Hebrew CHAMAD and AWAH, that can be used for both good and bad coveting. Here
we will note on the bad / sinful type of coveting /lusting in the NT. This
commandment was the basis for Paul’s discovering the Old Sin Nature and that he
was a sinful creature who needed a Savior. Paul said that the knowledge of the
law, through the command, “Do not covet,” Rom 7:7, elicited every kind
of “covetous desire,” vs. 8, in him because of his “sinful nature,” vs.
18.
Rom 7:7, “What
shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would
not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known
about coveting if the Law had not said, "YOU SHALL NOT COVET".”
Paul is saying, “I would not have known the existence of the
principle of the Sin Nature were it not for the 10th Commandment.”
This highlights this commandment above all the others, as it directly speaks to
the mentality of the soul in regard to sinning, versus overt actions noted in
the other Commandment, cf. Eph 5:3-5; James 1:15.
James 1:15, “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
As we have noted, covetousness has a
psychologically degrading effect upon an individual. It takes away contentment,
cf. Phil 4:11-12; 1 Tim 6:6-8, and sets one’s attention on acquiring
earthly and temporal things rather than the heavenly and eternal treasures that
God has provided for us, cf. Mat 6:20, 33.
Phil 4:11-13, “Not
that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever
circumstances I am. 12I know how to
get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any
and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going
hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13I can do all things through Him who
strengthens me.”
The point is, as Paul told Timothy, “Godliness
with contentment is great gain,” 1 Tim 6:6. The NT stresses thanksgiving
and contentment as proper heart attitudes that contrast covetousness. John the
Baptist exhorted soldiers to be content with their pay rather than extorting
money by threats and false accusations, Luke 3:14. The book of Hebrews
encourages one to keep his life free from the love of money and “be content
with what you have” and depend on the promises and help of God rather than
trusting in wealth, Heb 13:5-6. 1 Timothy also contains the
classic warning against the love of money and stresses that it is great gain to
be content with food and clothing, 1 Tim 6:6-10.
1 Tim 6:6-10, “But godliness actually is a means of great
gain when accompanied by contentment. 7For we have brought nothing
into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8If we
have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9But those
who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and
harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For
the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it
have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
In studying the 10 Commandments, Paul
also discovered, as we have seen, that they were designed as principles of
freedom. The 10th Commandment forbids covetousness because, when
unchecked, it destroys individual freedom. Covetousness is an expression of the
lust pattern of the Old Sin Nature; and when the lust pattern is allowed to
control the soul, emotional revolt of the soul (ERS) results. When ERS leads a
person’s soul, it causes various sins that infringe upon the freedoms of
others. When a maximum number of people in a national entity are operation
under the ERS, freedom is destroyed within that society or nation.
In commemorating the 10th
Commandments, Adam Clarke writes, “This
is a most excellent moral precept, the observance of which will prevent all
public crimes; for he who feels the force of the law that prohibits the
inordinate desire of anything that is the property of another, can never make a
breach in the peace of society by an act of wrong to any of even its feeblest
members.” (Adam Clarke’s Commentary.)
In addition, the epistles to the
Ephesians and Colossians regard the sin of covetousness as a kind of idolatry
and list this sin along with sexual immorality and impurity, which give rise to
the wrath of God, Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-6. Therefore, to covet leads to a
life of misery and anguish whether you obtain your lustful desires or not.
In the first NT utilization of the
principle of “coveting,” Jesus enlarged on all of the commandments utilizing
“coveting / lusting” in reference to being the genesis of all sins, because
they emanate from within a man’s heart, Mat 5:21-48; 15:19.
Mat 5:28, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman
with lust (EPITHUMEO) for her has already
committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Mat 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”
Jesus also used the noun PLEONEXIA,
πλεονεξία that means, “greediness, avarice, or covetousness,” to make this
point that the sins that defile a person are sins coming from untamed
desires in the heart, Mark 7:20-22;
Luke 12:15.
Mark 7:20-23, “And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of
the man, that is what defiles the man. 21For from within, out of the
heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders,
adulteries, 22deeds of coveting and wickedness, as
well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23All
these evil things proceed from within and defile the man".”
The Gospel of Luke describes Jesus’ warning to guard one’s heart
against covetousness, Luke 12:15, “Then
He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of
greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of
his possessions".”
James also portrays covetous desire residing in the heart as being
the internal source of temptation and sin,
James 1:13-15.
James 1:14-15, “But
each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15Then
when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished,
it brings forth death.”
James goes on to describe how covetous desire leads to fighting
and that lack of material possessions is caused by not asking God for them and
by asking with wrong motives.
As we noted above, “lusting or
coveting” comes from the Greek Verb EPITHUMEO, ἐπιθυμέω that means, “desire, long for, and
lust for or after.” It can be used for both good and bad desiring, like the
Hebrew words CHAMAD and AWAH found in the Decalogue. It is used of a sinful
nature in Mat 5:28; Acts 20:33, (Paul defending his ministry); Rom
7:7; 13:9 (social justice code); 1 Cor 10:6; Gal 5:17; James 4:2.
Gal 5:17, “For the flesh sets its desire against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one
another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”
James 4:2, “You lust and do not have; so you commit
murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.
You do not have because you do not ask.”
The Noun EPITHUMIA, ἐπιθυμία means, “desire, longing, or craving,”
and is used for sinful mentality in Mark 4:19; John 8:44 (“of your
father the devil”); Rom 1:24, (God gave them over to depravity); Rom
6:12; 7:7-8; 13:14; Gal 5:16, 24; Eph 2:3; 4:22; Col 3:5; 1 Thes 4:5; 1 Tim
6:9; 2 Tim 2:22; 3:6; 2 Tim 4:3; Titus 2:12; 3:3; James 1:14-15; 1 Peter 1:14;
2:11; 4:2-3; 2 Peter 1:4; 2:10, 18; 3:3; 1 John 2:16-17; Jude 1:16, 18; Rev
18:14, and the Noun EPITHUMETES, “one who lusts for,” 1 Cor 10:6.
Putting a few of these verses together
tells us of the detrimental effect of coveting and that we should turn from
covetousness to producing the Fruit of the Spirit.
Mark 4:19, “The worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of
riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it
becomes unfruitful.”
Rom 6:12, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that
you should obey its lusts.”
Eph 2:3, “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our
flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Titus 3:3, “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient,
deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice
and envy, hateful, hating one another.”
Eph 4:22, “That, in reference to your former manner of life, you
lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts
of deceit.”
1 Peter 4:3, “For the time already past is sufficient for you
to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of
sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable
idolatries.”
Rom 13:14, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
Gal 5:16, “I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out
the desire of the flesh.”
Gal 5:24, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the
flesh with its passions and desires.”
Col 3:5, “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as
dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to
idolatry.”
2 Tim 2:22, “Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue
righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord
from a pure heart.”
Paul further warns us of the sinful life
using “covet and covetousness” in the NT with the Nouns PLEONEKTES, πλεονέκτης that means, “one who
desires more, a greedy or covetous person,” in 1 Cor 5:10-11; 6:10; Eph 5:5,
and PLEONEXIA πλεονεξία, that means, “greediness, avarice, and
covetousness,” in Rom 1:29, (with OREXIS, “strong lusting,” vs. 27);
2 Cor 9:5; Eph 4:19; 5:3; Col 3:5; 1 Thes 2:5; 2 Peter 2:3, 14.
The mental attitude of coveting that
leads to actual “taking advantage of someone,” is found in the verb PLEONEKTEO πλεονεκτέω that
means, “take advantage of, defraud, and exploit,” in 2 Cor 2:11; 7:2;
12:17-18; 1 Thes 4:6.
“Lust” is also found in the Greek Verb ZELOO, ζηλόω that means, “strive, fervently desire, be zealous,
be jealous, or envious,” and the noun ZELOS
ζῆλος that means, “zeal, fervor, jealousy, or rivalry.” It is used for sinful
behavior in: Acts 7:9; 17:5; Gal 4:17; James 4:2, (KJV, which adds
“covet” after “kill”), and Rom 13:13; 1 Cor 3:32; 2 Cor 12:20; Gal 5:20;
James 3:14, 16.
Rom 13:13, “Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing
and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and
jealousy.”
James 3:14, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition
in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.”
James 3:16, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there
is disorder and every evil thing.”
1 Tim 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil,
and some by longing (OREGOMAI) for
it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.”
1 Cor 13:4, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not
jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant.”
Finally, as I noted in the OT usage, I heard a homicide detective
once say, “all crimes are motivated by
one of three things; money, sex / relationships, or power.” Coveting is
behind them all, as noted in 1 John
2:16; 2 Peter 2:10; 1 Tim 6:10; Heb 13:5, cf. Gal 5:16.
1 John 2:16, “For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and
the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world”
2 Peter 2:10, “And especially those who indulge the flesh in its
corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, …”
1 Tim 6:10 “For
the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it
have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Heb 13:5, “Make
sure that your
character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have…”
Therefore, Gal 5:16, “But
I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
(Unknown)
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A
PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU
John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”
Notice again
what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have;” it says,
“has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of
everlasting life, you have it, and it can never be lost or taken away from you [John 10:28-29]. Furthermore, the gift
of everlasting life [also called eternal life in Scripture] is available to
every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.
John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but
he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any
man should boast.”
If
you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell
you that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you.
God the Father also loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son
for you by sending Him to the Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place.
Taking upon Himself all of your sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our
sins and paid the price for our sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held
against us.
Right
where you are, you now have the opportunity to make the greatest decision in
your life. To accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life by truly
believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day
as the proof of the promise of eternal life. So right now, you can pause and
reflect on what Christ has done for you and say to the Father:
"Yes
Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ,
died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."
If you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal
Family of God !!!
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Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard
23 Messenger Street, Unit 3
Plainville, MA 02762
Copyright © 2001 - 2017.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
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