As mentioned in a previous post, I was sent to studying the New Testament by a dear brother years back to understand the believers relationship to the Ten Commandments.
This post will continue with
Commandment #10 – No Coveting
Exodus 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 is your neighbor’s.
Is each commandment included in Jesus or the Apostles teaching?- If so, was there anything different about the command as expressed by Jesus or the Apostles?
The NO IDOLS command is included in Jesus and the apostles teaching, but primarily from the positive perspective, from the love angle, not the rule angle.
There is a difference.
Jesus made mention of the last commandment, and in Luke 12 :15, He makes a very startling statement considering the land of plenty and success we live in.
How often have you heard of a friend or colleague “having made it”, of “being successful”, or “living the good life”?
Luke 12:15 – And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Consider the phrase “for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”. There is nothing worse than laying cheap guilt on believers, so I want to be careful to not condemn believers simply because they have a nice car or house.
This is an internal issue. A covetous man can very likely be a very poor fella, but always wanting someone else’s “possessions” A covetous man can very likely be a filthy rich man, never sharing or considering others.
The story of JD Rockerfeller always comes to mind when I think of covetousness. He was on a television talk show decades ago, and the talking head asked him when he will have enough. He simply stated “Just one more dollar”.
The covetousness in the old Testament was related to wanting other peoples wives, or calves or bowling balls. Jesus is re-framing this command to include our own possessions. That hurt!
The issue is focus, where do I find my life? Am I wrapped up in the things I own? Troubling question.
Rom 13:9 – For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Paul gives a summary verse, that covers the commandments for the believer. This is a very appropriate verse to end this portion of the series.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Hope you will come back to visit, as we look at some of the verses that I leaned on early in my Christian experience, to justify my ignoring the moral code of God.
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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.
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