What’s Mine is God’s

What’s Mine is God’s

Rev. Thomas A. West, Sr

October 10, 2021

Exodus 20:15

From the police log, Tracy Press October 8, 2021 …

· a woman stole his 2008 Toyota Sienna minivan from in front of the 99 Cent store,

· Two men were seen stealing a tool case from the back of a pick truck

· A green, 1995 Ford Ranger pickup was stolen

· A man stole about $132 worth of items from the self-checkout lane and ran out

Is it ok to steal?

It’s Okay to Steal

It is told that a preacher once told his congregation and these are his words … “My advice, as a Christian, is to shoplift”.

He went on to explain: “I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither.

I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices.”

What the OLD song say? HOLD UP WAIT A MINUTE!!! Wait a minute, STOP the presses THERE HAS GOT TO BE SOMETHING WRONG HERE. For a leader of a church, a sup-posit man of God, to tell his congregation to steal. WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?

We must be reading from different Bibles, because in my Bible,

When I read Exodus 20:15 it says, “You shall not steal.” Again, this command is a simple, two-word Hebrew phrase with a wide application even for our world today. It is especially applicable to we believers.

Today as we continue our series on the Ten Commandment, lets take a look at the eighth commandment, Thou Shall Not Steal!

Our Title for today’s message is What’s Mine is God’s

Our Scripture is taken Exodus 20:1-17

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Our focal verse is taken from Exodus 20:15

Exodus 20:15

Exodus 20:15 NKJV

15 “You shall not steal.

Just encase you missed it, Part one of this series was more of a question to everyone …”How Precious is Life” as we took a look at the sixth commandment. “You shall not murder”

The Prohibition

Just encase you did not know this fact --- let me educate you

This command prohibits taking something from another without

permission. Let’s think about some of the forms of stealing:

1. Robbery

2. Kidnapping

3. Shoplifting, often called the “Five-Finger Discount”

4. Identity theft

5. Employee theft

Did you know that employee theft is called the fastest-growing crime in America. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75 percent of employees steal from the workplace and that most do so repeatedly.

One-third of all bankruptcies in the US are from businesses with high rates of employee theft.

a. We steal time from our employers.

b. We steal goods from our employers.

6. Fraud, which is deception for personal gain or to damage another

[list only]

a. Insurance fraud

b. Telemarketing fraud

c. E-mail fraud—e-mails telling you that there is a large sum of money available

d. Political fraud

7. Theft of one’s purity

8. Cheating

[list only]

a. Cheating on tests

b. Cheating on taxes (Matt. 22:21)

9. Plagiarism

10. Copyright theft

11. Failure to pay debts

12. Gambling

These are just a few of the ways we can steal.

The Theology of Stealing

Whether you know it or not, there is a theology that underlies

stealing.

• I cannot trust in God’s provision; therefore, I will take whatever I want or need, when I want to and how I want to.

• I do not love other people; therefore, I will take what God has given to them so I can have it.

Think about it for a moment. Those two underlying theological premises are in diametric opposition to the two great commands Jesus gave in Matthew 22:37–40.

Matthew 22:37–40

Matthew 22:37–40 NKJV

37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Biblical Theology

What two important theological principles can we glean from this passage?

1. Private property is a biblical concept.

The right to private property did not originate with capitalism; it originated and derives its authority from God.

a. We need to respect the private property of others

b. We need to return or make restitution for goods that we have taken without permission.

No wonder Karl Marx hated religion so much. It countered his

social philosophy.

2. Hard work has been and always will be God’s plan for our lives Work is not the result of the Fall. Before the Fall, God made it clear that the man and woman were to work in the garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15).

Where in the scriptures as that an able body man or woman should sit at home and let someone else care for them? If its there please show me.

The Lexham Bible Dictionarydefines the word work as …

WORK An exchange of labor, skill, and time for monetary and intrinsic rewards. Often viewed in the Bible as an exercise of stewardship.

Employers and employees are expected to show regard to one another in their workplace behaviors, relationships, and decisions, and to conduct themselves morally and justly (an example would be Paul’s teachings for servants and masters in Eph 6:5–9; and Col 3:22–4:1).

Ecclesiastes 2:24 says ...

Ecclesiastes 2:24 NKJV

24 Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.

3. Hard work provides us with the opportunity to share with those in need and accomplish God’s purposes (Eph. 4:28).

Evangelical Christian author Jerry Bridges observed in his book , The Discipline of Grace: God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness that there are three basic attitudes we can take toward possessions.

The first says, “What’s yours is mine; I’ll take it.” This is the attitude of the thief.

The second says, “What’s mine is mine; I’ll keep it.” Since we are selfish by nature, this is the attitude that most people have most of the time.

The third attitude— and the godly attitude—says, “What’s mine is God’s; I’ll share it.”

Before we close our look at the eighth commandment, I want to look at one very serious form of theft.

Grand Theft: Stealing from God

• We steal from God when we fail to give Him our worship (1 Chr. 16:27, 28; Ps. 95:6).

• We steal from God when we do not give our tithes to Him (Mal. 3:7–9).

• We steal from God when we receive His saving grace and then do not tell others about Him (2 Cor. 5:11–21).

• We steal from God when we don’t use the gifts and talents, He has given us to honor Him and minister to others (1 Pet. 4:10).

• We steal from God when we fail to use our time wisely for His glory (Ps. 90:12; Eph. 5:15, 16; Col. 4:5).

• We steal from God when we claim ownership of what we have instead of acknowledging that all we have is from God (1 Chr. 29:14; Ps. 24.:1)

and

We steal from God when we fail to bring glory to God (Is. 43:7;

Prov. 30:9).

But the .....

The Ultimate Thief

We steal from God, but I want you to know that someone is stealing from you, and you may not even know it.

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” —John 10:10

you see, Satan wants to steal your life and take it to hell, with him. Jesus wants to give you eternal life with the Father.

Would you rather follow a life-stealer or a life-giver? Choose you this day, whom you will serve.

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Joshua 24:15

Joshua 24:15 NKJV

15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

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[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Jos 24:15). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.