Thou Shalt Not Steal

Exodus 20:15

We are skipping the 7^th commandment…adultery.  Just like America skips it.  Of course, it’s because we have covered this a lot lately from other passages.  But first:  What’s worse than skipping it.  Maybe this:

The 1631 edition of the KJV had a misprint.  Some would call it minor...just one little word accidentally missed by the typesetter.  He left out the word ‘not’ in v. 14, reading “Thou shalt commit adultery.”  As a result, that edition is known as ‘The Wicked Bible’...but it seems to be the version our world has chosen to claim!

The 7^th commandment has never been more dismissed than it is today.  No generation has ever been so sex crazed as ours is. 

We should all be taking a stand.  “I stand alone on the Word of God” ... the word ‘alone’ is becoming more and more realistic, but still we should take our stand!

Now, the 8^th commandment [text]

1 Corinthians 6:10
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Raise your hand if you have ever stolen anything?  And remember, next time we cover the commandment about lying!  Now, how many have been forgiven for stealing, among other sins?  Such were some of you!

When Israel conquered Jericho they were instructed not to take of the spoils of that city...but one guy was just ‘Achan’ to have these things himself.  It resulted in judgment for everyone, and Joshua was told by God to take Achan, his family, and all his possessions, stone them, pile them in a heap, and burn them to ashes.  Then Joshua turned to Israel and said, “Now don’t steal.”  Do you think they got the message that day?

Used to be you’d go to bed at night and not worry about locking the door.  Today we lock it, put bars on the windows, install a security system and Ring doorbell cams, and train the dog to kill!  Same with our cars.  We not only lock them everywhere now, but we put ‘The Club’ on the wheel, take the face off the stereo, and lock the hubcaps.  In some neighborhoods they’ll take your paint job at a stop light!

But we’re all guilty in this matter, in one way or another.  It goes all the way to the top as some in ministry misappropriate funds, politicians and CEOs alike do shady deals.  I heard an estimate that if you stopped all theft in America we would balance the national budget in 3 years!

3 Stealers:

1.     Simple Stealer

This is the common, ordinary thief.  From cds, cigarettes and batteries to bicycles, cars, and the like.  Why buy when you can just take!

Ill.—man told his wife to fire the maid...he caught her stealing their bath towels.  His wife asked, “Which towels did she take?”  “The ones we got on vacation from that Holiday Inn!

Ill.—a politician in Washington was jumped in a park by thugs who told to give them all his money, or they’d blow his brains out.  He replied, “Go ahead, I’ve lived in this town all my life and I know you can get along fine here without brains, but not without money!”

Shoplifting—How strong do you have to be to do this?  Seriously, the US Dept. of Commerce estimates that 35 million Americans engage in this every year.  That’s one in every 50 shoppers.  About 5 million get caught.  Next time you go to Wal-Mart, look around at the other 500 people in there, and realize that 10 of them are there to steal something!  Who pays for that?  We all do!

Some take candy from a jar, change from a pop machine, or at home from your own parents.  Or maybe you stole a glance at your neighbor’s paper in school...and then stole their answers!

Know this:  That God knows about it.  And there’s no statute of limitations with Him.  Make it right!

Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Most thieves look left and right, before and behind, to see if someone was watching, but they need to look up!  They ‘eye in the sky’ is a hidden camera in every place, and the only way to erase the tape is to immerse it in the blood of Christ!

Making it right involves not only confession, but also making restitution.

Ill.—Zacchaeus got saved and restored to everyone he had wronged 4 fold.

The Simple stealer...

2.     Sophisticated Stealer

Even Christians fall prey to these things, and don’t realize they are stealing. 

• Employee theft—“The Day America Told the Truth” is a very revealing book on ethics.  When it comes to work ethics, the average employee said they spent 20% of their time goofing off.  Over ½ surveyed said they called in sick on occasion when all they were sick of was working.  You are a liar and a thief when you do so.  Other employees told of coming in late and leaving early, taking extended breaks, falsifying their time card, making personal calls when not allowed, surfing the internet, and lying on expense accounts.  It is stealing when you don’t give honest work for honest pay.

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.

Ill.--JC Penney recalled riding on a street car and the driver not asking for his nickel.  He got home and told his father about it, who replied, Son, today you sold your honor for a nickel!

• Employer theft—business owners, bosses...listen up.

James 5:4
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

God is your best labor union, Who vindicates you when cheated.  Don’t defend yourself exclusively, let God defend you!

It is a form of stealing to take advantage of people in dire straits...to accept work but not give a fair wage.  Just because you can doesn’t mean that you should.

Ill.—prospective employee asked the interviewing boss what his wages would be.  “Exactly what you’re worth” came the answer.  “Oh, I could never live on that!”

• Paying taxes—“Um, I need to use the bathroom!”  No, sit down, and face the music!

Luke 20:25
And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's.

Romans 13:7
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

No normal human enjoys paying taxes, but in a civilized society it is a necessary evil.  Tax evasion is a form of stealing.  Tax avoidance is perfectly legal.  Trying to pay as little as possible is fine, and normal.  But God wants His children to be honest.

• Unpaid debt—Christians should pay their bills, and on time.  And if unable to do so, you should call your creditors and make arrangements, rather than try to dodge them.

Romans 13:8
Owe no man any thing...

God is not against borrowing and lending within certain guidelines.  But after the due date you become a thief.  Again, just because maybe you can get away with it doesn’t mean you should!  I’ve known some to just make providers eat their losses.  They put their electricity in someone else’s name.  You are not only stealing from that company, but you are stealing from me and others who also use that company, and have to pay increased prices to cover all their ‘write offs’.  It’s more about your character than your credit rating!

Just try to do the right thing, and God will reward you.  Maybe your creditor won’t give you grace or be reasonable.  That’s no excuse to not do what’s right, trusting God with your end result.

• Cheating in school—a math teacher at Vanderbilt University would say to his class at exam time:  I’m about to give you 2 tests...1 is in Trigonometry and the other is in honesty.  If you must fail one of these tests, please let it be the trig.  Lots of good people cannot pass trig, but there’s no good people who cannot pass in honesty.

Ill.—a football player was unusually dumb, and cheated regularly off the honor student next to him.  The teacher always suspected this, but never had proof until the final exam when the honor student wrote next to one question, I don’t know, and the football player wrote, “Me Neither!”

        The essence of stealing is found in one word:  TAKING

Everything God controls GIVES.  For God so loved the world that he GAVE...

The sun gives light.  Plant seed in the earth and that ground gives it life.  Rivers give water, so do clouds.  Our world produces petroleum, more than we could use.  The more we use the more the world produces to fill the void we create.

But Satan is about taking.  He robs, kills, and destroys.  Satan initiated man’s fall in the garden of Eden by getting Eve to TAKE something that didn’t belong to her.

When we give we are behaving like God, and when we take we are like Satan.  We are never more like Satan than when we rebel and take, rather than give!

The simple stealer, the sophisticated stealer...

3.     Spiritual Stealer

Malachi 3:8
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

Our new believers don’t know they are stealing until God tells them, which is now!

Malachi 3:9-11
⁹ Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field...

Don’t kill the messenger.  This is God’s message.  He’s in management, I’m just in sales!

Tithe = 10% of your increase [income or other blessings you receive] to the local spiritual storehouse where you are fed out of spiritually.

God blesses His people when they obey in this area, and a financial curse is upon those who do not.

Ill.—man went to his preacher and said, I used to tithe back when I only made a couple hundred dollars a week.  But now I make a couple thousand a week and I’m having trouble letting go of that big of a tithe.  Pray for me.  The pastor got on his knees beside the man and prayed, God, Phil here was able to obey before, but can’t seem to now.  So I pray you’ll bring about circumstances that will reduce his salary back to where it used to be so he can tithe.  The man jumped up and said, nevermind, I can tithe!

The tithe:

Abraham commenced it [long before the law]

Moses commanded it

Jacob continued it

Jesus commended it

Who are you to cancel it?

A tithe is a trust fund, because you are saying, God, I trust you with my finances.  I believe 90% w/ your blessing will go further than 100% that is cursed.  Shoes last longer and the roof is stronger!

If my faith wasn’t strong enough to tithe, I’d worry about whether it’s truly strong enough to get me to heaven.  If you can trust God w/ your soul then you can trust Him w/ your finances.

God owns it all anyway.  He doesn’t need our money.  He wants our heart.  Tithing is not His way of raising money, it’s His way of raising Christians!  Without faith it’s impossible to please Him.  Don’t rob from God and don’t rob yourself of the blessing!

Some Christians live in stolen houses, drive stolen cars, wear stolen jewelry...paid for with tithe money.  Spiritual stealing, sophisticated stealing, simple stealing.  It’s all displeasing to God.  Let’s strive to please Him who is all about giving, by not being takers.