" OUR REDEEMER INSISTS THAT OUR EVERY THOUGHT AND DESIRE CONFORM TO HIS WILL ."

113. Q. What does the tenth commandment require of us?
A. That not even the slightest thought or desire contrary to any of God's commandments should ever arise in our heart. Rather, we should always hate all sin with all our heart, and delight in all righteousness.[1]
[1] Ps. 19:7-14; 139:23, 24; Rom. 7:7, 8.

114. Q. But can those converted to God keep these commandments perfectly?
A. No. In this life even the holiest have only a small beginning of this obedience.[1] Nevertheless, with earnest purpose they do begin to live not only according to some but to all the commandments of God.[2]
[1] Eccles. 7:20; Rom. 7:14, 15; I Cor. 13:9; I John 1:8. [2] Ps. 1:1, 2; Rom. 7:22-25; Phil. 3:12-16.

115. Q. If in this life no one can keep the ten commandments perfectly, why does God have them preached so strictly?
A. First, that throughout our life we may more and more become aware of our sinful nature, and therefore seek more eagerly the forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ.[1] Second, that we may be zealous for good deeds and constantly pray to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that He may more and more renew us after God's image, until after this life we reach the goal of perfection.[2]
[1] Ps. 32:5; Rom. 3:19-26; 7:7, 24, 25; I John 1:9. [2] I Cor. 9:24; Phil. 3:12-14; I John 3:1-3.

Scripture Reading:
Romans 7:7-25

Singing:  (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise" Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Psalm 139:1,2
Psalm 139:13
Psalm 143:1,5,6
Psalm 19:3,4,5,6
Psalm 119:39,50

Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ!

The tenth commandment is somewhat different from the first nine. With each commandment so far the Lord had addressed a new subject, be it about idolatry or blasphemy or murder or stealing, etc. With the tenth, however, the Lord does not so much address a new matter (coveting) as address the root system under all the commandments. The first nine all address outward acts; adultery with the neighbor’s wife (seventh commandment) is a deed, stealing the neighbor’s donkey (eighth commandment) is a physical deed. With the tenth commandment the Lord reaches down to the root of these outward deeds, and tells us that even our thoughts and desires lie under the sway of His dominion. And we understand: if God forbids the desires that produce those outward sins against the seventh and eighth commandments, it’s clear that He equally forbids the desires that produce outwards sins against the first commandment and the second and the third…. As the Catechism puts it: in the tenth commandment God insists that "not even the slightest thought or desire contrary to any of God’s commandments should ever arise in our heart."

I summarize the sermon with this theme:

Desiring something can be both good and bad. In the tenth commandment the Lord addresses the negative; coveting is desiring something that isn’t yours.

Coveting is something of the heart, and therefore not necessarily something anybody else knows about. You notice the neighbor’s new coat and want it, you go window-shopping and would love to have that bracelet, that shawl, that ring. For our feeling, that’s not coveting, for there’s nothing wrong with wanting…. And that’s the more so when you keep you ‘wants’ to yourself….

But it does raise a question. When does ‘wanting’ become sin? One wants a coat like the neighbor’s. Does sin enter the picture when you want it, or when you really want it, or when you lay plans to steal it, or when you actually steal it? That last, actually stealing it, is of course transgression against the eighth commandment; that’s sin. But when do we have to speak about sin against the tenth commandment? When you want it, or when you really want it?

In truth, brothers and sisters, wanting something does not at all strike us as sin. It happens to us day after day that we want something. And surely, that’s not wrong?!

The Lord Jesus Christ was once asked which commandment of God was the greatest. His answer: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Mt 22:37). With that answer the Lord made clear that God demanded not just that one’s outward conduct agreed with God’s will, but that also the thoughts and desires of one’s heart conform to His will. So: the desires hidden deep inside my heart need to agree with God’s desires. He is Lord not just over the actions of my hands or the words of my mouth, but insists on being Lord also over the thoughts of my mind. My thoughts may not follow a different path than He has stipulated in His word. So too: my desires, my wants, may not be different than what God has commanded.

A very clear example here relates to the seventh commandment. We are not to commit adultery, says God, and so we know that we are to keep our hands off the neighbor’s wife. But may I let my imagination go concerning another woman? (Or secretly send her text messages on my mobile?) We know the answer. Said Jesus in Mt 5: "I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (vs 28). Sin is not just an outward act, says the Lord, but begins in the heart.

One can refer also to Genesis 3. The serpent told Eve that eating from the forbidden tree was OK. Then we read this verse: "so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate" (vs 6). Question: when did sin enter the world? When she saw that the tree was good for food? When she saw that it was pleasant to the eyes, desirable? When she coveted it as a source of wisdom? When she walked to the tree? When she actually picked a fruit off? When she sank her teeth into it? When did sin enter the world? We realize: she sinned before she ate; the taking was sin. More: she sinned before she took; the desiring was sin! That’s where it started, with the tenth commandment, with her heart not being loyal to her Lord and Maker. The very desiring, the very wanting of something God has forbidden is sin! That’s why David pleaded with God in Ps 19 like this: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer" (vs 14).

So: somebody does you the dirty. Instantly, automatically, a couple of choice swear words arise in your mind. You don’t say them, because you know that’s blasphemy and the Lord doesn’t want it. But was it sin that these swear words arose in your mind? Or does it become sin only when you speak them? Or enjoy their taste for a while? God wants the heart, completely, and so it’s not enough that our words contain no blasphemy; God wants that our thoughts never disagree with His thoughts – and that’s to say that a swear word should never even arise in our minds…. Lord, "let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight!"

We find it troubling…. Desires, wants: they arise in our minds all the time. The desire to spit out a blasphemous word in the face of wrong: it’s just there. Must we call the very appearing of the word sin, even when we swallow it, don’t say it, replace it with something decent? The thought of another woman arises in our hearts, we don’t want it, we fight it and replace our thoughts with something holy, but have we sinned when the wanting already appeared in our thoughts? To us it seems overdone….

But what shall we say then, brothers and sisters, of the apostle’s words in Romans 7? He says in vs 7 that he would not have known what sin was if it were not for the law. He mentions an example. He would not have known that covetousness was wrong, he says, if it were not for the fact that the law stipulated that. To Paul’s sinful mind, desiring something was OK, as long as you didn’t actually go and steal it. Having thoughts about another woman was OK, as long as you didn’t actually do anything with her. It’s the attitude of our society; your thoughts are your own, and you can think what you want…, as long as you don’t carry out your evil….

But God’s instruction in the tenth commandment, brothers and sisters, goes deeper. God wants the heart, not just outward obedience. God wants the heart, so much so that even the desires of our minds and the thoughts of our hearts agree with God’s will for us. Anything else is sin. That’s Question & Answer 113: in the tenth commandment God requires that "not even the slightest thought or desire contrary to any of God’s commands should ever arise in our hearts." In this commandment our God summons us to look deep into our hearts and ensure that that we agree with God perfectly in every one of His commands. Our God does not want us to obey Him outwardly only, while inside we drag our heels. With this command God instructs us to make sure that our hearts agree with Him completely, without a whiff of a protest every arising in us against any of His commandments.

If that’s the case, what is the Christian to do? Is he to spend all his time trying desperately to rid his mind of thoughts and desires that disagree with God’s will? We realize: that’s a vain exercise. Consider here, then, a gardener. He wants a crop, and so turns the weeds. But what does he do next? Return every week and keep pulling weeds as they appear? We know: that way he’ll never get a crop. Rather, after he’s spaded his garden he needs to plant it, water it, fertilize it. Then certainly, he needs to keep pulling weeds as they appear, but the more his good plants grow the less weeds he will find – simply because the good plants leave less room and less light for the weeds.

So it is also with the Christian and his thoughts and desires. The more he is busy with the will and word of God, the more he deliberately speaks and acts in agreement with the instructions of His Lord, the less opportunity there is for sinful thoughts and desires to have a place in his heart. Think of that passage from Eph 5 to which we listened last week. The apostle says, for example, in vs 3f: "But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks." Point: where you with your tongue give thanks to God, you haven’t time or opportunity to speak of unclean things. Similarly, when you busy your mind with the things of God, meditating on His Word, singing His praises, you’re not giving wants and desires an opportunity. When your mind is filled with how much God gave you in Jesus Christ –forgiveness of sins, being children of God, having a home and clothes and plenty to eat, while elsewhere thousands live in poverty and nakedness, in physical hunger and spiritual hunger- when your mind is filled with how much God in Christ has given you, there isn’t time for wanting this shirt or that soccer ball….

And it’s precisely this God-centered focus that God wants. Listen to the Introduction to the Ten Commandments: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." With such a Redeemer to look at, to delight in, to talk about, has my mind got time to cultivate sinful thoughts, time to spend on desiring things of this world? It’s exactly because of Who God is that He adds the tenth commandment to the nine: I am the Lord your God, your Redeemer, and therefore "you shall not covet."

How much more so is this true for us! Our God has delivered us not from a physical Egypt, but from bondage to sin! Indeed, He gave us His only Son to accomplish that redemption! More: "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Rom 8:32). The more I focus on His redemption, His grace, His promises, the less time I have to covet, to desire. Lord’s Day 44: "we should always hate all sin with all our heart, and delight in all righteousness."

I come to our second point:

That I should love my God so much that every thought and every desire should conform to His will – who can do it? We hear how comprehensive this tenth commandment is, hear how deeply it penetrates into our secret thoughts, and we realize: we fall so far short of God’s standard. By the grace of God we don’t serve idols, we don’t blaspheme, we don’t murder, we don’t steal…; we do love God, want to serve Him, delight to do His will. But to control those thoughts, to ensure that no desire ever arises in our hearts that protests against any of God’s commands… - no, we fall so far short…. It makes us feel hopelessly inadequate, and we wonder whether we’re children of God after all….

Of great importance to us then, congregation, is the struggle of the apostle Paul as he records it in Romans 7. He puts it like this in vs 15: "what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." And again in vs 19: "the good I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." We can relate to it so well. We get up in the morning fully determined that today we shall not talk past our mouth, shall say only upbuilding things. But the next thing we know, we’ve spoken in a spiteful way, have downsized somebody…. We hate it, we fight it, but: "the good I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice." Paul tells us he had the same struggle.

Question. Is Paul saying this of himself before he became a Christian on the road to Damascus? Or is he speaking of himself after he became a Christian? The question is so very important. If he’s describing the struggles he had before he became a Christian, how come we have the same struggles today; might all those failings we see in ourselves be proof that we’re not really Christians yet after all?? Conversely, if he’s describing the struggles he had after his conversion, we’d be much encouraged for then we’d be in good company and even conclude that such struggles characterize the Christian.

The answer to the question, brothers and sisters, is not so difficult. Paul says in vs 22 that he "delights in the law of God according to the inward man." Can an unregenerate person delight in the law of God? Certainly not! That Paul can delight in God’s law is only because he has been born again. Conclusion: Paul is not describing the struggle he had before he became a Christian; in Romans 7 Paul is describing the struggle he had after his conversion. I remind you again of David’s prayer in Ps 19. If the believer could produce only holy thoughts and desires, how could this man after God’s heart ask God to cause "the meditation of my heart" to be acceptable in God’s sight? No, beloved, that struggle with wrong thoughts and desires characterizes each Christian.

So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not to get despondent with out failures! Failures remain, says the Scripture, and so the church repeats that tragic truth after God in Question & Answer 114: "In this life even the holiest have only a small beginning of this obedience." Must we conclude from our failures, then, that we are not children of God after all, that God must not really love us? No, beloved, no! God’s standards are high, very high, and we simply can’t meet those standards - fact. But that does not mean that we are not children of God! God sent His Son into the world to save sinners, and despite the renewing work of the Holy Spirit we remain miserable sinners (cf 1 Tim 1:15). Paul in Romans 7 goes so far as to say that there are effectively two Pauls in the one person. Vs 22f: "I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." It’s that tension, with the resulting repeated falling into sin, that makes Paul cry out his despair in vs 24: "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" He’s a Christian, renewed by the Holy Spirit, and yet he says that he’s a "wretched man", a miserable sinner who needs deliverance so very much. And at the same time he can exclaim that he has this deliverance. Vs 25: "I thank God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Daily there is forgiveness, daily there is deliverance from the weaknesses that continue to cling to us.

What do we do then: resign ourselves to our inability to keep God’s commands? Or strive to keep them on an outward level, but let sinful thoughts continue to fill our hearts? Neither! Paul hates the sins he keeps committing, and so does every child of God. So we fight, keep striving to obey all God’s commands. In the words of our Lord’s Day: though we can’t keep those commandments perfectly, "nevertheless, with earnest purpose, [we] do begin to live not only according to some but to all the commandments of God."

That brings us to our last point:

We can’t keep the commandments of God. That reality makes listening to the Ten Commandments rather unattractive. Why rub our noses in our limitations?! So it’s human nature to take it ill of the preacher that he keeps emphasizing the commandments – and so making us feel bad. And we say that he ought instead to proclaim the gospel, deliverance in Christ; that’s his task in the New Testament dispensation, is it not? The Catechism captures our thoughts: "If in this life no one can keep the Ten Commandments perfectly, why does God have them preached so strictly?" Notice the implication of the question: it is God Himself who insists that preachers preach the Ten Commandments strictly. Please do not, then, fault the preacher for laying out in plain terms what God requires in the commandments. He’s simply doing what his Sender requires of him.

Still, why does the Lord want these commandments preached so strictly? I refer again to Romans 7. Paul answers the question in vs 13. There he writes: "sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful." That is: it is the commandment that exposes sin for what it is. Fallen human nature does not know what conduct is sinful, what words are sinful, what thoughts are sinful. So the Lord our God tells us, and does that through the commandments. If we, then, set aside the commandments, or become slack in our reading of the commandments, we shall no longer be sensitive to what in our environment is actually sin. Conversely: the more we hear the commandments, the more strictly we hear them proclaimed, and the more carefully we reflect on them, the more we’ll realize how much sin there is around us and how much we fall short.

An example: some of us watch movies with scenes of adultery. We get used to it and eventually see nothing wrong with it. But the Lord comes with His law, has that law strictly proclaimed, and so we’re made to think…, and conclude that we have sinned against the seventh commandment in watching adultery, and sinned against the tenth commandment also, for the watching raised certain ungodly thoughts and desires within us.

Again, we hear the commandments Sunday by Sunday but –it’s human nature- sometimes we let the reading of the law go past us. Then we don’t reflect on what implications the law may have for us. Take the sixth commandment: "You shall not murder." Might that have implications for some of our computer games? Is the Lord pleased that I kill to my heart’s content on the computer screen – as long as I don’t do it in reality? You see: the strict preaching of the law makes us realize that I may not murder, neither in reality nor in play – no more than I may commit adultery neither in reality nor in play. It’s the proclamation of the law that compels us to recognize what conduct in our society is actually sin in God’s eyes. And that in turn makes us see how terribly sinful we remain….

And is that so bad? True, we don’t like it. But our sinful hearts can never be the measure of what is OK. God has sent His only Son into the world to save sinful people. But how shall people see need for the Savior and marvel at God’s mercy if they do not see the depths of their sin and misery? Recall Lord’s Day 1: in order to live and die in the joy of the comfort of belonging to Jesus Christ you need to know three things, and the first is this: "First, how great my sins and misery are." And, congregation, it’s precisely the strict proclamation of the law that compels me to see "how great my sins and misery are!" A strict proclamation of the law makes me say with Paul: "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" In other words: a strict preaching of the law compels me to look away from myself, compels me to seek –again- the Savior God in mercy has given. Question & Answer 115: a strict proclamation of the law is necessary so that "throughout our life we may more and more become aware of our sinful nature, and therefore seek more eagerly the forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ."

That’s not the only reason why God wants that law proclaimed so strictly. We need to seek forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ, yes. But Christ did not give only His blood to forgive our sins and make us righteous before God; He also gave His Holy Spirit to renew us. And that renewal we need to pursue. We won’t reach the goal of perfection in this life, true, but we do need, in the strength of the Lord, to keep trying to live as God’s children ought to live – holy in deeds, words, thoughts, desires. A deep awareness of our abiding sinfulness drives us to constant prayer, prayer to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit to make progress in the fight against sin.

And again: if we think we’re pretty good, think that we keep the commandments of God pretty reasonably, we shall not pray too earnestly for the Holy Spirit…, nor struggle too hard against our abiding weaknesses…. But if we see our continuing weaknesses starkly, and they bother us greatly, we shall join with Paul in his cry for mercy: "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me…?" And with him we’ll keep praying for strength and doing our best to do what is right before the Lord.

We have but a small beginning of the obedience God requires. If any commandment makes that terrible point plain, it’s the tenth commandment. But God hears our sighs and frustrations on the point, beloved, and He answers our pleas for strength to keep His law. The beginning of obedience is there! And that beginning is in turn a promise, a guarantee, that we’ll reach the goal of perfection. For the God who saved us is faithful!

Come, Lord Jesus!  Amen.