Basic HTML Version
Apostle Paul wrote about the Tenth. The first commandment reads as follows:
Exodus 20:1-3 And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the LORD your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
You shall have no other gods before Me.”
And to violate that commandment is an act of idolatry! The same is true with the Tenth
commandment as the Apostle Paul makes known:
Colossians 3:5 “Therefore put to death your members which are upon the
earth;
fornication,
uncleanness,
passion,
evil
desire,
and
COVETOUSNESSES, which is IDOLATRY."
Very few people even think about having a strong desire for something can border on
the law of coveting. Even the Apostle Paul would not have recognized covetousness
except by God’s law:
Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the
contrary, I would NOT have known sin
(what it is
) EXCEPT through the law
(
Romans 3:20
). For I would NOT have known COVETOUSNESS UNLESS
THE LAWHAD SAID, ‘You shall NOT covet.”
The law of God is very important to know and understand for it defines sin for what it is
(
I John 3:4
), and the cost of violating it is death (
Romans 6:29
).
You Shall LOVE Your Neighbor as Yourself
To obey the law of not coveting that which belongs to someone else, one needs to pray
and ask God for the LOVE needed to overpower the strong desire of coveting his or her
neighbor’s belongings.
This wonderful caring LOVE enables one to bring the overt desire of coveting, lust, and
greed under control thereby eliminating any compunction to steal, rob, or murder
anyone to obtain for self that which belongs to other people (
James 1:12-18
).
The Apostle Paul stresses the need of this LOVE from God that will make possible
obedience to His law:
Romans 13:10 “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore LOVE is the
fulfillment of the Law.”
This commandment not to covet has also been magnified by Jesus Christ:
The Magnification of God’s Laws
2