How the Command 'Thou Shalt Not Covet' Slayed Paul
Orientation
The desire to serve God can be secretly rooted in a fleshly craving for approval, a form of covetousness that religious activity often cloaks.
- Religious zeal and outward blamelessness can mask a heart seeking status before God and men.
- The Law's command 'Thou shalt not covet' exposes this hidden motivation, slaying confidence in the flesh.
- This exposure is not meant to condemn but to reveal the universal human condition and our need.
I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. (Romans 7:7)
— Romans 7:7
Clarification
The problem is not the Law itself, but our fleshly use of it for self-justification, which leads to spiritual blindness and deception.
- Pursuing the Law for justification is a trap that blinds us to our true need.
- Legalism veils the heart, keeping us from seeing our utter dependence on Christ.
- This is a warning against trusting in religious performance or personal righteousness.
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10)
— Galatians 3:10
Structure
The Law's exposure of our covetous heart drives us to abandon self-effort and depend entirely on Christ's indwelling life, which is the true Christian life.
- The positive outcome of the Law's work is to force us to Christ as our only hope.
- Christian living is a supernatural existence, lived by faith in the Son of God.
- Freedom comes through renewing the mind to rely on Christ's righteousness and the Spirit's power.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
— Galatians 2:20
Weight-Bearing Prose
The command ‘Thou shalt not covet’ performed a critical Pauline function: it exposed religious striving as sinful covetousness. Paul’s desire to serve God was rooted in the flesh’s craving for approval. This revelation dismantled his confidence in the Law and his own righteousness (Philippians 3:4-6). The Law’s purpose is to reveal sin and slay hope in human effort, driving us to Christ. This confronts the error of legalism—using the Law for justification, which only brings a curse and blindness (Galatians 3:10-14). The Christian life is not a project of self-improvement under law. It is the supernatural result of Christ’s indwelling life and the Spirit’s supply, accessed by faith alone. Any system that trusts in performance forfeits the grace-based inheritance secured in Christ. The transition from flesh to Spirit, from law to grace, is absolute and non-negotiable in Pauline revelation.
Integration
The exposure of our covetous heart is not an end in itself. It is God’s gracious method to end our striving and bring us to rest in Christ. Your assurance and your capacity to live are not found in diagnosing your own motivations or improving your performance. They are found in the finished work of Christ and His life in you. The same faith that justified you now looks to Him as your life. There is no pressure to advance or to manufacture a spiritual state. Christ is your sanctification, your righteousness, and your life. Abiding here is not a challenge to overcome, but a reality to rest in. He is enough.