TEN 8: The Eighth Commandment

Bookmarks & Needs:

B: Exodus 20:15; Eph 4:28

N:

Opening

Welcome, mention Ministers’ & Families’ Retreat, and thanks.

AOM tonight at 5:00 pm in the Parlor. Andrew Barndt will be sharing about his serving in the UK this summer.

Martha Sue Service tomorrow at 10:30 am. Viewing at 9:30. Fellowship time tonight from 6:00 to 7:00 pm in Miller Hall (after AOM).

BGEA Route 66 God Loves You Tour night of prayer and worship at Calvary Church Weds 6:30-8:00. RSVP at GodLovesYouTour.com. God Loves You Tour will be held at Expo NM on September 28.

Choir rehearsals begin not this Weds, but next, August 18, at 6:30 pm in the choir room.

This morning, we get back in sync between which commandment we’re looking at and which week we’re on in the series. We’ve looked at the first seven commandments, which the Hebrew people call the Ten Words, and after today, we will have just the ninth and tenth to go. Then, we are planning on the Lord’s Supper on August 29, before we begin our next series on the Psalms of Ascent in September. But for this morning, we consider the Eighth Commandment. For our focal passage today, we are going to read just two verses. Let’s stand in honor of the Word of God as we look at Exodus 20:15 and Ephesians 4:28:

Exodus 20:15 CSB

15 Do not steal.

Ephesians 4:28 CSB

28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.

PRAYER

One of my earliest memories, perhaps even my earliest memory, relates directly to the Eighth Commandment. I believe I was about four years old. I checked with my mom (who is here), and she said that she doesn’t have specific memory of this, but that my four-year-old recollection is at least consistent with how she did things with us. It probably was less dramatic than I remember it, although it made a really big impression on me. When I was little, I really liked LifeSavers candy. Especially the lime ones. They were my favorite. And I don’t know if they created Life Savers lollipops when I was about four, or if they had been around before that. But a LifeSavers Lollipop was basically a gigantic LifeSaver on a stick. One stick, one flavor.

I remember that I was at the grocery store one day with my mother, and I’m certain that I had asked for several things by the time we got to the check out. I was a four-year-old boy, after all. However, when we got to the checkout lane, there they were: Life Savers Lollipops. And there was a lime green one. I remember asking my mom if I could have one. I may have asked for one a few times. And I was told “no.” But I really wanted that lime green LifeSaver lollipop. It was right there. Just below my eye level. So I took it while she was paying. And as we walked across the parking lot to the car, I opened it and popped it into my mouth.

But when we got to the car, guess what happened? My mom noticed that I had a sucker that she hadn’t paid for. She was not happy. We had to walk back into the store, and I had to apologize for stealing it, and she had to pay for the lollipop… probably a nickel or a dime, because I had already licked it. And then I had to throw it in the trash, because of course I wasn’t going to get to be rewarded with a sucker for becoming a kindergarten criminal. Was the point the value of the sucker? No. It was that the sucker was not mine, I did not have permission to take it, and I did anyway. I violated the Eighth Word that day.

And it wasn’t the only time. I suppose that each of us could in some way admit to being a former thief, maybe even a recovering thief. But likely at some point in our lives, we have committed the sin of stealing.

Just like the Sixth and Seventh Commandments: Do not murder and Do not commit adultery, the Eighth Commandment is only two words long in the original Hebrew. And also like both of those other two-word Commandments, it is substantially more comprehensive than the simplest definition that we can give it. More things than simply killing someone in cold blood are murder in the biblical sense, as we saw last week. Also, from the biblical perspective adultery includes way more than a physical sexual relationship between people who aren’t married to one another, as we saw the week before last with Joe. And a biblical understanding of stealing certainly includes more acts than pocketing a LifeSaver lollipop from the grocery store.

Ephesians 4:28 gives us our very straightforward outline this morning, and in it we see a beautiful reversal, a reversal lived out by a particular character in the biblical narrative. We will consider these together:

1) Don’t steal.

Pretty simple, right? It’s the Commandment itself, shortened down to be basically as short in English as it is in Hebrew. But is it that simple?

Merriam-Webster defines the transitive verb “steal” as:

to take or appropriate without right or leave and with intent to keep or make use of wrongly; to take away by force or unjust means.

But I like the definition that Jen Wilkin gives in her book Ten Words to Live By:

Stealing is gaining at someone else’s unwilling expense.

Some stealing is very overt and intentional: It is stealing when we take anything that doesn’t belong to us and that we don’t have permission to take. Earlier this year, the church van had its catalytic converter cut out and taken. That is clearly stealing, and that’s why we started parking it on the south lot instead of the back alley, so it can be under the parking lot light in full view of the street. Embezzlement, robbery, fraud, shoplifting, and picking someone’s pocket are some other overt and intentional forms of stealing.

Some stealing is covert: It is stealing when we lie on our taxes, when we keep the thing that accidentally came in our Amazon box that we didn’t order without letting Amazon know about it, when we use office resources for personal things if we don’t have permission to, when we waste time surfing the web or playing games or goofing around on our phones or having long personal phone conversations when we are being paid to work. A recent survey by Salary.com showed that employees spend an average of 2.09 hours per eight-hour workday on something other than their jobs, not including lunch and scheduled breaks, which means that based on those averages, U.S. employers together lose about $759 BILLION in productivity a year that they pay people for. (https://www.floordaily.net/flooring-news/survey--workers-wasting-time-costs-billions)

Some stealing is unintentional: For example, it is stealing when we borrow something that doesn’t belong to us and never return it, or never make restitution for that something if we lost it or it got destroyed somehow while in our care.

Even “finders-keepers-losers-weepers” is not the way we should live:

Deuteronomy 22:1–3 CSB

1 “If you see your brother Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother. 2 If your brother does not live near you or you don’t know him, you are to bring the animal to your home to remain with you until your brother comes looking for it; then you can return it to him. 3 Do the same for his donkey, his garment, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.

So it’s very easy to violate the Eighth Commandment. Stealing is something that at some point in some way we all have done, and something that most of us occasionally do, whether we mean to or not. And when we violate any of the Ten Words, we violate the First Word as well.

Remember in our study of the First Commandment that all of the others relate back to it. When we steal, we internally say that we love that thing more than we love God, which makes that thing our god. We also say that we love ourselves more than our neighbors, because we think that we can use their things for our benefit without their permission.

Another thing to consider about the Eighth Commandment is this: By the fact of its very existence, the Eighth Commandment implies the concept of personal ownership of property and the rights to the preservation of that ownership against unlawful seizure. Otherwise, the whole concept of stealing would fail to make any sense. Since stealing is possible, then personal ownership of property must be a reality. Therefore, we are to respect those rights. Furthermore, that right should be preserved by the government and by employers, not infringed upon by them.

However, even though personal property is assumed because of the Eighth Word, we also must keep in mind that everything we have is given in trust to us by God, and to Him we owe a responsibility in how we use what He has provided, because He provides it for His glory, not our own. The reason that anything belongs to anyone is because is comes from God, and we do not have a right to take for ourselves what God has given to others. It’s also a question of trust in His providence: Since we have a God who is trustworthy to provide for our needs, we must not steal.

This is what Paul was getting at when he penned Ephesians 4:28:

Ephesians 4:28a (CSB)

28 Let the thief no longer steal.

If all of us are either former thieves or recovering thieves, then I think that we can identify with this. We are to steal no more. The big problem here is that studies show that stealing is a slippery slope. If we successfully steal once, we are more likely to steal again. And once we get comfortable with stealing, we are likely to steal more: either more valuable things, or things of the same value more often. Jay John said it this way in his book Ten: Laws of Love Set In Stone:

Stealing and robbery belong to the characteristics of the evil one. It is a sobering thought that every act of theft makes us more and more like Satan and less and less like God.

Who do you want to look more like: God or Satan? We probably would all say God. I would guess that Zacchaeus would have answered that way as well, but I would also guess that many people in the town of Jericho saw the tax collector more along the lines of Satan than God. He was a Jewish man who worked for the occupying Romans as not just a tax collector, but a chief tax collector. He probably was in charge of other tax collectors in the region. He was certainly despised, seen as a traitor, and was almost certainly corrupt in his collection practices, collecting more than was owed, and likely skimming some of the excess off of the top of any tax collectors who served under him when they collected more than was owed.

But when Zacchaeus came face-to-face with Jesus, his whole perspective changed, and his response became kind of a case study for us of what following the instruction of Ephesians 4:28 looks like. His story is found in Luke 19:

Luke 19:1–9 CSB

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. 4 So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.” 6 So he quickly came down and welcomed him joyfully. 7 All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.” 9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham.

While he didn’t say this point precisely, I think we can interpret that if he was going to respond this way about his past theft, then he intended not to take part in any future theft as well. So Zacchaeus was a thief, but would be a thief no more. He even takes it one step further, and says that he will make restitution to those from whom he has stolen, declaring that he would pay back four times as much as he had stolen.

It’s one thing to just not steal. It’s something more to make restitution, if at all possible, for a theft that you have committed. This is part of what showed the depth of Zacchaeus’ repentance: he showed that he was turning from the idol of money, the greed that controlled him, and was trusting in God’s provision for his life. It didn’t mean that he didn’t collect taxes any more. Just that he likely only collected what was necessary from that point forward. His work would be what Paul refers to as “honest work.”

2) Work.

Let me clarify this before we get too into it. Work is a creation ordinance. Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden before the Fall with the express purpose to “work and watch over” the Garden (Gen 2:15). We are to be about something productive and fruitful as a part of our design. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to work at something that makes a paycheck or a tangible product in order to be productive. Consider the mom or dad who has the opportunity to stay home caring for children and household while the other parent works in some other way: this is important, productive work—for the parent who works away from home, for the children, and for society at large.

So, back to our look at Ephesians 4:28, Paul continues by saying:

Ephesians 4:28b (CSB)

28 Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands,

So the thief is supposed to go from being a thief to being a worker...Instead of stealing, he is to do “honest work.” Since this says “honest work,” that means that there is “dishonest work,” and any form of theft falls into this. Think of it this way: is it work to sneak into back alleys and cut a catalytic converter from under a van? Yes. Is it honest work? No. The con artist who preys on unsuspecting senior adults to steal from their savings by lying about being the IRS or the utility company, or anything else you can think of: Are they working? Yes. Is it honest work? No. I believe that if those who truly make their living by stealing from others would put as much effort into doing an actual, honest job, then society as a whole would benefit from it.

Likely dishonest work is the kind of work that Zacchaeus ordinarily had participated in: extortion, bribery, government-sanctioned theft. But now, because of his encounter with Jesus, he will no longer live this way.

Jesus decided to strike while the iron was hot in the moment of His encounter with Zacchaeus, and teach the crowd a lesson in stewardship and faithfulness. Immediately following the Zacchaeus passage, in fact to the same crowd at the same time, we have the parable of the ten minas:

Luke 19:11–23 CSB

11 As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem, and they thought the kingdom of God was going to appear right away. 12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman traveled to a far country to receive for himself authority to be king and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants, gave them ten minas, and told them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’ 14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us.’ 15 “At his return, having received the authority to be king, he summoned those servants he had given the money to, so that he could find out how much they had made in business. 16 The first came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten more minas.’ 17 “ ‘Well done, good servant!’ he told him. ‘Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, have authority over ten towns.’ 18 “The second came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 “So he said to him, ‘You will be over five towns.’ 20 “And another came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina. I have kept it safe in a cloth 21 because I was afraid of you since you’re a harsh man: you collect what you didn’t deposit and reap what you didn’t sow.’ 22 “He told him, ‘I will condemn you by what you have said, you evil servant! If you knew I was a harsh man, collecting what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow, 23 why, then, didn’t you put my money in the bank? And when I returned, I would have collected it with interest.’

They were called to engage in honest work until the return of their master, and were rewarded for their faithfulness in doing so. But the one who did nothing with the mina he was given didn’t engage in honest work. He didn’t even take the time to put his master’s money somewhere truly safe. It is a form of theft when we do not give our best productivity to our employers. So strive to fully earn the salary that you receive, work faithfully at whatever it is that you do, and glorify God through it.

And finally, there is an additional reason that we are called to work faithfully: so that we can give.

3) Give.

This is where the reversal comes in. We’ve seen that Ephesians 4:28 tells us not to steal any longer, but instead to do honest work with our hands. But then Paul goes one step further and says that we should go from being thieves to being workers to being givers:

Ephesians 4:28c (CSB)

28 so that he has something to share with anyone in need.

Something that has been so true about Eastern Hills for the entire time that I’ve been the pastor is that even though I almost never teach on giving or stewardship, this church is incredibly faithful in giving, so generous, and so willing to invest in Kingdom work here and throughout our nation and the world. Thank you for being willing to hold what God has given to you loosely, understanding that it belongs to Him and making it available for His purposes. And while I don’t ordinarily teach on giving, this is what our focal passage says is the foil to our tendency to steal, so we must consider it:

Think about this for a moment: if our flesh is dominated by our lusts, and desperately wants us to get and get and get all we can, hitting us with greed and coveting and desire for the worldly status or respect that we believe having money will bring, for us to freely turn loose of some of our wealth, some of our income, for the furtherance of the kingdom of God is an act of rebellion against our flesh. If we make a regular practice of giving, we are less likely to be tempted to steal. And to follow through on such a reversal from stealing to giving is a practical display of our repentance. Zacchaeus is a perfect example of this:

Luke 19:8 CSB

8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.”

Not only is Zacchaeus going to make quadruple restitution to anyone he has stolen from, but he is going to give half of his possessions to the poor not in order to earn God’s favor, but because he has already received it! His giving is the response of a grateful heart, not an attempt to bribe God into loving him. In this way, he is living out what Paul wrote in Philippians chapter 2:

Philippians 2:3–4 CSB

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.

This is a beautiful reversal: we go from taking what someone else has earned for our own benefit to giving what we have earned for the benefit of another. What’s really great about this is that this passage in Philippians goes right from this line of thinking into the incredible picture of reversal that we see in the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

Philippians 2:5–11 CSB

5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. 7 Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus left His throne to save His servants. He laid down His power on high to be laid low. He gave up His life and took on our death—specifically the death of thieves, if you think about it. In Matthew 27:38, we read:

Matthew 27:38 CSB

38 Then two criminals were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

The word here for “criminals” is also commonly used for “robbers” or “thieves.” Jesus went to the cross in the place of all humanity—and we’re all thieves in one way or another. And like the thief who was saved while hanging next to Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:42), if we come to Him in faith, trusting in His work to save us and not our own work, knowing and confessing that we need Him in order to be rescued from our sins, surrendering to Him as Savior and Lord, then like the promise He made to that first thief, we will be with Him in paradise. Jesus came so that we could have life to the fullest, and that only comes when we are in that right relationship with Him by faith.

John 10:10 CSB

10 A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

Would you surrender to Jesus today, right now, where you are? Repent, which is turn from your sin, and turn to God for your salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

Closing

And if that’s you this morning, whether you’re here in the room or online, please let us know. We want to be able to pray for you and get you some resources to help you as you start this new spiritual journey. If you’re in the room, you can come down and tell me during this time of invitation. Joe and Kerry will also be here. If you’re online, send me an email to [e-mail].

If this morning you are convicted of your need to repent of some stealing that you’ve participated in or some other sin in your life, feel free to come and pray at the steps, or you can make the pew where you are right now into an altar and confess your sins to the Lord right where you are, including at home if you’re online. Use the time of invitation to do that business with God this morning.

Finally, if you believe that EHBC is a church family that you can be a part of, where you can grow in your faith and use your giftedness to serve others for God’s glory, then come and let me know so we can set an appointment to get to know each other more, and answer any questions that you might have about EHBC. If you’re in the Albuquerque area, you can send me an email to [e-mail] so we can talk further about that.

You can also use this time of invitation to give online, or if you’re in the room this morning and would prefer to give physically, you can use the plates on the tables as you go by when we are dismissed in just a bit.

PRAYER

5th Grade Promotion (Joe & Trevor)

Closing Remarks

Bible reading: Ephesians 3 today through Wednesday, and then start Isaiah, one chapter per day.

Info for Ashura: August 10th starts a new year for Shia Muslims according to the Islamic calendar. Their first month is called Muharram, and is considered their second holiest month behind Ramadan. During the first ten days of Muharram, the Shia mourn over the death of Hussain ibn Ali as a means of aiding in their salvation. These 10 days are a dark time for the Shia, as many go to great lengths to display their grief, and in this many Shia who may have been open to the Gospel pull away. We have been asked to pray specifically for the Shia Muslims from August 10 to and including August 19. We have been given a prayer guide to aid in this prayer that we have printed for those who are here in the building. If you are not in the building, we cannot put the prayer guide on the website for security reasons for those who provided it. However, you can email me or the anyone in the office and we can send it to you.

Benediction:

Matthew 6:1–4 CSB

1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.