[Biblemat] S:> Covetousness

[Ethan R. Longhenry]

http://www.deusvitae.com/faith/outlines/index.html

                             Covetousness

I. Introduction
   A. An age-old difficulty
   B. A matter of desire, leading to all kinds of other sins and 
      difficulties
   C. Covetousness!
   D. What is covetousness? 
   E. What does God say about it?
   F. What's the problem with it?
   G. Let us consider the Scriptures

II. Covetousness
   A. What is covetousness?
      1. Strong or inordinate desire of obtaining and possessing 
         some supposed good; Strong desire; eagerness (Webster's)
      2. Greek pleonexia: greedy desire to have more, covetousness, 
         avarice (Thayer's)
   B. Covetousness, then, a strong desire for obtaining things--
      greed!
      1. Covetousness can take many forms
      2. Desire for more things-money, possessions
      3. Desire for others-women, children, etc.
      4. Desire for reputation, fame, etc.
   C. God has consistently condemned covetousness
   D. Condemned in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:16)
   E. Jesus condemns it (Mark 7:21-23, Luke 12:15)
   F. A sin of the Gentiles (Romans 1:29)
   G. Equated with idolatry (Colossians 3:5, Ephesians 5:5)
   H. An earthly impulse (Colossians 3:5)
   I. Everything points to its condemnation 
      (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)!

III. The Difficulty With Covetousness
   A. But what's really wrong with covetousness?
   B. It is the ultimate sinful desire
      1. 1 John 2:15-17
      2. Sin as desires of the eyes, flesh, pride of life
      3. Covetousness represents this desire!
   C. James 1:14-16
      1. Desire that leads to sin
      2. While covetousness not the desire every time, it is the 
         desire a lot of the time!
   D. Covetousness as idolatry
      1. Paul equates covetousness with idolatry in Ephesians 5:5, 
         Colossians 3:5
      2. Idolatry condemned as a sin of the flesh in 
         Galatians 5:21-23
      3. How is this so?
      4. Consider Matthew 6:24
      5. Jesus indicates that one cannot serve both God and 
         Mammon (money)
      6. The covetous desire, when gone to seed, needs to be 
         satisfied-- it becomes a master, not a servant, and 
         thus is idolatry!
   E. Root of all kinds of evils
      1. Covetousness can take many forms; one of the most popular 
         involves money
      2. 1 Timothy 6:9-10
      3. The desire for money leads to all sorts of trouble and 
         despair
      4. Indeed, a root of all kinds of evils!
   F. Leads to other sins!
      1. Jealousy and envy are born from a covetous desire, either 
         for that which one has and desires to keep or for that 
         which another has
      2. James 4:2: fights and quarrels are the result of 
         covetousness
      3. Rivalries are often started for on account of covetous 
         desires (cf. 3 John)
      4. Contentions, strife, and other difficulties often arise 
         on account of covetousness
      5. Adultery results from a covetous desire for something 
         people have no right to!
      6. Gambling is dependent on people's covetousness, and 
         thus sin
      7. People will often find themselves in all kinds of sin 
         because they are following after covetous desires!
   G. Covetousness, therefore, poses great problems-- it 
      becomes an idol, takes over one's life, and leads to 
      all kinds of sin

IV. Conquering Covetousness
   A. Covetousness, as we have seen, is a desire born within the 
      heart
      1. It is an easy impulse to give into!
      2. Every other pasture seems greener than ours!
      3. If we could just have a little bit more, things would be 
         better
      4. I would rather be like so-and-so
      5. This kind of dissatisfaction leads to covetousness in the 
         heart!
   B. Covetousness is easy to fall into...how can it be conquered?
   C. Paul provides the key in 1 Timothy 6:6-8
      1. Contentment!
      2. cf. Philippians 4:11-13
      3. If we are satisfied with our pasture, we don't need to 
         want what is in everyone else's!
      4. We can only conquer covetousness when we are satisfied 
         with that which God has blessed us!
   D. Do we really think that we will be satisfied when we give 
      in to covetousness?
      1. Satisfaction is a learned art!
      2. If you covet, and even get, you end up coveting for more
      3. You learn quickly that the grass really wasn't greener 
         to begin with!
      4. You may yearn for the old patch of grass, or seek yet 
         another one!
      5. There will always be something more to covet...until 
         you learn to be satisfied with what you have
   E. In the end, if we want a greener pasture, we are best off 
      watering our own!

V. Conclusion
   A. Covetousness is a deeply rooted and old sin
   B. We must not give into the desire to have what is not ours
   C. We must learn to be satisfied with our own blessings!
   D. Let us learn contentment and not give into covetousness!
   E. Invitation/songbook

Ethan R. Longhenry / disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com
Evangelist, church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio [norwalkchurch.org]
Homepage: deusvitae.com
AIM: Deus Vitae / ICQ: 28317056
Y! IM: discipuliiesus

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