Gospel Prism

You shall not steal
Exodus 20:15

Introduction

90% of evangelical Christians claim that they never break the eighth commandment. (Philip Ryken, Written in Stone, 173) But is this really the case? If you’ve been with us through the study of the Ten Commandments, you probably know the answer to that question. If we use the standards that the Lord gives to us, that is a standard of the heart, you know how difficult it is to keep any commandment faithfully. I’m afraid the eighth commandment is no exception. Stealing is a sin no one wants to admit because frankly, it is embarrassing. Thieves steal and we are certainly not thieves. We are merely “borrowers.” We are “sharing resources.” We are “redistributing wealth.” We are “playing Robin Hood.” The euphemisms abound.

But stealing matters to God which is why it is part of these commandments. It matters to God, because as we shall see, stealing undermines one’s trust in God and His goodness. And like all of the commandments then, stealing continues to build on the premise that someone other than God has control over our lives, our selfish nature, our greed for possessions, our longing for reputation. And in this way, we again break the first commandment. We have another god before God.

We Steal Because…

And this really is the ultimate reason that all people steal, either they don’t believe in God at all and therefore do not find they will be held accountable before anyone, or for those who believe that there is a God, simply do not trust God in His provisions. We steal because we do not trust God.

Have you ever stolen something in your life? I certainly have and regret doing so. I remember going into the local candy store stealing packs of baseball cards (I think its God’s divine justice that later in life, those every same cards were stolen from me by my very own brother.). I stole those cards because at that time, those cards were more important to me than anything I had, including my love for God and integrity before the world. I can say that I didn’t trust that what God provided for me was far greater than my “need” for those cards.

Now, you really can fill in anything into that space. If you steal anything, you are essentially placing that object, or perhaps it could be a reputation, or a position at work, anything, as more valuable than God Himself. As you can see, not trusting in God is also not worshipping Him alone as God. Idolatry is often a strong incentive to steal.

Also, we steal because we take stealing, and therefore sin, lightly. If we think stealing is only ‘borrowing permanently,’ we simply do not believe sin is all that bad. There used to be a time when thieves could be executed for their crimes. Or at the very least thieves who were caught would have their hands sliced off. But today, stealing is often either ignored or even admired.

But stealing is sin. And we must never forget that a dear price was paid for each sin committed. Either sin will be dealt with justly in hell or on the cross. There is nothing small or petty or trifle about sin at all. In the book Pierced for Our Transgressions, the authors write: “The problem of our sin runs so deep that we cannot and will not save ourselves. Sin is decreational, and only the Creator can recreate his world.” (Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey, and Andrew Sach, Pierced for Our Transgressions, 117) So when we brush aside stealing, we are in actuality brushing aside sin and therefore brushing aside the God that detests all sin. It’s for this reason Paul tells us in Romans 1:18 that God’s wrath and anger is poured out upon all people. We are all sinners and God is angry and sin and sinners.

Also, we steal because we don’t love our neighbor as ourselves. Stealing is not only failing to trust God with our provisions, but it is also failing to trust God that He has provided someone else with their provisions. Paul tells us in 1 Cor 13:5 that love does not “insist on its own way.” Jesus declares that the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves in Matthew 22. If this is true, then surely stealing from another ignores love. And there is plenty of stealing going around. Ask the retail industry.

But the stats are truly mind boggling when it comes to theft. According to the 2003 National Retail Security Survey, US retailers lost $33.6 billion due to employee theft and shoplifting. 47% of all retail losses were from employee theft.

We steal from one another because frankly, we don’t really care for another. People steal because there is no remorse over the troubles that another goes through because of that theft. I know that some of your parents have owned different businesses. They have probably seen their fair share of petty thieves in their line of work. What those kids or adults who stole didn’t realize was that their theft really made it difficult for your parents. And such a person has no love at all for the shopowner who is working so hard just to get by.

We Steal By…

Then, how do we steal? There are the most obvious ways of stealing.

Theft: First, there is outright theft. Theft comes in different ways, such as burglary, robbery, larceny, hijacking, shoplifting, and petty theft. But really, all of these ways of stealing are nothing more than taking what does not belong to you.

Fraud: Next, there is fraud. Fraud is to intentionally misrepresent something or someone for the sake of unlawful gain. Amos 8:5 describes the old means of fraud, unbalanced scales. All one needed to do was adjust the scales to one’s favor and a great profit could be made at the marketplace. It’s subtle, but it works and that is fraud. To be defrauded is a terrible feeling. I shared with you the story of when our house had fleas. For one moment, we let the neighborhood cat inside to pet it, not knowing that it was covered with fleas, and it left some for us as a gift. And so we called the exterminator, Terminix, for some help. They told us it would be $100 for the first spray and $100 each time they came. However, they noted that we could cancel any time. Well, they misrepresented themselves because what was actually in the contract we signed was not what they said. We actually had to pay for 4 sprays, regardless of whether we needed them or not. In other words, even after the fleas are gone, we have to pay for 3 more sprays.

Oh the feeling of being defrauded of money we don’t really have. It’s unnerving. But, this is the world we live in, where money is more important than integrity.

Employee Theft: I had to separate this from the first category because this is such an abundant form of thievery today. I wonder how many of us steal from our workplaces without thinking we are doing so. Of course, there are the trifles such as stationary, etc. But we could pad our expense accounts. We could even steal our workplace’s time by spending more time not working than doing what we’re supposed to be doing.

Employer Theft: It’s not just the employees who are stealing from employers. Employers also steal from employees. I have a friend who worked for a company for decades. He turned down other jobs to be loyal to his company. But when he was a few years away from retirement and collecting his pension, his company let him go. That’s plain thievery. Employers will take advantage of employees by making them work terrible hours without rightful compensation or benefits, especially when the labor market is not as tight.

Permanent Borrowing: Another form of stealing is to borrow something, state that we will return it, and yet, fail to do so. Now you might think that your intention was to return it. But in reality, if our priority was love, we would have made certain that that borrowed item was returned to the rightful owner. To do anything less is to break this commandment.

Intellectual Property Theft: In a computer era, it is far too easy to steal. We steal software, music, technology, video games, and videos all through illegal downloading. Do I think that industries have gone a bit overboard in dealing with some things, especially when it comes to the advance of the Gospel? Yes, I do. But I also know that we are still dealing with theft, even if it is intellectual property.

Plagiarism: When I was in seminary, one of friends who was a professor called me into his office and shared something with me that was striking. He was Korean and so was I and he let me know that 10 out of 11 students who were on academic probation. A few for all sorts of reasons, but a number of them for plagiarism. I must admit, it was sad, but not surprising. In our day and age, plagiarism is encouraged. Today, many preachers are plagiarizing other people’s sermons because they’re unwilling to put in the work of writing their own (or at least quoting others).

Reputation Theft: One can steal another’s reputation. It really does happen. Perhaps you have seen it in your job or perhaps you’ve been guilty of this yourself. To leap over another person on the promotion line, one will degrade another secretly to the boss, so that he will be undercut. Such games are common in many office and work environments and it amounts to nothing less than thievery.

Spiritual Theft: There are those who lead people astray in doctrine and away from God. God says through Ezekiel: “Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves!” (Ez 34:2) These are nothing less than spiritual thieves who are robbing God of His people and there will be severe punishments for such people.

Miserliness: Jesus confronts stealing in Matthew 6:19-24 by essentially talking about miserliness. The miser, the hoarder of one’s wealth, is storing up treasures on earth. He is so caught up with what he owns that he cannot enjoy anything. And so Jesus tells the people, “Don’t be a miser.” That is, don’t store up treasures on earth or you will find that you not only steal from God by withholding that which He has given you, but you also are worshipping your wealth and possessions when these become something you crave. As Jesus says, “You cannot serve both God and money.” This is why Jim Eliot’s words are right on when he says: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

We Steal And Yet…

Can anyone in here, given this list, honestly say that they have never stolen anything? Can anyone say that within this past year, they have not stolen anything? It’s hard to say in the affirmative to any of these. Does this mean that taking pen without permission is stealing? If we take this commandment at its word, the answer is, “Yes.” This commandment is much more difficult to fulfill and most of us here would find that we have fallen short of God’s glory when it comes to stealing.

But I do think it is of note that the God we worship was nailed to a cross between two thieves. He was crucified, not just between two thieves, but as a thief Himself. And so Luther puts it so well when he said:

For Christ is innocent so far as His own Person is concerned; therefore He should not have been hanged from the tree. But because, according to the Law, every thief should have been hanged, therefore, according to the Law of Moses, Christ Himself should have been hanged; for He bore the person of a sinner and a thief—and not of one but of all sinners and thieves. For we are sinners and thieves, and therefore we are worthy of death and eternal damnation. But Christ took all our sins upon Himself, and for them He died on the cross. Therefore it was appropriate for Him to become a thief and, as Isaiah says (53:12), to be “numbered among the thieves.”

If our Lord died a horrific death for stealing, then may we never be caught saying that stealing really doesn’t matter. When we’re asking, “What the problem with taking…,” we are not understanding just how terrible all sin is before God. Such sin has led our Savior to the cross. But such sin has also been nailed to the cross so that we truly do “bear it no more.” This is the wondrous freedom the Gospel of God in Christ brings to all who trust in the work of the cross.

We Obey This Commandment By…

So, because of such grace then, we strive to obey this commandment. We do so by

Our Contentment in the Cross: Paul tells us in Phil 4:11: “For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” He knows this contentment because of 4:19, that in Christ every possible need will be always met because at the cross, every need is ultimately met. When you stop there and dwell on Christ crucified as a thief for our thievery, it really is hard to say that what we “need” is that critical to our lives. Only then can contentment in all circumstances can be found. We are content with what we have.

Our Stewardship: God has given us all that we have. Jerry Bridges puts it well when he says that there are three attitudes we can take towards 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—the godly attitude—says, ‘what’s mine is God’s, I’ll share it.’” (Ryken, 176)

As I said earlier, God has given us all we own. This commandment assumes ownership or else the commandment wouldn’t make sense. There would be no stealing. So I simply cannot take your things demanding that you be a “steward.’ However, you really are a caretaker of God’s goods. And you will either trust God with your goods and therefore, are ready to give and share with others. Or you will trust yourself, hoard your goods and forget that all things come from God. As the parable of the talents reveal, every person will be held accountable for the way in which they view what they have been given by God for the Kingdom. To hoard one’s own goods for personal gain alone is a worship of oneself as god.

Stealing No More: The story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19 is an important one in apply the 8th commandment. Here was a thief of the people, a crooked tax collector who did the unthinkable, collected taxes for the hated Roman government. On top of that, he collected more taxes than was required so he could become wealthy himself. But when he climbs that tree and Jesus calls him down, Luke records in verse 6: “So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.” I love this verse because it shows me that there was such joy in his heart to know that Jesus was coming. He was saved because His Savior who would free him even from his worship of his goods had come. And he didn’t care what the people thought of him, even as they grumbled at him. From this great joy of salvation, he responds by telling Jesus, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” Zacchaeus responds as one saved. He is struck with His Son, but understands what it means to have full joy apart from his own wealth and status. And so, he is able to give away his goods and make reparations for that which he has stolen.

Because of the work of Christ, we know in our hearts that we own do not rule over us as a god. And so we can give freely to the poor, to missions, to Christ’s church, etc. And we no longer need to steal because our Savior paid the cost of those, like many of us whether we want to admit it or not, are thieves. We are free from this sin forever and that’s great news.