Running To Win

Dave McAllister: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and proctor of our faith. There is something in all of us that wants what someone else has, but we can't carry our belongings into the afterlife. No U-Haul will follow your hearse. Coveting, that's what God addressed in the last of the Ten Commandments. Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, why do you call covetousness the sin nobody sees?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, Dave, very simply, I call it that because it is indeed the sin that nobody sees. Nobody sees into our hearts, and covetousness is something that is lurking within every single human heart. When you look at a house that is more opulent than yours, when you see a new car, when you see what your neighbors are able to do and you can't, covetousness, it begins small, but it can become something very deadly. As a matter of fact, Dave, I have to tell you that recently I just read the story of Jezebel. You remember how she coveted Naboth's vineyard, and that actually led her to murder him.

Now, all that to say, God hates covetousness. I find it very interesting that in the Scriptures it is listed along with all of the other huge sins. For gift of any amount, we're making available for you a resource entitled Why Holiness Matters. Now, I wrote this book on the Ten Commandments, but it expands these commandments and helps us to understand this plumb line that God has given us by which we can judge conduct, and it is also like guard rails that help us. Now, at the end of this message, I'm going to be giving you some contact info, and this is very important because this is the last week that we are making this resource available for you.

But for now, let us listen. I suggest that if you make out a will, and you ought to have one incidentally, if you have children, I suggest you make it out very thoroughly because if not, there's going to be a big scrap at your funeral. Happens all the time. You'd be surprised at the fine, wonderful Christian homes that are split, torn in two by strife and division and hatred, all because of the inequities of dividing up the loot after people die. I think of a man in New York, a Christian man in New York who said that because his brother tried to chisel him out of part of his inheritance, he actually plotted to kill him.

Something happens when people realize that there was money that they were to receive that doesn't seem to be coming to them. One day, Jesus was preaching a sermon, and someone interrupted. The 12th chapter of the Gospel of Luke tells the story. Maybe we should turn to that story. Someone interrupted and said, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me. Seemed like a rather reasonable request. Jesus wasn't actually asked whether or not he would be the arbiter. He was asked to take sides. He was saying, tell my brother, he the boy said, to divide the inheritance with me.

But Jesus backed out of the responsibility. Instead, he does something that you and I would never think of doing in a context like that that seemed like a reasonable request. Jesus said to the young man, beware of covetousness, covetousness, he says, because a man's life does not consist in the abundance of things that he possesses. That's what Christ's response was. And then Jesus goes on to tell the story of a farmer, a very familiar farmer who had lots of grain, and he had more than his grain raise and his barns could hold. And so he says, I'm going to tear them down, and I'm going to build greater, and then I'm going to go to Florida and spend the rest of my life, eat, drink, and be merry.

Tomorrow we die. Enjoy it. Covetousness is a sin that is so subtle because for one thing, nobody sees it. You look at the other commandments. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Certainly Jesus said that we should not lust in our hearts. But basically, adultery as far as the act is concerned is something that is can be taken into account to judge a person. You take, for example, the sin of stealing, lying. But covetousness hides down deep in the heart, and there is no law in the United States nor in the state of Illinois that can ever try you for covetousness.

Never seen it yet. Seen all kinds of interesting things in the Chicago newspaper. Never have seen anyone tried for covetousness. It lurks within the human heart. The Ten Commandments are all held together. I wish I had time to show that to you. But the one that holds them all together is the last one and the first one. They're almost identical. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife nor his house nor his servants nor anything that belongs to his neighbors. And it is impossible to touch any of the other commandments without somehow infringing on covetousness.

It is tied together with all the rest. And you can't commit the other sins without committing this one too. Now, let's answer some questions regarding covetousness, and we've got to do this quickly. First, why is covetousness so deceitful? Why is it so deceitful? The Bible talks about the deceitfulness of riches, the deceitfulness of covetousness. Let me tell you very quickly that in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 5, the apostle Paul talks about the cloak of covetousness. The reason that covetousness is so deceptive is that it always comes clothed in a way that is deceitful. It's something like that little Red Riding Hood story where the wolf, first of all, plays the grandmother so that later he can play the wolf.

Covetousness comes cloaked. How does it come cloaked? It can come cloaked under the doctrine of fairness. Fairness. You look at this young man. He says, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me. There's nothing wrong with that. I ought to get what I have coming to me. We ought to do this properly just as the will specifies. That sounds right. And yet Jesus looks into the young man's heart and says, oh, beware of covetousness. Wait a minute here. You have a legal problem, but deeper than the legal problem is a covetous problem.

It's the problem of the human heart. So you see, under the doctrine of fairness, we can hide the desire for things and and to make sure that we're going to get our share because we have it coming to us, and we may legally. But the problem is that down deep within, there's a covetous spirit. It also comes cloaked not only with fairness, but it comes cloaked with prudence. You know, I reread this story of this rich man. I've never preached on the parable, frankly. Uh, I'm sure that in the years I should have, but I never have.

But I reread it this past week a couple of times and thought to myself, my word, what's so wrong with this man? I mean, he has no place to put all of his grain, so he builds his granaries, his barns bigger, and he says, I'm going to take all of them and put all this away, and then I 'm going to eat, drink, and be merry. Isn't this the American way of life? Wouldn't this make an excellent story on the front page of the Wall Street Journal? Isn't this what life is all about is to get as much as you can so that you can enjoy it and you can travel and you can have friends and you can eat out and you can live in a lavish place and you can take care of everything.

Isn't that what we were all about? My dear friend, under the guise of prudence can lurk a very covetous, deceitful, grabbing, hungry, deceitful heart. See, that's why covetousness is a sin that probably I cannot convince you that you have it. Only God can show it to you. It is so deceitful. Because people say, well, I've got to earn a living, or other people are doing it, and I 've got to compete, and all these excuses are given, you see, and it cloaks the hidden desire for things and for security and down deep beneath the frugality and the fairness and the prudence.

There is a heart that craves, that desires more than other people have. You see, the problem is that the greed of the human heart can never be satisfied. That 's the problem. You know, the Bible says in Proverbs that he that loves silver is not satisfied with silver. Amazing. Because what it's saying is is that you and I have within us an insatiable desire. If we love silver, we will not be satisfied with silver. We will go on to gold, and we will go on to this and on to that and on and on it will go, and the thirst continues to get greater and greater and greater, and it does not abate no matter how much we feed greed.

Greed is like a cord that is wrapped around the human heart until it chokes everything and you become miserly and withdrawn and stingy and irritable and and full of all kinds of schemes because of that greed, that covetous spirit, that greed. People who are greedy are full of restless energy, wanting to grab. If you were to paint a picture of covetousness, I don't think it would be a person that was fat and clumsy. It would be lean, hungry, scheming, desiring. That's what exists in the human heart. That's why it's so deceitful. There's a second question, and that is how is it detected?

How do you know whether you have a covetous heart? Notice the text. First of all, we can tell it by what we say. Notice this man who speaks. He reasons to himself verse 17. First of all, he's speaking to himself. I I guess it's all right to speak to yourself, but when you begin to answer, maybe you have some problems. I heard someone who says, I always speak to myself because there's nobody else around intelligent enough to carry on a conversation with. But this man was reasoning to himself saying, what shall I do since I have no place to store my crops?

This is what I will do. I will tear down my barns. I will build larger ones. I will store there all my grain. I I I I I I. You've met people like that. In fact, take a good look in the mirror. Maybe. You see, the Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. There are some people who cannot talk about spiritual things. It cannot come out of their mouth. All that they talk about is earning money. All that they talk about is things, things, things, acquiring, acquiring, who has what and how much.

And that's how you detect covetousness not only by what you say, but by what you do. This man decided, of course, to make room for all of his grain instead of thinking that he really ought to give it away. He begins to use the things that God has given him and to hoard those things even more than he needs. Did you know that there are some people who have more money than they will ever need and they still don't give it away? That's amazing. Just to think, there are people who have more money than they will ever be able to use up, and they still don't give it away because of the greed that exists in the human heart.

And God says, thou shalt not covet. We've got to hurry on. First of all, why is it deceitful? It's because it comes cloaked under the guise of very respectful ideas and concepts. Secondly, how is it detected? By what we say and by what we do because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Thirdly, why does God hate it so much? What's God so uptight about when it comes to covetousness? The book of Proverbs says that God hates a covetous spirit. Why does God dislike this sin perhaps more than almost any other? It's because covetousness is a denial of God.

It's a denial of God. It is rebellion against God. How? First of all, a covetous person denies God's provisions. Denies God's provisions. He's saying, God, I can't trust you to take care of me. Consequently, I 've got to grab for everything that I can in life. I've got to make sure that I have enough and even more than I could possibly use because I can't trust God. I've got to go out there and I've got to do it, and I've got to hoard. It's rebellion against the provision of God. That's why in the Old Testament when God says you can have manna, the Lord said to them, he said, go out every day, gather it.

If you store it in your tent one day, it's going to get old. Why? Because God says, I don't want you to have two days worth of manna in your tent at one time because if you do on the second day, you might not have to trust me. And Jesus said, give us this day our daily bread. But you see, under the guise of proper planning, and we all ought to plan properly, can exist the most covetous spirit. A person who says, I am going to make sure that even if God doesn't come through, I'm going to have enough, and there is rebellion against the provision of God.

That's why God hates covetousness. It is also not only rebellion against God's provision and denies that, but also is rebellion against his providence, his providence. Because we may look at what others have and we may envy them, we may covet them. And actually what God is saying to us is that within his providence there are some people that are rich, there are some people that are poor. I 'm not saying that the poor shouldn't try to earn money and to become rich, but I 'm simply saying that in this life there are all these inequities, and in a sense we must admit that God has a right to do as he wishes with his own.

And therefore, when we begin to murmur and complain and we are filled with covetousness, whether we are rich or poor, we can have that kind of a heart. It is then that we are rebelling against God's will and place for us in this world. And that's why in Colossians chapter 3 Paul says, covetousness is idolatry. It is idolatry. What would we do here at the Moody Church if someone were an idolater, someone who would bow down to an image? We'd say, well, they should be disciplined. But what do we say when the Bible says that a covetous person is an idolater?

Why? He has set up rival worship just like the Samaritans did. They rivaled the worship in Jerusalem when God says only at Jerusalem the Samaritan says it's too far to go. We want to have our own worship center. And so they worship Baal up on the mountain. God says, if you have a covetous heart, what you are doing is you are supplanting me. You are saying that I am second and that you are inviting a rival into your life who is vying for your attention. Covetousness is is idolatry, says the Scripture. That's why God hates it.

Remember the Bible says that we can trust God. I will not fear what man unto me. Be content with such things as ye have, for you know that the Lord has said, I will never leave you and forsake you. You see, contentment is related to the presence and the faith that we ought to have in God. Another question, how can we overcome it? How can we overcome it? I want you to know today that you and I are born filled with covetousness, filled with it. You say, well, you don't even know me. I don't have to know you.

The only requirement for me to say that is that you be a member of the human race, and you make your own judgment whether or not you qualify on that score. We are born born with a deceitful covetous spirit. And so how do we take that that root that is within us? Coveting our neighbor's wife, our neighbor's possessions, our neighbor's house, anything that belongs to anybody else, desiring it, craving it, building in our imaginations the hope that someday it will be ours, the wish that it were ours. How can we take that awful root that is so implanted in the human heart and extract it?

Well, the answer is you can't because covetousness is so much a part of you that that it's not even possible for you to get at it. Only God, only God can take it out of our hearts. Only God can do it. You know, I think that one of the greatest miracles, you know, when you really know when when God is able to change people, we say, you know, can God change people? I'll tell you, there are times when God has actually taken a stingy person and made him generous. Did you know that? I I that's hard to believe.

Boy, when I heard that, I remember hearing about a man who is so stingy, so miserly, everything that he gave was so incredibly measured because he didn't want to be guilty of over generosity or over giving. He wanted to keep everything absolutely right and just give enough to make it look good. And guess what? God took this Christian who had allowed that root of covetousness to grow up in his life, and God smashed him. God loves to do that. Just took him apart piece by piece, just one trial after another one, difficulty after another, butting up his head against a stone wall until God just showed him himself, and he was just absolutely broken in the sight of God, and he saw it in all of its ugliness.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, my friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. Do we understand covetousness? Don't we realize that it is discontent with what God has given us? Now, of course, we should do all that we possibly can to improve our position, so to speak, but at the same time to be discontent. Well, you know what God thought of it when the people grumbled in the wilderness. I've written a book entitled Why Holiness Matters, and I wrote it because we're living in a day and age when oftentimes we have many careless Christians who think that because we are under grace we can live as we please.

No, we shouldn't and we can't. I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy because I'm going to be giving you some contact info. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1 888 218 9337. Once again, right now you can go to rtwoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1 888 218 9337.

Dave McAllister: It's time again for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. All Christians want to understand the Scriptures correctly. That's certainly the case with Tim who listens to Running to Win in Carthage, Indiana. Here's his question. Dr. Lutzer, my question is about the qualifications of a preacher according to 1 Timothy. The apostle Paul speaks of a man being a husband of one wife. In your interpretation of this, is he speaking of polygamy or of divorce? My wife's uncle is a Southern Baptist minister, and he believes this pertains to someone who's been married and divorced.

Do you believe a man can be a minister if he has been married, divorced, and remarried before he came to know Jesus as his savior?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, my friend, first of all, let me thank you for asking this question. It shows the interest that you have as well as others on what is the biblical requirement to be a pastor. Couple of comments. The text that you cited in Timothy literally means that the man should be a quote one wife man. Obviously that means he should not be a polygamist. And obviously it means that it should be a man who is wholly devoted to his wife, a man of proven character. Now, if you ask the question, is it possible for a man who's been divorced and remarried to meet this requirement?

I think under certain conditions yes, he can. Because I think when Paul lists the various qualifications that are needed, he does so understanding that these are present qualifications. For example, it says that he should be someone who is self-controlled and respectable and able to teach. Clearly these requirements would not have been requirements that he would have had prior to his conversion or in his past. Do you follow me here? So if they are present day requirements, I think probably a divorced man can within time regain the kind of credibility of being a man who is a proven character.

Now, I want to emphasize that this doesn't mean that someone who's going through a divorce or someone who's had a divorce recently meets these qualifications. Because when you talk about proven character, we're talking about a long period of obedience in the right direction. So I don't want to specify the length of time, but people need to be convinced that they have before them a man who loves his wife, who's proven that he loves his wife, he has lived with her consistently and faithfully for many many years. If he meets those qualifications, yes, I think he can serve.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Some wise counsel from Dr. Erwin Lutzer. Thank you, Pastor Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1 888 218 9337. That's 1 888 218 9337.

Dave McAllister: You can write to us at Running to Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. This sin lies hidden, a smoldering flame beneath the surface. The sin nobody sees can light fires of lasting conflict because longing for what others have is a recipe for ongoing discontent. Next time on Running to Win, join us for some final thoughts on why the Ten Commandments makes it clear that we are not to covet. Running to Win is all about helping you understand God road map for your race of life. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister.

Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.