Catechism Question 65
What is the tenth commandment, and what does it teach us?
The tenth commandment is “You shall not covet.” It teaches us that we must not covet anything that is not ours, but rather be content with what we have and able to rejoice when others are blessed.
Focus and Purpose of this Question
This question focuses on the tenth commandment. In this commandment, we are told that we must not covet. With this command, God is driving to the motives of the heart that underlie our actions. That which has been implicit is now brought out openly – the commandments are not just concerned with outward actions, but with the motives and desires of the heart. Of course, this becomes a major theme in the New Testament, as we have seen through all of these questions on the Ten Commandments.
This command lists a number of things which we might covet – a neighbors family, their wealth, their assets, their possessions. In reality, however, it is not just the specific things mentioned that are in view. Rather, it is coveting itself that is being forbidden.
This becomes clear in the New Testament. Paul does not list the specific items from the command, but rather that we simply must not covet at all. It is not the item – which may be good in itself – that is in view, but our unrighteous desire for it.
Once again, this means we are also commanded to do the opposite of what is forbidden. We must not only avoid coveting – we must positively be content. We must be satisfied with what God has given us, and able to rejoice when others are blessed with things we would like but do not have. Only when this is the case have we really followed the intent of this final commandment.
Additional Questions:
What is the tenth commandment? What does it teach us?
What is the tenth commandment? What does it forbid us from doing? What does it teach us to do?
Scripture References:
Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Deuteronomy 5:21
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Romans 7:7
What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
1 Timothy 6:6–10
But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Romans 13:9
The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
James 4:1–3
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Philippians 4:11–13
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
Questions for Further Discussion:
What does the tenth commandment teach us? What does it forbid? What does it command us to do?
Why is coveting wrong? Is it really sinful if I do not act upon my covetous desires?
What is explicit in this command that was only implicit in the other commands? Why does Paul specifically mention that it was this sin that the law really exposed in his own life, and which he would not have understood apart from the law?
What are some things that we might covet? Does our culture of advertising and possessions encourage coveting or discourage it?
Why is contentment important? Does our culture encourage contentment – or does it encourage discontent and greed? If I am not content, what does that say about God and His provision for me?
How important does the New Testament seem to think contentment is in the Christian life? If I am not content what does that say about my faith in God?
Why is it important that instead of coveting and being jealous of what others have, I must learn to be content and to rejoice when others are blessed?
Additional Information:
This question is based on questions 113 of the Heidelberg Catechism, questions 79-81 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and question 12 of the New City Catechism. Any resources you find on the Heidelberg, Westminster Shorter, or New City Catechisms will have a good discussion on this question.
For additional information, see the teachings “Greed” (March 11, 2018), “Envy” (February 18, 2018), “A Life of Joyful Contentment” (May 11, 2008), “Shaping A Contented Soul” (November 26, 2017), and “All In: The Disciple and Money” (October 18, 2015).
Suggested Worship Song:
It Is Well With My Soul (Horatio G. Spafford, 1873)
(This song reminds us that if we are believers, no matter what comes we can rest and be content. Christ is all we need, and He has made us a child of God, with a forgiven past, and a glorious future – no matter how the present may seem.)
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.