Lesson 20
What is God
impressing on us
by telling us not to
covet?
What is coveting?
Psalm 10:2-3
In his arrogance the
wicked man hunts
down the weak, who
are caught in the
schemes he devises.
He boasts of the
cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy
and reviles the
LORD.
God forbids
Coveting
a craving or
sinful desire…
What is coveting?
James 4:2
God forbids
You want
something but
don’t get it. You
kill and covet, but
you cannot have
what you want. You
…for
quarrel and fight. something God
You do not have,
doesn’t want
because you do not
us to have
ask God.
Coveting
What is coveting?
James 1:14-15
…but each one is
tempted when, by his
own evil desire, he is
dragged away and
enticed. Then, after
desire has conceived,
it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is
full-grown, gives
birth to death.
leads to sinful
thoughts,
words, and
actions
Key Point #1
Coveting is a craving or
sinful desire for something
God doesn’t want us to have,
which may lead us to sinful
words and actions.
What does God teach me about the
coveting that goes on in my heart?
Romans 7:18
I know that
nothing good
lives in me, that
is, in my sinful
nature. For I
have the desire to
do what is good,
but I cannot
carry it out.
What does God teach me about the
coveting that goes on in my heart?
Psalm 51:5
Surely I was
sinful at birth,
sinful from the
time my mother
conceived me.
I’ve had a
sinful nature
from birth
What does God teach me about the
coveting that goes on in my heart?
Genesis 6:5
The LORD saw
how great man’s
wickedness on the
earth had become,
and that every
inclination of the
thoughts of his
heart was only evil
all the time.
is inclined
only toward
evil
What does God teach me about the
coveting that goes on in my heart?
Romans 8:7
…the sinful mind
is hostile to God.
It does not
submit to God’s
law, nor can it do
so.
will never
submit to
God’s law
What does God teach me about the
coveting that goes on in my heart?
Matthew 5:28-29
But I tell you that
anyone who looks at a
woman lustfully has
already committed
adultery with her in his
heart. If your right eye
causes you to sin, gouge
it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose
one part of your body
than for your whole body
to be thrown into hell.
What does God teach me about the
coveting that goes on in my heart?
1 John 3:15
Anyone who
hates his brother
is a murderer,
and you know
that no murderer
has eternal life in
deserves
him.
God’s
punishment
Key Point #2
I deserve death and hell
because, since birth, I have
had a rebellious sinful nature
– one that fills my heart with
sinful desires.
What does God teach me about the
holy desires I have in my heart?
Ezekiel 11:19-20
I will give them an
undivided heart and put
a new spirit in them; I
will remove from them
their heart of stone and
give them a heart of
flesh. Then they will
follow my decrees and be
careful to keep my laws.
They will be my people,
and I will be their God.
was given to
me by God…
What does God teach me about the
holy desires I have in my heart?
Ephesians 4:21-24
Surely you heard of him and
were taught in him in
accordance with the truth
that is in Jesus. You were
taught, with regard to your
former way of life, to put off
your old self, which is being
corrupted by its deceitful
desires; to be made new in
the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self,
created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness.
…through
faith in Jesus
What does God teach me about the
holy desires I have in my heart?
Romans 7:22
For in my
inner being I
delight in
God’s law…
knows and
loves God’s will
What does God teach me about the
holy desires I have in my heart?
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers,
whatever is true,
whatever is noble,
whatever is right,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is
admirable—if
anything is excellent
or praiseworthy—
think about such
things.
enables me to
have holy
desires
Key Point #3
By bringing me to faith, God
has given me a new heart
that loves God’s will and
enables me to have holy
desires.
What is the result of my having both
a sinful nature and a new heart?
Galatians 5:17
For the sinful nature
desires what is
contrary to the Spirit,
and the Spirit what is
contrary to the sinful
nature. They are in
conflict with each
other, so that you do
not do what you want.
What is the result of my having both
a sinful nature and a new heart?
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified
with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ
lives in me. The life I
live in the body, I live
by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me
and gave himself for
me.
By growing in
faith in Jesus…
What is the result of my having both
a sinful nature and a new heart?
Romans 7:23-25
…but I see another law at
work in the members of my
body, waging war against the
law of my mind and making
me a prisoner of the law of
sin at work within my
members. What a wretched
man I am! Who will rescue
me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God—through
Jesus Christ our Lord! So
then, I myself in my mind am
a slave to God’s law, but in
the sinful nature a slave to
the law of sin.
…my new heart
wins more of
the battles
Key Point #4
As a result of my having both a
sinful nature and a new heart,
constant battles go on in me
between the two. Only as I grow
in faith in Jesus will my new
heart win more and more of
these battles.
Agree or Disagree?
Because every Christian has
a new man, a real Christian
will think about and do more
good things than bad.
Explain why this statement is true…
Because every person is born
with a sinful nature, every
Christian is capable of
committing any sin.
Evaluate…
When one of the comic strips in the
newspaper pictures a person with a
devil on one shoulder urging him to do
something bad and an angel on the
other shoulder telling him to do
something good, this is a good picture
of the struggle that goes on in us
between the sinful nature and the new
heart.
Lesson 20
God wants me not to covet,
warning me about my sinful heart
and its desires. He also gives me a
new heart to fight these desires.
Vocabulary…
“covet”
want something that God
doesn’t want me to have