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Contentment in God Spurs Fearlessness
Hebrews 12:28-13:6
We hide our sins. Those who struggle with porn hide it. They clear internet history. So do those who type angry words on social media. They hide behind cool handles but say the foulest things. And work thieves skillfully switch screens when the boss appears. Yes, some flaunt these sins; but most will hide these sins against the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments. But when it comes to thou shalt not covet, we feel less guilt. Why? It’s the most respectable sin. We don’t think twice. In fact, we joke about our cravings, wanderlust, and expenditures. Yes, we all have different incomes, thresholds, and spending habits. And what may be covetousness for one, may not be for another. But it’s not only about money. Hear these true but general statements - Christians still struggle to spend wisely and responsibly in light of God’s kingdom; we can be extremely jealous of others; and we covet after many things but don’t always acknowledge it. Spurgeon said - “I fear this sin’s so common, people don’t know when they’re covetous. The covetous man is the last to suspect himself of it!”
We’re a rich church in a rich country. Yes, some have less, but we still have more than most. Today, let’s examine our love of this sin. May these verses teach us to go to Christ outside the gate, to the place of shame and denial, to live the gospel. These verses give us three instructions. Firstly, don’t let covetousness rule your hearts and lives. Secondly, do be content because you have Christ. Thirdly, don’t fear because Christ is your helper.
Firstly, don’t let covetousness rule your hearts and lives. Verse 5 says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness.” We’re commanded to forsake covetousness. This is how we serve God acceptably with reverence and awe. When Israel came to Sinai, they received the law. It began with “thou shalt have no other gods but me” and ended with “thou shalt not covet”. Why? God redeemed them from Egypt. He gave them himself and was their everything. Why would they want anything else? And why do we serve Christ? He gave his life to redeem us. Out of love, we forsake covetousness. What profits a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul? But we’ve gained our souls, so we must forsake the whole world. But it’s hard to forsake it.
Why? Because it’s insidious - it grips our hearts and reveals itself in our lives. It says, “let your conversation be without covetousness.” “Conversation” means public conduct. Meaning, covetousness won’t stay in the heart. It’ll always show itself. If we don’t forsake it, it’ll show up. We love success and it’ll show in our speech and actions. The fact Scripture warns against it. Luke 12:15 - “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” When God first created man, their world domination stalled because Eve saw the fruit, desired it, and took it; to be like God. When Israel entered Canaan, Achan stalled the conquest by seeing Jericho’s riches, desiring them, and taking them to have what they had. When the New Testament church spread, their joy was hindered because Ananias saw Barnabas’ generosity, faked it, and lied, to be praised like he was. Now, being successful and rich isn’t wrong. God gives us power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8). He gives us richly all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6). We’re to increase wealth lawfully.“He that gathereth by labour, shall increase” (Proverbs 13:11). Joseph stored grain for Egypt, Jacob got rich by working hard; and doubled his talents. But often we love riches instead of God. And covetousness will show itself.
So how’s covetousness manifested? Covetousness is seen in craving position. The apostles argued who’d be the first, their leader, Christ’s prime minister. Why? First would bring not just influence but money. And so covetousness, broadly speaking, is about satisfying oneself outside God; but it does often concern wealth - getting or keeping it sinfully. Proverbs 28:6 says, “Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.” Do you under declare income or milk the system for benefits? Some call it clever, God calls it sin. To keep profit, employers underpay wages. The quality and value of goods are misrepresented by businesses. But consumers bear the guilt too. Our bargain hunting affects quality and costs. Travelers spend thousands on flights and hotels, but will haggle down street vendors for a few bucks. Yes, the Proverbs 31 woman got great deals, but she had integrity.
Covetousness is also seen in spending or not spending. Proverbs 28:22 - “He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil or stingy eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.” Thriftiness is good; but not stinginess. And stinginess can extend to God’s kingdom. The rich fool coveted after a good retirement - an early retirement. Luke 12:18-19 - “I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years: take thine ease; eat, drink, be merry.” Stinginess also refuses to enjoy good things from God. America’s most miserly millionaire was John Wendel. To keep their fortune, he and his sisters never married. When the last one died in 1931, her estate was more than $100 million. She had no telephone, car, or electricity. Her only dress was 25 years old. But God gives us all things richly to enjoy. But stinginess can be extended to others. We think others have no right to be so rich or to enjoy their riches. Remember, Barnabas was never required to give the way he did. While God commands the rich to give because of the deceitfulness of riches, he never commands them not to be rich. Anyway, most of us are rich. Not all, but most. Why? Consider how we spend.We love Shopee, Lazada, Taobao, and ???. We buy things we don’t need - crybaby, labubu, multiple phone covers, etc. We’re all guilty. We scour sites for travel deals. Why? We have wanderlust. But we have wanderlust all the time. Yes, we all have different thresholds, but they all reveal our covetousness - he who spends and he who refuses to. But there are always two parts when it comes to covetousness - toward ourselves and God. Wrongly - we can be rich toward ourselves but stingy toward God; like Achan and the rich fool. We may be both stingy toward self and God, like the Pharisees; denying themselves life’s pleasures and limiting themselves strictly to the tithe and giving no more. Or rightly, we may be both rich toward ourselves and to God, like King David, who banqueted and brought others to his table. Or we may deny ourselves to be rich toward God - like Barnabas who sold what he had so others who had none would have something. No one says you can’t be rich; most of us are. But we must be rich toward God.
But why did the author bring this up? Let’s consider the context. People were trying to survive through persecution and deprivation. They experienced the confiscation of their goods. They couldn’t buy or sell because they refused the mark of the beast. So it was expected and natural for them to hoard what they had. That’s why they were exhorted to show hospitality - to remember those in prison. Why? This forsaking of covetousness is service! Beloved, we may think we’ve the right to withhold in times of leanness - but it’s covetousness. The early church was lean. But both rich and poor gave! They gratefully kept the 10th commandment because they were redeemed.
But the ones who didn’t, but made a pretense of giving, were judged for their covetousness. Verses 5-6 command us to forsake covetousness because Christ will never leave nor forsake us. It loosely quotes Deuteronomy 31:6,8. This was Moses’ parting speech when Israel was about to enter Canaan - “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee…And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” You see, God would always be with his people. And his people will forsake covetousness. But not all had faith in God. In verses 16-20 God said some will break covenant and lust after other gods. They’ll eat their fill and forget him. And he’ll judge them - “For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.” God doesn’t forsake his remnant. So these aren’t his true people because God’s people forsake covetousness. Fake ones don’t. We see this throughout Scripture. Balaam loved the wealth Balak promised him, he died. Achan lusted after forbidden silver, he died. Gehazi lusted after the money Elisha refused, he died a leper. Judas sold Christ for silver, he died. Ananias and Sapphire lied about their generosity, they died. All died by divine judgment.
But judgment for God’s people may be spiritual leanness. There are plenty of Christians who are never happy. Proverbs 11:24 - “There is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” They’re never filled. Ecclesiastes 5:10 - “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance with increase.” The covetous will never grow in true spirituality. And it’s not about only money. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife right? It’s not just possessions. How many spouses complain - my husband’s not good enough! My wife’s not like other’s. It happened in the Corinthian church when it came to spiritual matters - when it came to leadership; I’m of Apollos, I’m of Cephas, I’m of Paul. These complaints show covetousness. And we can make it out - it’s so obvious. Forsake it! How?
Secondly, do be content because you have Christ. Verse 5 - “and be content with such things as ye have for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Contentment is the remedy for covetousness. It’s a state of being, not what you have. Contentment doesn’t come from being rich - the rich aren’t content. It’s being Christian. Contentment is knowing that Christ gives. Look at the verse. Be content with what you have. Why? Because Christ hasn’t forsaken us. He’s with us. Whatever we have is specifically given by him. He’s apportioned it. This is therefore the remedy to covetousness in the poor. God’s given you what you have or don’t have. He’s appointed it. It’s also a remedy to covetousness in the rich. Your wealth’s given to serve God. Use it wisely for his kingdom. Now, if you accept what you’re given, you’ll be content - even when it increases or decreases. Paul was content bound or free, in poverty or in plenty. He doubly rejoiced. Why? Christ strengthened him to receive all things from God’s hands. This recognition gives contentment. In Deuteronomy, when the people worshiped God first, they’d enjoy the land. But when they enjoyed the land first, they abandoned God for idols. But contentment comes not just by realization.
Contentment is obtained through service. You gain contentment by giving to God and others. If what we have comes from God, then obey him to work. And by working, we give. Ephesians 4:28 - “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.” If you can work, and there’s work available, but you’re not working; that’s not contentment, that’s sloth. You’re living in sin. Because God intends for you to work. As Ephesians says, when we work, we’ll experience true contentment because we give. Like Christ in giving himself. It was pleasurable.
Contentment is also obtained through faith. When we have the right belief in God, it leads to contentment. He’ll never leave nor forsake us. What’s your only comfort in life and death? That we’re not our own, but belong body and soul to our faithful savior Jesus Christ who paid for us, preserves us, and provided us his Spirit. Money can’t do that. It can’t redeem our soul nor preserve us. In fact, we try to preserve money. And money can’t make us spiritual. That’s where Simon the Magician got it wrong - he thought money could make him spiritual. Looking to Christ makes us content. By believing we don’t deserve his mercy - “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies of God.” But by believing he shows mercy. Lamentations 3:22 - “It’s of the Lord’s mercies we’re not consumed.” By believing we have a future inheritance. Ephesians 1:8 - “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” Such faith fuels contentment, if we believe he won’t forsake us. Verse 5 contains 5 negatives - “for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Literally, “I will never, no never, no never leave and forsake.” Will Christ forsake us? Never, no never, no never.
That’s why lastly, we must not fear because Christ is our helper. Contentment in Christ spurs fearlessness. Christ is our helper. Verse 6 - “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” This was something the Hebrew Christians need to hear. They were poor. In the wilderness, God was with them, as they traveled to Canaan. They had food - manna provided daily for them. Their clothes didn’t wear thin. They had water from the rock. He was their helper, protecting them from heat by a cloud column; warming them from the cold by a pillar of fire. But the affluent also need to hear it. When we walk deeply with him, we’ll experience his provision and pleasure. But we don’t find him sufficient. In our affluence, we hoard. Or in poverty, we grasp. This shows we don’t see Christ as our helper. When building the tabernacle, because they saw God’s help, they gave all they had to overflowing. Why? They were originally slaves - they had nothing. All they had came from their release. But when their eyes were off Christ in tough times, they became covetous. Fear led to covetousness. When the manna was not good enough - they wanted meat. But they had so much quail they got sick. Why? Meat didn’t satisfy. Then it was garlic. Even garlic lovers have their limits. And when Promised Land freedom seemed too difficult to take, they feared giants and wanted to return to Egypt and slavery. They refused to believe Joshua and Caleb who said they could fight with God’s help. But they didn’t want help. They wanted bondage. Fear leads to covetousness. Contentment leads to fearlessness. When we fear giants in our lives - like poor grades for our kids, boring jobs, renting instead of buying, having a spouse like this, having no this or that - Christ is not our helper. What are your idols beloved? Fear will lead us to covetousness. He loves your children more than you. Work is cursed no matter where you go. You want to buy freehold? It’ll be destroyed one day to make way for the New Heavens and Earth. There, you’ll have mansions above, joyful work in the restored garden, with your children who love Jesus.
Therefore, true faith leads to bold confession and contentment now. The Hebrew Christians struggled. So do we. Some couldn’t take the deprivation, they left. Many in our midst have left because they seek comfort in sin now. But better things are expected of us. “Because the Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” And if we do believe that, what shall we say? Verse 6 - “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Faith is accompanied by confession - Paul said - believe with the heart and confess with the mouth. If we believe, we will boldly say - the Lord is my helper. If you call on Christ as your helper, it’s time to exercise your faith boldly. This word “boldly” is the same word in Matthew 9:2 where Jesus told the paralytic man - “be of good cheer.” Cheer up, rejoice, be assured he’ll never ever leave you. Cheer up, rejoice, be assured that you’ll have your needs fulfilled. Cheer up, rejoice, be assured that you’ll never be separated from his love and provision. That’s why we can confess - I won’t fear what men can do. A content person will be joyful.
So how can you exercise your faith with boldness? There must be a mindset change. Do you fear the markets? Your potential job loss? Do you fear not doing so well? Being cheated? Do you fear not getting a good deal? Do you hunger after money or security? Success? Satisfaction? Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Find your satisfaction in Christ alone. And that requires specific ways of rejecting covetousness. Christ resisted with the Word. Turn these stones into bread - you shall not live by bread alone but by every word. Throw yourself off to receive the worship of angels - you shall not tempt the Lord your God. Worship me and you’ll have the world - you shall worship God alone.
And that requires you to find satisfaction by receiving from God’s hands what he has for you now. He suffered the sorrows of hell since his incarnation until the end of his life. Remember the Lord Jesus had heaven’s riches, but was placed in a manger? When foxes and holes, and birds nests, he had no place to rest his head. But he prepares a place for us. His parents were so poor, they could only sacrifice turtledoves. But he sacrificed himself - the King of Glory. And now, he has the sacrifices of praise from his people. In the wilderness, he went without food, but he fed the 5000, 4000, and turned water into wine; so we’d be invited to his banqueting table. At the cross, he accepted the bruising of his body; his only robe stripped from him, so that we’d be restored and clothed in righteousness. He did not grab on to his glory, but now he reigns in glory. And that glory will be ours.
- Don’t Let Covetousness Rule Your Hearts and Lives
- Forsake covetousness because it is insidious
- How covetousness is manifested
- How covetousness is judged
- Do Be Content Because You Have Christ
- Contentment is knowing that Christ gives
- Contentment is obtained through service
- Contentment is obtained through faith
- Don’t Fear Because Christ Is Your Helper
- Christ is your helper
- Fear leads to covetousness
- Faith leads to bold confession and contentment
Conversation for Change:
- Are you always hungering after a good deal? What does this say about you? Might you be defending covetousness as shrewdness?
- What can you do to encourage you and your family to live without covetousness? Is it to spend less? Or is it to spend more?
- How can giving to God’s kingdom cure your covetousness? Why do many feel uncomfortable when the church spends more or calls them to give more?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
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