There are many false teachings about the Ten Commandments. Some teach they are done away, and those who keep them are practicing a form of legalism. They may try to use various scriptures like the book of Galatians to prove this. However, by carefully comparing Galatians to the rest of the New Testament, one can clearly see that the issues being addressed are circumcision, and that we are justified by faith. Read Acts 15, Romans 6 and Hebrews 11. A careful look at some other scriptures will confirm that the Ten Commandments are a necessary part of the code of conduct we must all strive to live by. Allow me to bring to your attention a few examples. "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good." (Romans 7:12) "For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' " (Romans 13:9)
There is scriptural evidence to show that the keeping of the commandments not only bears good fruit in this life, but that keeping them (NOT perfectly, because that is impossible as a human) is necessary for eternal life. Jesus Christ even instructed one man to keep the commandments if he would enter into eternal life: "Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS." "He said to Him, "Which ones?" "Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" "The young man said to Him, 'All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?' "Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.' "But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' " (Matthew 19:16-24)
The problem that this person had was that he loved his wealth more than God. This is a violation of the Tenth commandment against being covetous. We see in the New Testament that covetousness also causes a violation of the First and Second commandments against idolatry: "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. " (Colossians 3:5) Allowing material things to become more important than God in our lives makes us guilty of IDOLATRY. No real Christian would want that because if it is not repented of it will cut you off from God. "And He said to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.' " (Luke 12:15) Perhaps this is why there are so many warnings against pursuing wealth. It is very difficult to be pursuing wealth and have time for the things of God. It is also very difficult to have attained wealth and not set your heart on it. It is not however impossible to do. Some of the examples in the bible show that it is possible. "Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. " (Genesis 13:2)
It is not wrong to prepare for the future, get a good education, save for your retirement, and have a good inheritance for your children. "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous." (Proverbs 13:22)
But it is not wise to chase after riches and think we can stay focused on Gods purpose for our life. We cannot serve God and mammon. (Luke 16:13-14) ". . . and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. " (Mark 4:19)
A balanced approach seems to be the best when we read the book of Proverbs: "Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches — Feed me with the food allotted to me, lest I be full and deny You, and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God. " (Proverbs 30:8-9)
Sadly there are many so called preachers and teachers who abuse and exploit the people who want to serve God. They will use manipulative methods to guilt trip the unwise into giving them money that they are not entitled to. Some people are gullible enough to be abused by these false ministers. We need to be very careful about who we give Gods offerings to lest we be guilty of being unwise stewards and it fall into the hands of imposters. "And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. " (2Peter 2:3) " . . . useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. " (1Timothy 6:5-10)
Even the kings in ancient Israel were instructed to not increase in gold because it would lead them astray. "Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. " (Deuteronomy 17:17) Finally we see in the Sermon on the Mount that our lives are to be towards Gods kingdom, not materialism. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21) ""Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. " (Matthew 6:31-33) By the time we get to the book of Revelation it is still evident that our father in heaven wants us to strive to obey Him by the keeping of these practical and spiritual commandments. "And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 12:17) "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. " (Revelation 14:12) "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. " (Revelation 22:14)
I have only briefly explored the Tenth commandment against covetousness in this answer to your question. The best way to study the Ten Commandments is to start in Genesis and go through the entire bible to get a balanced view of how practical and timeless they really are. Each one of these 10 make for an excellent bible study when all the scriptures that apply to the spiritual intent of each one is discovered. In them He is instructing us to not destroy ourselves our families our society and our eternal life. Remember, there is nothing you can do to earn salvation, but there are some things you can do to FORSAKE salvation: "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? "For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. " (Hebrews 10:26-31)
The conclusion of the whole matter is that keeping the Ten Commandments is the key to loving our God and loving our fellow humans. Love is the most important thing because God is love. "Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?' "Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." " (Matthew 22:35-40)
This fits perfectly with what is written by the Apostle John so many years latter. "And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." (1John 4:21) Our father in heaven has given us the instructions we need to solve most of the worlds problems, but most people have rejected a vitally important part of that solution, the Ten Commandments. "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all. " (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
I hope this has been helpful for you to see the far reaching ramifications of this one aspect of the ten commandments. | 