It's the Thought That Counts
The Tenth Commandment
Exodus 20: 17
We now come to the last of the 10 Commandments, and this will bring our study to a close. Have we talked about all the implications – either in our duties and responsibilities on one hand, or the valuable prohibitions that keep us from the consequences of sin on the
other? No. Not hardly. Many of these we will discover on our own as we simply walk through life with humble and teachable hearts, confronting the various things which come up and knowing that all of life is in response to God’s instruction and calling:
“Walk before me and be blameless.” (Gen. 17:1)
Now this last commandment is also among those found in that section of the 2nd table which lists several commandments, all negatively stated: “You shall not … “. . And, as we have seen before, while these commandments are too often ignored or disregarded today - sometimes even by Christians as well as by unbelievers – nevertheless, God is very serious in them because they are, first and foremost, violations against Him and only then are they sins against others made in His image. It’s the fact that we live, move and have our being as the very image of God that makes even our slightest sins so ugly! So, as we have been studying the commandments of prohibition, we should really understand them this way: if
murder is the taking of the image of God unjustly, and
adultery is the giving away of the image of God cheaply, and if
stealing is possessing what belongs to the image of God
unrighteously, and
lying is denying the image of God intentionally, then
coveting is corrupting the image of God secretly.
But while this commandment fits the developing pattern of this second table of the law, still, it is also different than the others in one very significant way: coveting is a sin done where no one but God can see, and it
also deals with the motive for our other, outward sins as well. The 10th Commandment proves that motives matter – what you think and why you do what you do will be judged before Him just as the acts themselves.
The Heart of the Matter
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Mt. 5:21-22)
and
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Mt. 5:27-28)
In these passages, Jesus is emphasizing two things we need to be clear about: 1) He is emphasizing the fact that the truth of all the Moral Law of God is abiding and still binding upon us today – there is no time when breaking these commandments will be seen by God as a righteous act nor when keeping these laws is not required by God of all men; and 2) in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
isn’t really adding or intensifying the law – the Pharisees would have thought so, and so do some Christians today – but Jesus is simply preaching the 10th Commandment as God intended it to be understood all along. This is how sincerely and deeply we are to regard and live by all the commandments. They effect our heart, our nature, our very lives. In that sense, the 10th Commandment is directly connected to the first. We are either obeying them both or we are breaking them both at the same time.
Do you remember the incident of the rich, young ruler (Luke 
18:18ff)? He thought he was obeying the law perfectly and even wanted to be known of Jesus as one who did so.
But Jesus wasn’t fooled. Why? The young man probably fooled everybody else. What made Jesus different? Because Jesus read his heart! Just like he will read and judge your heart. But here, Jesus had mercy on the young man and showed him the truth - that in spite of all his outward conformity, outward obedience that may, indeed, have been impeccable, - he was really guilty of breaking the first and most important commandment. Why? Because he was breaking
the last – he coveted his own righteousness. People would look at him today and say “What a fine Christian man, an upstanding figure, a model of faithfulness”, when in reality the god he worshipped was his own pride, not Jehovah!
A Matter of the Heart
How can we know we aren’t doing the same thing? Is there a difference between you and the rich, young ruler? Let me show you
some diagrams. Which one fits you the best?
The ordinary unbeliever
The ordinary unbeliever clearly has ME in the center of his life. And everything in his life is described and defined by how it connects to ME. This even includes anything he might even call his religion – it is a religion which the ME tolerates and even uses to his own advantage. If this is you, then your problem is only beginning because you so regularly break the 1st and the 10th commandment. Your
real problem is there is no salvation for you because there is no Christ in your heart.
The professing yet covetous believer
This person may claim Christ in his life but when you look at his life there is no question as to who is still in control. Sometimes Christians who are in this position like to excuse themselves with language
that is not so harsh. “I’m a Christian but not living for the Lord.” “Jesus is my Savior. That’s all he requires.” But Scripture knows the truth – this is covetousness and this Christian needs to repent. Outwardly, his life is no different than an unbeliever and some other words from Jesus in the
Sermon on the Mount come to mind: “by their fruits you shall know them.”
The truly rich believer
Money
Where’s the “ME”? Christ has become and replaced the “ME” – because, for the Christian, “to live is Christ”. The rule of Christ in the truly rich Christian’s heart dictates everything in his life that he once reserved for his own selfishness.
The Heart Does Matter
The solution to the question of obedience to the 10th Commandment is not simply learning how to be content all by ourselves, for only
Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim. 6:6)
nor is it simply trying to exhaust our covetous nature by satisfying our wants and desires,
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mt. 16:26)
nor is it done by trying to radically deny ourselves.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
but have not love, it profits me nothing. (1 Cor. 13:3)
None of these things will help. They will only leave an emptiness in our hearts. And if all we do is leave a vacuum in our hearts, something more sinister and ugly will soon come to fill it, including
resentment against Christ.
The only way to truly obey the 10th Commandment is to learn what it is to be content with Christ.
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:12-13)
We might all say we are content in Christ but ask yourself another question: are you content with Christ? Jesus also said in the Sermon on the Mount: don’t bother with what shall we eat or drink or wear
(Mt. 6:24-34). Why? Are we supposed to be without these things? No, because our Father knows our needs as well as our legitimate wants and we can trust him to supply those things in the fashion a Father would wisely do. Our job is simply to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness first and all these things will also come to us as well.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
(Mt. 6:33)
True contentment for the Christian is when God himself is our reward.
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. (Gen. 15:1).
When God is your reward, you know where your heart is.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; (Mt. 6:19-21)
Where is your heart today? Where are your treasures? What are your treasures? How will you gain those treasures? And how rich will you truly be?
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From Studies in the Book of Exodus, by The Rev. David G. Barker, October, 2001.
