The Conclusion - Guard your Heart

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 96:1-6
• Hymn — O God Beyond All Praising
• Prayer of Invocation
• Prayer of Confession
• Assurance of Pardon — Romans 8:1-2
• Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 18:1-18
• Baptism of James Roth Ethan Morrow
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer
• Hymn
• Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:17 and Romans 7:7-25
• Sermon
• Hymn — Rock of Ages
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Guard Your Heart — The Tenth Commandment

Scripture: Exodus 20:17; Romans 7:7-25

I. The Tenth Commandment Gets to the Heart of the Matter

A. The Hebrew word for covet means "to desire" — the commandment targets the internal man B. Jesus exposes the rich young ruler's heart using the tenth commandment in Mark 10

• The young ruler claimed to have kept the second table of the law (commandments 5–9)
• Christ commands him to sell all he has, exposing that his desire was for riches, not God C. Paul in Romans 7:7-25 describes the painful battle against indwelling sin, launching from the tenth commandment
• The tenth commandment most explicitly exposes the heart of the sinner
• The only proper response is: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24)

II. We Guard Our Hearts by Guarding Our Eyes

A. The Hebrew word for covet in Exodus 20:17 is the same word used in Genesis 3:6 — Eve saw that the tree was a delight to the eyes

• The eyes are a portal to the heart and to desire
• Seeing precedes coveting, which precedes sinful action B. David and Bathsheba illustrate the same pattern — 2 Samuel 11:2
• The forbidden was a delight to his eyes; he coveted, planned, and acted C. We live in an image-based culture that exploits the covetous heart
• Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (1985): advertisers exploit what is wrong with the buyer, not what is right with the product
• Dazzling images bypass reason and captivate the heart D. Application: fallen eyes convince us that what is not ours ought to be ours

III. We Guard Our Hearts by Guarding Our Ears

A. Before Eve saw the fruit, she heard the serpent — Genesis 3:1-6

• The ears are a portal to the heart just as the eyes are
• The message received shapes what the eyes delight in B. Eyes and ears work in tandem throughout Scripture

1. Eve — ears first, then eyes (Genesis 3)
2. David — eyes first, then planning and action (2 Samuel 11)
3. Solomon — eyes lusting after foreign women, then ears lending to their message
4. Samson — eyes captivated by beautiful women, then ears lending to Delilah C. The spirit of God transforms the covetous heart through the Word

• If God's Word is not training your ears, some other message is steering your heart
• Do not treat devotional life as optional; do not neglect corporate worship D. Application: pattern your life around God's Word; the Spirit will train your eyes and heart

IV. We Guard Our Hearts by Guarding Our Minds

A. The tenth commandment cuts into our thoughts, imaginations, and fantasies

• What do you think about when there is nothing to think about?
• Would you be willing to tell anyone what you daydream about? B. The battle lies within, not without
• Israel's chief enemy was not Egypt, the Moabites, the Assyrians, or the Babylonians — it was themselves
• The tenth commandment draws the battle line at the internal man C. This is why fallen man wants nothing to do with God — God invades the most private space: the mind
• Israel said to Moses: You speak to us — not God (Exodus 20:19)
• The tenth commandment demolishes the notion that people are "generally good" D. The only answer the tenth commandment drives us to: "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25)

1. The answer is not positive thinking, psychotherapy, or higher self-esteem
2. It is Christ and Christ alone — Galatians 2:20

V. The Conclusion — Christ Alone

A. Israel could only stand far off from the mountain because of impure hearts B. Jesus Christ alone can ascend the mountain — he has clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3-4)

• He ascends on our behalf to defeat our greatest enemy: ourselves and our sinful hearts C. The closing chapter of the Ten Commandments is Christ and Christ alone D. The one question the Decalogue puts to every sinner: Do you know Christ? Are you hidden in him today?