Bible Text: Luke 12:13-21 | Preacher: G.F. | Series: The Disease of Hypocrisy

Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”‘ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12:13-21)
Our passage this morning from Luke 12:13 – 21  is one of Jesus most famous parables, a parable that only Luke records, and it has to do with covetousness.

Jesus the MASTER TEACHER, takes this unique opportunity to continue to warn his disciples against the “leaven of the Pharisees – HYPOCRISY”. Jesus is still addressing this issue. COVETOUSNESS = HYPOCRISY, and Paul tells us why; “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” – Colossians 3:5

Paul is telling us that when you’re worshipping anything that isn’t the one true God you’re committing idolatry, so covetousness becomes a way that even believers are tempted to commit idolatry. And if it is not removed from the heart and from the desires and from the souls, it ruins us. So for all these reasons it’s important that Jesus would address the issue of covetousness.

Covetousness is important for us to think about, and it was important for Jesus to address His disciples about, because it’s a root sin. Covetousness is one of those sins that leads to other kinds of sins. At some point people get to the place where they believe that what they don’t have but that they want is so important that it doesn’t matter how they get it. And so the very desire for something that they don’t have but that they want leads them to do things in order to get it which involve other sins. Covetousness is a root sin and it leads to other kinds of sin.

The first step to overcoming this IDOLATRY is — to recognize that the gifts that God gives all His children, without variation, are richer than anything that can be afforded by this world or enjoyed by anyone in this world no matter how wealthy. Do we care about those gifts more than these other things? Until we do, we will be permanently vulnerable to covetousness.

If it is a lie that life does consist in the abundance of possessions, what is the truth? The truth is true life is to know Jesus Christ and to live for him. The Bible says that Jesus is the life (John 14:6). The Bible says that true life is to know the only true God and his Son Jesus Christ (John 17:3). The Bible says that to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21).

One commentator tells the story of a conversation between an ambitious youth and an older man who knew life.

The young man says, “I will learn my trade.”

“And then?” said the older man.

“I will set up in business.”

“And then?”

“I will make my fortune.”

“And then?”

“I suppose that I shall grow old and retire and live on my money.”

“And then?”

“Well, I suppose that someday I will die.”

“And then?” came the last stabbing question.

What about you? What will happen to you when you die?