The Robing of God
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Please turn in your Bible to Exodus 20:15 as we consider The Robing of God.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am constantly finding myself convicted during this study of the Ten Commandments/Words. It seems that with each succeeding prohibition that we look at I am having a harder and harder time writing about it, because I, myself, am convicted of my own shortcomings in each specific area. But my job isn’t to preach only those things which people want to hear, but to preach the whole counsel of God. Which means to preach those things we do not want to hear.
One thing which I pray everyday for our congregation is that the Lord would root all the sin that is within our hearts, and that a standard of holiness would clearly established in the ministry of the Word so that we would grow to hate our sin and love God’s holiness. And my hope is that my heart is not the only heart which is being convicted as we pursue an understanding of God’s holiness!
In the time which we have spent in this study we have dealt with the first table of the law, which can be summarized by the command to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Does anyone remember the slogans I was teaching you to help you remember the gist of these commandments?
We should worship the right God, in the right way, with the right attitude, and the right commitment.
We have also begun to look at the second table of the law which can be summarized by the command to love our neighbor as ourselves.
In the writings of the Apostle John, both in his gospel account, and in his first epistle, he emphasized, in particular, the love that we should have for our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is an extension of loving our neighbors as ourselves. And John teaches that we cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow believers. And by extension we could say that if we do not love our neighbor as ourselves then we do not truly love God.
The first step in loving our neighbor as ourselves is to honor our parents, and all who are in authority over us. If we do not honor those in authority over us, then we cannot truly honor God.
The second step in loving our neighbor as ourselves is to honor the sacredness of life, by not committing any form of murder. If we murder our neighbor then we do not truly love God. And remember, there is more to murder than the physical act — this extends to the intentions of the heart. This extends to refusing to help those in need when we have the means to do so. This extends to our attitudes and well as our actions.
I wish that I would have thought to point out two weeks ago that this also extends to the believer’s witness for Christ. Speaking to Ezekiel, God said,
When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
On the one hand this was specific to Ezekiel in that God had called him to be a prophet, and the receiver of direct revelation. And he was not to keep this revelation to himself, but to share it with the nation of Israel. You and I do not receive new direct revelation today. The last direct revelation to be received by man was the book of Revelation — the last book of the Bible. When John finished receiving that revelation, new direct revelation ended.
On the other hand, we have what none of the prophets, either OT or NT ever had — the complete revelation of God which we are holding in our hands — the BIBLE. And as the receivers of this complete revelation, we have a responsibility to warn others of the pending judgment of God.
Sadly, I have not always set a good example of warning others about the coming judgment of God. (At least outside of my sermons in church). Maybe you could pray for me, that I would change my ways in this regard.
The third step in loving our neighbor as ourselves is to honor the sacredness of marriage by not breaking our vows. The Lord is displeased when we break any sort of vow which we have made. Scripture actually warns to be careful not to make a vow which we cannot keep. But the marriage vow, being a picture of God’s relationship with His covenant people, is an especially important vow. With our spouse being our closest neighbor we do not demonstrate love to he or she by breaking our vows. We actually show hatred toward them instead. Thus, the breaking of our marriage vows demonstrates an absence of love for the God before whom we made our vows!
This brings us to the fourth step in loving our neighbor as ourselves. This step could be phrased as honoring our neighbors personal property. More about that as we move through our message.
This cover by the Saturday Evening Post depicts the dishonesty of many who try to cheat the system. And this directly relates to the eighth commandment. In this picture, the butcher is pressing down on the scale, trying to add a little bit more to this ladies grocery bill. At the same time, this dear, sweet, innocent looking grandmother is pressing up on the scale, trying to save a buck on her grocery bill. It doesn’t appear that either one of them have a bad conscience about what they are doing. And that basically sums up the state of mankind in this world. Often we are unconscious of the sins which we commit against God and against our fellow man. And sometimes we are conscious of them, but we just don’t care.
As we meditate on the eighth word/commandment this morning we will look at the causes of theft, honoring our neighbor’s property, honoring our own property, and honoring God’s property.
Let’s read the eighth commandment together.
“You shall not steal.
Let’s begin by looking at
The Causes of Theft
The Causes of Theft
Note that,
Theft Begins with Inappropriate Desires — Desiring to Possess Something Which Does Not Belong to Us
As we look at the causes of theft we will consider the internal and the external causes. Let’s begin with
The Internal Causes for Theft
The Internal Causes for Theft
Thomas Watson pointed to two internal causes for stealing. The first is unbelief, which demonstrates a distrust of God’s providence and provision. The psalmist wrote of the children of Israel during their wilderness wanderings:
Then they spoke against God; They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
When a person steals it is as if he or she has decided that no, God, cannot prepare a table in the wilderness!
The second internal reason for stealing is covetousness, which is the subject of the tenth commandment. Watson wrote, “The Greek word for ‘covetousness’ signifies an immoderate desire of getting.’ This is the root of theft. A person covets more than his own, and this itch of covetousness makes him scratch what he can from another.”
Let’s turn to
The External Cause of Theft
The External Cause of Theft
There is really only one external reason, and that is Satan’s influence. Watson wrote, “The devil is a great master thief. He robbed us of our coat of innocence, and he persuades people to take up his trade. He tells people how well they will live by stealing and that they will gain much wealth.”
Honor Our Neighbor's Property
Honor Our Neighbor's Property
As we consider this point we will look at property rights and forms of theft. Let’s begin by looking at
Property Rights
Property Rights
Note that,
This Command Recognizes the Right to Own Property
One thing which every author whom I am using for this series has pointed out is that this prohibition flies directly in the face of any form of communism. One of the tenets of Karl Marx’s communism is a society in which all property is publicly owned. But if that was God’s intention then He would not have issued a prohibition against the taking of personal property, since there would be no such thing.
As a matter of fact, God went to great lengths to establish precedents in which personal property was protected. Look at
“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
“If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account.
But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
If what he stole is actually found alive in his possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.
I’d like to point out two things which stand out in this text. First, one who steals from someone else must make restitution. Both verse 1 and verse 4 refer to restitution.
Second, as was pointed out two weeks ago, theft could result in the justifiable homicide of the thief.
Last year, when we were being harassed by a person from our neighborhood, he called me a thief because I was robing from his so-called god by preaching that the God of the Bible is the only true God. And he quoted a passage from Proverbs which deals with restitution of what was stolen.
Men do not despise a thief if he steals To satisfy himself when he is hungry;
But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold; He must give all the substance of his house.
Of course, this guy was way off base — but at least he acknowledged a biblical principle.
For the nation of Israel, God made the taking away of property on a permanent basis illegal. Each family was to receive an alloted inheritance of land after entering the Promised Land. While God made allowances for the people to sell a tract of land in order to pay off debt, that land had to go back to the original family clan during the Year of Jubilee. This, once again emphasizes the right to ownership of property.
Let’s turn our attention now to
Forms of Theft
Forms of Theft
There are various forms of theft which can be practiced against our neighbor, and this commandment prohibits all of them. Some of the more obvious ways in which to steal are as follows:
Robbery
Burglary
Shoplifting
Pick-protecting
Scams
Identity theft
Extortion
Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
Fraud
Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
I’m sure there are others that would fit in this category, but I think you get the picture. All of these forms of stealing are regarded as being wrong by all cultures.
There are other ways of stealing which may be passed off as being legal and legitimate, but they are stealing none the less.
Withholding wages that are due:
‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.
The stealing of time from our employer
The stealing of honor that is due to an individual
Condoning our actions as being merely sound business practices
Stealing from the government by not paying our taxes
Stealing from the bank by not paying back our loans
Taking things home from our workplace for our own personal use
Once commentator argued that the government steals from our citizens by wasting public money, and adding to the deficit with no intention of paying it down since deficit spending is actually robing from future generations
In fact, stealing, like the rest of the Ten Commandments, can be a very broad category.
“If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor
or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby—
if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found
or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.
And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent, for a guilt offering.
And the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord, and he shall be forgiven for any of the things that one may do and thereby become guilty.”
We’ve been looking at honoring our neighbor’s property. Let’s look next at how we should
Honor Our Own Property
Honor Our Own Property
Look at our text once again.
“You shall not steal.
Note that,
Whenever We Squander Money That Could Have Been Used for Something Else, We Break the Eighth Commandment
Did you know that each year more money is spent on gambling than on food? Think about folks who squander their livelihoods on gambling. I would contend that gambling is probably reaching epidemic proportions in our present society. It wasn’t long ago when you had to travel to Las Vegas or to Atlantic City in order to legally gamble at a casino. But now we have casinos all over the place.
If that’s not bad enough, what about all the commercials on TV for sports betting. You can even get an app on you smart phone to help you squander your hard earned money.
Then there are the various lotteries one can buy a ticket for. It is so easy to squander your money in hopes of making a quick buck.
The Southern Baptist Convention wrote this in 1993, in regards to gambling: “While the Bible contains no “thou shalt not” in regard to gambling, it does contain many insights and principles which indicate that gambling is wrong. The Bible emphasizes the sovereignty of God in the direction of human events (see Matthew 10:29–30); gambling looks to chance and good luck. The Bible indicates that man is to work creatively and use his possessions for the good of others (see Ephesians 4:28); gambling fosters a something-for-nothing attitude. The Bible calls for careful stewardship; gambling calls for reckless abandon. The Bible condemns covetousness and materialism (see Matthew 6:24–34); gambling has both at its heart. The moral thrust of the Bible is love for God and neighbor (Matthew 22:37–40); gambling seeks personal gain and pleasure at another person’s loss and pain.” (Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 646.)
Sadly, gambling is not the only way in which people squander money. In the past, before our current problem with illegal aliens, a large majority of folks who were homeless were members of a family in which one of the parents continually squandered their families finances on addictive substances such as alcohol, and illegal drugs. Then there is the money squandered on tobacco, and other such stuff.
Thomas Watson argued that a person can rob himself by stinginess. He wrote, “The miser is a thief. He steals from himself in not allowing himself what is needful. He thinks that which he spends for himself is lost. He robs himself of necessities. He fills his money chest and starves his belly!”
I rarely carry cash because when I do I often squander it on junk food which I do not need to be eating.
There are so many ways in our society to squander our hard earned money, and I’ve only just barely scratched the surface. But understand that we break the eighth commandment when we do so.
Let’s now look at how we should
Honor God’s Property
Honor God’s Property
What do I mean by God’s property? Am I talking about the church building and property? While that is an aspect of it, that is not what I am referring to.
The truth is that God owns it all. As the Creator of this whole universe, He owns everything in it. The psalmist wrote,
“For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.
“I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine.
“If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.
As we consider this we will look at the stewardship principle and the positive side of this commandment. First, let’s look once again at our text one last time.
“You shall not steal.
Let’s look at
The Stewardship Principle
The Stewardship Principle
Believers must understand that everything we own is actually not our own. It is God’s, and He has entrusted it to us.
Note that,
We Are to be Wise Stewards of the Things Which God Has Entrusted to Us
J. I. Packer wrote, “Behind the commandment lies the Bible’s view of property—namely, that ownership is stewardship. By human law, my property is that which I own and may dispose of as I wish, as distinct from that which I am merely allowed to use as borrower or trustee, under conditions that the owner imposes. Bible-believers, however, know that what human law says I own—my money, goods, legal rights, and titles—I actually hold as God’s trustee. In the terms of Jesus’ parable, these things are talents, lent me by my Lord on a temporary basis to use for him. One day I shall be asked to give account of how I managed those of his resources of which I was given control.” (J. I. Packer, Keeping the Ten Commandments (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 89–90.)
I fear that I do not measure up very well to that which has been entrusted to me. I fear that I have not been a good steward.
Let’s consider
The Positive Side of the Commandment
The Positive Side of the Commandment
Note that,
Rather Than Stealing from Others, We Should Work Productively so that We Can Provide for Our Family, and Others Who are in Need
Philip Ryken wrote in terms of the positive side of the commandment. “What the Bible means by ownership is not possessing things to use for our own purposes, but receiving things from God to use for his glory. So at the same time that we are forbidden to take things that don’t belong to us, we are required to use what we have in ways that are pleasing to our God. To put it very simply, the eighth commandment isn’t just about stealing—it’s also about stewardship.” (Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes, Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 645.)
Paul wrote about both the negative side of this commandment and the positive side.
He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
In all of these ten words/commandments we see that our life before God is not to be lived in isolation, but within the framework of a community. If God intended us to live in isolation He would not have emphasized the need for loving our neighbor as ourselves.
As I stated earlier, this study has been very convicting for me. There are so many ways in which I have robbed both God and man — usually without even being aware of it. The thing is that for believers, Christ has borne the guilt of our sins when He hung on the cross. This does not give us a license to sin, but it does give us freedom from the outpouring of God’s eternal wrath.
Because we still live in this body which is tainted by sin, we will fall into to sin from time to time. John wrote,
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If you are convicted in any way about this commandment, or any of the others for that matter, then confess it to God. He will forgive and cleanse you.
If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ then you bear your own sin, and will one day receive the full weight of God’s wrath for your sin. I encourage you to repent from your dead works and turn to Christ in faith so that you will receive pardon and cleansing. Come to Jesus for redemption from sin, and be saved today!
Let’s pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come before You with a heavy heart knowing that I, all to often rob You in various ways. I have robbed You of Your glory by taking praise from people for gifts and accomplishments which come from You. And I dare say that I have taken credit for things which others should be credited for at times.
Lord, forgive me for my failures and offenses in anyway in which I have robbed my neighbor, or have robbed You.
Lord, I pray that You would drive out all of the sin that is within those who are here today, and that You would give us a hatred of sin, and a passion for pursuing Your holiness.
I pray for any who are not believers, that they You would send conviction concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. I pray that You would send enlightenment so that they would recognize You for who You are, that they would recognize Jesus Christ for who He is and the work which He accomplished on their behalf. I pray that You would call and draw them to Christ. I pray that You would destroy any mental strongholds, and remove any obstacle which keep them from embracing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
I pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.
Closing Song: #654
Change My Heart, O God
Change my heart, O God,
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God,
May I be like You.
You are the Potter,
I am the clay;
Mold me and make me,
This is what I pray.
Change my heart, O God,
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God,
May I be like You.
You are the Potter,
I am the clay;
Mold me and make me,
This is what I pray.
Change my heart, O God,
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God,
May I be like You.