10 Commandments / The Eighth Commandment

(yes, I know the Roman Numerals are wrong… but the mistake is in the image acquired…)

Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.                     

  (Eph.4:28)

But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 

(I Tim.6:6-10)

 

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

 

(Heb.13:5)

 

Most of us would resent being called a thief, and likely we are quietly confident as we come into this study!   UK stats on theft are difficult to ascertain because of under-reporting, but also because theft, burglary, robbery, vehicle and bike theft, shoplifting, theft from the person etc. are all distinct categories.  But ‘stealing’ seems to constitute about 30% of all criminal activity.  That jumps massively when online theft, identity theft, fraud and so on are taken into account.  Much ‘stealing’ is below the threshold that constitutes criminal activity, or occurs in the ‘weasel zone’, the ‘gigantic grey area between good, moral behaviour, and outright felonious activity’ (Scott Adams).  Most of us have been victims of theft at some level, and tend to think of it as just a part of life.  We might even blame the victim for being careless, or insufficiently vigilant!  Massive industries help protect people from theft, or recompense them in the event of it.  Stealing, it seems, is endemic.  And of course, there are a myriad of socially acceptable ways to steal.  Not working the hours we’re paid to… or employers expecting their staff to work overtime without paying for it; ‘perks’ or ‘beating the system’; or ways of benefitting inappropriately from transactions (e.g. Amos 8:5; Hos.12:7 etc.).  And once we think past finance, the list of options becomes disturbingly long and complex.  We already sense why Scripture underlines respect for the property of others (e.g. Ex.22:7-14).  Such respect is part of what it means to love our neighbour.  The relentless honesty and transparency required by the Eighth Commandment can already be leaving us feeling exposed.

 

But to truly feel the force of this Eighth Commandment we likely need to rethink our understanding of property.  Property is a sacred trust from God.  The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it (Ps.24:1).  That includes what we ‘own’.  Our money and possessions have a double-ownership.  Beneath our ownership is the Lord’s.  Hence, property rights are not absolute, and what we own is not fully ours to do with as choose.  We see this expressed in a unique way in the Book of Leviticus.  During the Year of Jubilee, property is returned to the family who originally received it from the Lord.  As such, land prices were calculated on the basis of the number of years for harvesting crops until the next Jubilee (25:13-17).  But further, Moses taught that part of the reason Christians are given property is so that they can provide for the poor in their midst (Dt.14:28-29; Eph.4:28); and for the work of the Gospel (Num.18:21-28; Mal.3:8f.).  In this sense we are guardians of what God has given us – and if we misuse them, or if we waste them then we are robbing God (Lev.27:30, where tithes belong to the Lord). 

 

This Eighth Commandment – like all of God’s Law – is rooted in the character of God Himself.  He is generous and self-giving.   Like much of God’s self-revelation, it is demonstrated most powerfully in the cross of Christ. ‘You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich’ (II Cor.8:9).  The response to the Gospel travels in precisely the opposite direction to that of stealing:  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (II Cor.9:7-8).  To violate the Eighth Commandment, it turns out, is to deny the Gospel.  It born not so much out of greed, but out of a rejection of His will, and lack of faith in the goodness and providence of God.

Questions

In the light of Acts 2:45 and 4:32-35, is it legitimate for Christians to own ‘private’ property at all?  Does the Bible see property, or the ownership of property as sinful? 

 

It is often said that the Bible endorses slavery.  Do you agree?  How would you respond to someone who said they couldn’t believe the Bible was God’s Word, because of passages that seem to sanction or even approve slavery?

 

Why does Zacchaeus coming to faith in Christ have financial implications (Lk.19:8)?  What does this teach us about the nature of repentance?

 

Read Deut.5:19 & II Cor.8:1-9

 

In what sense is stealing born out of ‘a rejection of His will, and lack of faith in the goodness and providence of God’?  What other patterns of sin are usually associated with stealing (you might find it helpful to think of specific Biblical examples such as Judas, Jn.12:6, or Achan in Joshua 7.  While you are in Josh.7, have a think about the corporate implications of Achan’s personal sin)?

 

Do you see generosity / sacrificial giving as a ‘grace’ (see II Cor.8:1 & 7)?  Do you think the Macedonian Churches are behaving in a way that is reckless and irresponsible? 

 

Read I Cor.6:19-20.  How does the 8th Commandment connect with this verse?  In the light of your answer, what is the significance of II Cor.8:5 for your vision of discipleship, and living by God’s Law?   

 

Is Paul being spiritually manipulative in II Cor.8:8?  What do you think is going on I this verse?  How is the question of ‘giving’ a way of testing the sincerity of a Church’s love?  Do you think it would be appropriate to apply this test to Churches today?  Do you think MIE would pass the test?

 

How does Paul’s description of the Incarnation in II Cor.8:9 shape our thinking about the Eighth Commandment…  and our obeying of it?

Catechism:

331. What is stealing?

Stealing is the unauthorized and willful taking of what rightly belongs to another. (Josh.7:10–26; Prov.1:10–19; Luke 19:1–10; Acts 5:1–11)

332. Why does God forbid stealing?

God is Creator and Lord of this world, and all things come from him. Therefore, I must never take what God has not entrusted to me.

(Ex.23:19a; Lev.19:10–11a, 23–25; 1 Chron.29:14; Ps.24:1–2; 50:7–12; Rom.13:9; Eph.4:28)

333. How did God teach Israel to respect the property of others?

God required restitution when property was stolen or destroyed; and he forbade unjust loans and oppression of the poor. (Ex.21:33–22:15; Lev.25:35–37; Ps.37:21–22)

334. What things besides property can you steal?

I can steal or defraud others of wages, identity, credit, or intellectual property; cheat in school or on my taxes; or fail to pay my debts. I must repay and, to the best of my ability, restore what I have stolen. (Ex.23:8; Deut.24:10–15, 17–22; Prov.20:23; Jer.22:13; Micah 6:11; James 5:4)

335. What did Jesus teach about this commandment?

Jesus taught that I cannot serve God and be a slave to greed. I should seek first his will and rule, and trust that he will provide for my needs. (Matt.6:19–24; Luke 12:13–34)

336. How does this commandment teach you to view your possessions?

God desires that I be content, responsible, and generous with what he has given me. Everything I own I hold in trust as God’s steward, to cultivate and use for his glory and my neighbour’s good.

(Gen.1:28–31; Lev.25; Ps.37:16; Prov.16:8; Luke 12:32–34; 1 Tim.6:6–10; Heb.13:5)

337. As God’s steward, how are you commanded to use your possessions?

As I am able, I should earn my own living, care for my dependents, and give to the poor. I should use all my possessions to the glory of God and the good of creation. (Deut.15:11; Ps.41:1; Prov.30:8–9; Is.58:6–7; Matt.25:14–30; Luke 14:13; Eph.4:28; 2 Thess.3:6–12; 1 Tim.6:17–19)

338. What is an appropriate standard of giving for you as a Christian?

A “tithe,” which is 10 percent of my income, is the minimum standard of giving for the work of God’s Church and the spread of his kingdom; yet I should generously give of all that God has entrusted to me. (Gen.14:17–20; Lev.27:30–33; Deut.14:22–29; Mal.3:6–12; Matt.23:23; Luke 21:1–4; 2 Cor. 9:6–7)