You Shall Not Covet

Sept. 7, 2003                                                                                                                                      Northwest Bible Church

Worship Service                                                                                                                                Alan Conner

Rom. 7:7-8

“You Shall Not Covet”

 

INTRO

“Is the law sin?”  May it never be. The law is not sin because:

 

1) The law reveals sin (7b).

2) My sin, not the law, produced in me coveting of every kind (8).

 

 

I.  HOW  THE TENTH COMMANDMENT REVEALS OUR SIN.

 

A.  Why does Paul quote the 10th commandment?

 

 

 

B.  The meaning of the 10th commandment.

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.”

 

 

“Covet” means simply “a strong desire.”

 

HOUSE -

WIFE –

MALE OR FEMALE SERVANT –

OX OR DONKEY –

ANYTHING ELSE THAT BELONGS TO YOUR NEIGHBOR -

 

This command directly puts the heart under the scrutiny of the Lord .

 

 

 

II.  THE  UNREGENERATE REACTION TO THE LAW OF GOD.

 

A.  More coveting/concupiscence (KJV) (Rom. 7:8).   “coveting of every kind”, includes:

 

1) more lusts and coveting of things forbidden.

 

2) It can also include carrying out those lusts and thus lead to more sin.

 

BUT WHAT CAUSES THIS EXPLOSIVE REACTION TO THE LAW?

 

B. How so?  Notice, SIN taking the opportunity through the commandment produced in me coveting of every kind (Rom. 7:8).

 

1) Sin in this context = unregenerate sinful human nature.   There is a violent reaction when the law of God confronts our flesh.

 

 

2) Why does sinful human nature respond this way to God’s law?

 

BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE OUR OWN GOD.   See Eph. 5:5.

 

This desire to be god is at the heart of our sinful nature.  It first was found in Lucifer (Isa. 14:14), then he brought the same temptation into the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:4-7).

 

 

 

 

III.  APPLICATION TO BELIEVERS

 

Christians are not yet totally delivered from this depravity.

 

We still wrestle with a god-complex at times.   We still struggle with wanting things that we should not have because of this old nature in us.   Its dominion is broken over us (6:6, 14) but its power still lingers.

 

We covet things because we do not covet Christ.

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

It is folly to think we can be saved by the law.

 

We must understand what we are up against in our Christian walk, that we might seek grace in Christ Jesus to overcome our indwelling sin.