nikolai_42
Well-known member
The sin of covetousness is what seems to me to be the "sticky wicket" of God's requirements for holiness. In the OT, the commandments instructed that covetousness was forbidden. This is the same Law that is often thought to be devoted to externals. And it seems to me that Jesus used it to bring men to the point of realizing that they had no hope in themselves. "Stop coveting" is a command none can instantly conform to on their own. It springs from the heart (Mark 7:22) and caught the rich young ruler by surprise (it seems) when he couldn't bring himself to part with those possessions - the abundance of which were fundamental to his existence (Matthew 19:22). Jesus warned strictly against being possessed by one's possessions (Luke 12:15).
So when Jesus says that guilt of murder and adultery need not be accompanied by an obvious physical act (Matthew 5:22,28), it should be understood that this catches everyone. Covetousness is idolatry (Eph 5:5), so it should also be no surprise that those who are dead in trespasses and sin bear the mark of this (I Cor 5:10 and Col 3:5). But in examining the things which the believer should be on the look out for, he says this :
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
I Cor 5:11
Of the 6 traits Paul warns against the church tolerating in the body of believers, only 1 is potentially covert - covetousness. A heart that desires what is not its own is guilty of covetousness if we are to believe Christ's words. But who can tell if that heart is truly covetous or not? Peter warns against those who are essentially devoid of any truth - those who may have followed the truth at one point but have departed from it (2 Peter 2:15). The same chapter mentions covetousness twice as central to this sort of false prophet (2 Peter 2:3,14).
So how is the church to discern this covetousness that is strictly warned against in I Cor 5? Can it be inferred that this is a sin which indicates someone is not regenerate if such a warning is given? Or is it simply because of the cancerous nature of this particular sinful position that requires isolation from others to deal with it?
But even more pressing, in some ways, is if there is some sort of spectrum here. What do I mean? Looking at this well known verse, one could easily read it as indicating an ideal rather than something that should be a universal reality in the church :
But godliness with contentment is great gain
I Timothy 6:6
That is, can one be Godly without necessarily being content? If so, isn't that the picture of covetousness in which we find all manner of evil? Aren't we, then, left with a scenario in which one could be (in some degree) covetous without being guilty of the sin of covetousness (!)? At least as guilty in such a way that one would be considered worthy of being pushed out of the assembly....
What is meant - in these several instances - by covetousness?
So when Jesus says that guilt of murder and adultery need not be accompanied by an obvious physical act (Matthew 5:22,28), it should be understood that this catches everyone. Covetousness is idolatry (Eph 5:5), so it should also be no surprise that those who are dead in trespasses and sin bear the mark of this (I Cor 5:10 and Col 3:5). But in examining the things which the believer should be on the look out for, he says this :
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
I Cor 5:11
Of the 6 traits Paul warns against the church tolerating in the body of believers, only 1 is potentially covert - covetousness. A heart that desires what is not its own is guilty of covetousness if we are to believe Christ's words. But who can tell if that heart is truly covetous or not? Peter warns against those who are essentially devoid of any truth - those who may have followed the truth at one point but have departed from it (2 Peter 2:15). The same chapter mentions covetousness twice as central to this sort of false prophet (2 Peter 2:3,14).
So how is the church to discern this covetousness that is strictly warned against in I Cor 5? Can it be inferred that this is a sin which indicates someone is not regenerate if such a warning is given? Or is it simply because of the cancerous nature of this particular sinful position that requires isolation from others to deal with it?
But even more pressing, in some ways, is if there is some sort of spectrum here. What do I mean? Looking at this well known verse, one could easily read it as indicating an ideal rather than something that should be a universal reality in the church :
But godliness with contentment is great gain
I Timothy 6:6
That is, can one be Godly without necessarily being content? If so, isn't that the picture of covetousness in which we find all manner of evil? Aren't we, then, left with a scenario in which one could be (in some degree) covetous without being guilty of the sin of covetousness (!)? At least as guilty in such a way that one would be considered worthy of being pushed out of the assembly....
What is meant - in these several instances - by covetousness?
