Introduction: Let's review what we covered in the past seven studies. The keeping of the law has never saved anyone.
- "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." (Galatians 2:16)
The truth is, salvation has never been by the keeping of the law. It was not that way in the Old Testament, it is not that way now, and it will not be that way in the future or during the Millennium. This is why Hebrews tells us that salvation has always been through Jesus, "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." (Hebrews 4:2)
The purpose for the law was never to save but to show us our need of salvation. It is compared to three things in the Scriptures:
- A schoolmaster; Galatians 3:24-25, The schoolmaster was not the teacher, but brought the student to the teacher.
- A plumbline; Amos 7:7-8, The plumbline did not straighten a wall, but showed its need of straightening.
- A mirror; James 1:23-25, A mirror does not clean a man's face, but shows the need for washing the face.
The Ten Commandments can easily be divided into two groups of five:
- Commandments 1-5 have to do with our relationship to the LORD. The phrase "the LORD thy God" is found in each one. They have to do with piety.
- Commandments 6-10 have to do with our relationship to one another. The word "thou" is found in each one. They have to do with probity.
In the original language of the Old Testament, these 10 commandments were neither numbered nor divided. The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally divided them into two groups, the first of which consists of the first four commandments while the second is made up of the last six. However, the Jews have, from their earliest records, divided them into the two groups of five I mentioned above.
There is another interesting fact concerning these Ten Commandments. All of them deal with three areas; thought, word, and deed.
- Commandments 1-2 = thought; verses 2-6
- Commandment 3 = word; verses 7
- Commandments 4-5 = deed; verses 8-12
- Commandments 6-8 = deed; verses 13-15
- Commandment 9 = word; verse 16
- Commandment 10 = thought; verse 17
** The first commandment is found in Exodus 20:1-3, "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me." We found that idolatry is a grievous sin and God puts it first on His list of ten commandments. Why first? If our foundation is wrong, our structure will be shaky.
** The second commandment is found in Exodus 20:4-6. The second commandment is not a restating of the first, but rather the stating of another commandment. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." Not only is it forbidden to have other gods before God, it is equally forbidden to make and have other gods in your possession.
** The third commandment is found in Exodus 20:7, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." The third commandment goes much further than the mere mispronunciation of His name. Taking His name in vain also included how we use His name and how we live as Christians.
** The fourth commandment is found in Exodus 20:8-11, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." The Sabbath Day of the Old Testament was given as a sign for the people of Israel and was to be observed until was fulfilled in Jesus. There is no Christian Sabbath; never has been and never will be. Today but there is the principle of rest and the example set by the early New Testament believers to meet for worship on the first day of the week. We do not have a Christian Sabbath to observe but we do have a command to not forsake the assembling ourselves together as the manner of some is.
** The fifth commandment is found in Exodus 20:12, "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." This commandment completes the first grouping of five commandments. As I mentioned earlier, the first five commandments deal with our relationship to God and piety toward Him. What is piety? Piety is the state or quality of being pious, especially concerning devotion and reverence to the Lord. It also means a devotion and reverence to parents and family. (American Heritage Dictionary)
The remaining five commandments do not deal with piety but probity. Again, what is probity? It is uprightness and honesty, and, as stated earlier, these commandments deal with our relationship to one another.
** The sixth commandment is found in Exodus 20:13, "Thou shalt not kill." Is this kind of killing simply the taking of a human life? Does it include the taking of human life no matter what the reason? There are 10 words in the Old Testament used for the word kill. Exodus 20:13 uses the ninth meaning, which means, to break or dash in pieces; to kill, to slay, in a violent, unjust manner. It means to murder.
Continuing now in the last division of five commandments, we come to the seventh commandment, again dealing with another aspect of probity, that is, our honesty and uprightness with others.
** The seventh commandment is found in Exodus 20:14, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." There is probably not a clearer commandment among the ten. This verses means exactly what it says but has more than one application. "Preacher, what does this verse mean?" It means that you do not have God's permission to commit adultery, whether spiritual or physical, period, and that it is sin to do so.
- - Adultery means voluntary sexual relations between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse. (American Heritage Dictionary)
- - An adulterer is one who commits adultery. (American Heritage Dictionary)
- - Adulterate is another form of the word and it means to make impure by adding extraneous, improper, or inferior ingredients. (American Heritage Dictionary)
Continuing now in the last division of five commandments, we come to the eighth commandment, again dealing with another aspect of probity, that is, our honesty and uprightness with others.
** The eighth commandment is found in Exodus 20:15, "Thou shalt not steal." It is interesting to note that this does not just deal with theft but with other things as well. This is seen in the Hebrew meaning of the word steal.
- Steal = to take, by stealth, that which does not belong to you. It also means to deceive or manipulate another person's mind.
This is yet another plain commandment and in need little explanation. Plain and simple, we are commanded to be honest and upright with one another. God wants us not to take things that belong to someone else. This is illustrated in the Old Testament in the teaching about removing the landmark.
- Deuteronomy 19:14, "Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it."
- Deuteronomy 27:17, "Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen."
- Proverbs 22:28, "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set."
- Proverbs 23:10, "Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless."
- Hosea 5:10, "The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water."
A landmark was a stone that was set up to show a land boundary, that is, a property line. Greedy and self-seeking neighbors would move or remove the ancient landmarks just a little bit at a time. It was never enough to detect without close examination. After a few months, yea even years, the landmark had been moved a great distance and the owner had no idea that his landmark had even been moved and that he had suffered the loss of some of his property.
The eighth commandment includes everything from the robbing of banks to common thievery. In the New Testament, the Greek word for stealing is klepto and it speaks of all kinds of thievery. When you take something that does not belong to you, you are a thief and in violation of the eighth commandment which plainly states, "Thou shalt not steal."
Do Christians steal? Can they? If you are a Bible believer, you must say, "Yes."
1. Adam & Eve stole from God's tree. - Genesis 2:15-17
"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
- Adam and Eve had the entire world to themselves. God had created it and had given them all of it. All except one tree which was God's tree.
- Satan came to Eve and let her know that God was wrong and that she could take from the fruit of God's tree and would become better for it. "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." (Genesis 3:1-6)
- She took alright! Notice that it says that she took that which belonged to the Lord.
2. Achan stole that which belonged to the Lord. - Joshua 7:1, 20-21
"But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel...And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it."
- This was wrong for him to do simply because the Lord had commanded the Israelites not to take anything from Jericho because it belonged to the Lord, "And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD." (Joshua 6:18-19)
- Jericho was the firstfruits of the Promised Land and the firstfruits always belong to the Lord.
- Notice it says that Achan took these things.
- Like Eve, Achan took that which belonged to the Lord.
3. David robbed Uriah when he stole his wife. - 2 Samuel 11:1-4
"And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house."
- David stayed home from going to battle, removed his armor and took a rest. However, he should not have stayed home at this time. He should have been with his men fighting in battle.
- David saw his neighbor Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, coveted her, and took her for his own. He committed adultery and she became pregnant with his child.
- Notice it says that David took her. He stole her and the killed her husband.
4. God's people rob God too. - Malachi 3:8-10
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
- What is it that we steal from the Lord? It is His tithe and His offering.
- It is a horrible sin when a man will steal from another man, but it is quite another thing when a man will steal from God.
- Tithing is not some Old Testament legalistic form of giving for tithing was instituted long before the Mosaic law was written. Giving God the firstfruits started with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." (Genesis 4:3-5)
- The Bible says that the tithe belongs to the Lord.
- Robbing God is when you take what belongs to Him. In this case it was tithes and offerings.
5. Some examples of stealing.
- Not working eight hours for eight hours pay.
- Quitting early and clocking out on time.
- Not giving your best.
- Cheating on tests.
- Cheating on income tax returns.
- Keeping incorrect change given to you at the store.
- Being a lazy student when your parents are paying for your education.
- Doing a job half way.
- Not tithing.
- Spending your tithe on other things.
- Lying to others.
- Adultery.
- Using your God-given abilities for something other than God's will at the exclusion of doing God's will.
Conclusion: "Thou shalt not steal." I have heard many times in the last few years, especially on so-called Christian radio stations, that the Bible is not just a Book of "Thou shalt nots." This is true, but it is also true that there are many "thou shalt nots" in the Bible. In fact, there are 240 "thou shalt nots" in 219 verses in the Bible. There are also 90 "do nots" in 79 verses. There are things God does not want us to do. The eighth commandment is only one of many. Are you a man robber? If not, are you a God robber? Let's decide to not steal in any way from anyone.