Thursday, March 15, 2018

Theft



Exodus 20:15 “Thou shalt not steal.”


Back to this little topical Bible study of the Ten Commandments given to us by God. They are not the ten suggestions, not the ten guidelines, but commandments which are sacred laws decreed by our sovereign Lord God to be obeyed by subject of the kingdom of Heaven. The eighth commandment of God is clear and straight-forward. Theft is the act of stealing. In law, it is the private, unlawful, felonious taking of another person's goods or movables, with an intent to steal them. To constitute theft, the taking must be in private or without the owner's knowledge, and it must be unlawful or felonious, that is, it must be with a design to deprive the owner of his property privately and against his will. Theft differs from robbery, as the latter is a violent taking from the person, and of course not private.

Deuteronomy 5:19 “You shall not steal.”

It is so simple that no one has to teach young children the injustice of theft; they know from an early age that to lose possession to someone else unjustly is wrong. So, we find it no surprise that God includes in the Ten Commandments a law against theft. The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “steal” as: to take and carry away feloniously, as the personal goods of another. To constitute stealing or theft, the taking must be felonious, that is, with an intent to take what belongs to another, and without his consent. Have you or I ever stolen anything, even if it was something small and insignificant? Then that would made us a thief and a transgressor of God’s law ... a sinner.

The “Hillbilly slang version” of this 8th commandments says: “Don't take what ain't yers. That's lo down and ya wouldn't want folks takin’ yer stuff.” In general, it follows the “Golden Rule” of “do to others what you would want done to you”, and falls under the commandment of “love your neighbor as you love yourself”. Matter-a-fact, the very opposite of theft is true righteousness.

Ephesians 4:28  “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”

There are obvious ways that we can break this holy and virtuous statute. To take, to break into, to swindle, to deceive, and shoplift are all forms of theft that break the eighth commandment. However, human beings can also commit theft in other, less obvious ways. Not performing our best efforts and giving eight quality productive hours of work for eight hours of pay is one way. Colossians 3:23-24 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”  But, these forms of theft pale in comparison to stealing from God. As Michael wrote in his message yesterday, Malachi 3:8 says, “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.” Yet, the God of the “Second Chance” stands at the door and knocks, waiting to forgive and restore our godly relationship. May we hear the knock and open the door to true righteousness and really live life aligned with the Lord’s perfect Word, Will and Way.

John 10:10 “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.”

Blessings in Christ.

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