“Grace always comes before works, but works always accompany grace.”
Exodus 20:1–17
And God spoke all these words, saying,
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work—you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s.”
Exodus 20:3–4
Do not have other gods besides me. Do not make an idol for yourself.
Exodus 20:17
Do not covet your neighbour’s house. Do not covet your neighbour’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.
Covet: To desire something that is not in your possession.
“If the Decalogue devotes its final commandment to prohibiting desire for whatever belongs to the neighbour, it is because it lucidly recognizes in that desire the key to the violence prohibited in the four commandments that precede it. If we ceased to desire the goods of our neighbour, we would never commit murder or adultery or theft or false witness. If we respected the tenth commandment, the four commandments that precede it would be superfluous.”
James 4:2
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.
Ecclesiastes 5:10
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
Hebrews 13:5–6
Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So we can confidently say:
“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
“You don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”
1 Timothy 6:6–8
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
Matthew 6:19–21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
“Life is a 70–90-year internship for eternity.”
“Grace always comes before works, but works always accompany grace.”
Galatians 5:24–26
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.