Sermon
Thou Shalt Not Steal
March 13, 2005
Pastor Leighton Sheley

I'd like to invite you to take your Bibles and open to Exodus Chapter 20. We are continuing our study of the Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue. The Ten Commandments are God's guidelines for a long and happy life, and for a safe and prosperous community. The United States of America has enjoyed relative safety and prosperity as the result of being founded upon the Ten Commandments and biblical principles. However, in recent decades the safety and prosperity of our nation has been diminished as succeeding generations drift farther from God and His holy word.

Our attention today is drawn to Exodus Chapter 20 and verse 15 which reads, Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not is pretty clear - no, with no exceptions. But what is stealing? Or what is to steal? Now if we were to look that word up in Webster's New 20th Century Unabridged Dictionary we'd find these definitions: 1) To take or appropriate another's property, ideas, etc., without permission, dishonestly or unlawfully, especially in a secret or surreptitious manner. 2) To get or to take slyly, surreptitiously or without permission. 3) To take or to gain insidiously or artfully. 4) To move, put, carry or convey surreptitiously or stealthily, that is to relocate without the knowledge or consent of the owner. And then the fifth definition of the word steal is in baseball - to gain a base or bases safely without the help of a hit or error. Now in accordance with this commandment our church league does not allow base stealing.

I want you to notice that the definition is not limited to tangible items. In fact, I'm going to invite you if you would to take your Bibles and now move to Leviticus chapter 19. We are going to take a look at verses 11 and following. The definition is not limited to tangible items. If someone steals another's reputation it's called slander. If someone steals another's authority it's called insubordination. Intangible items can also be stolen.

We're in Leviticus 19:11, God says, "Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another." Now these ungodly behaviors are usually found working together in collusion; stealing, lying, and deception. Continuing - "Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord."

Swearing falsely by God's name robs Him of His truthful reputation. Verse 13, "Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight." We are going to come back to this verse in a few minutes. Verse 14, "Do not curse the deaf." Question - can a deaf person hear you cursing them? No, right? To curse a deaf man is to treat him with disrespect. It is to rob him of his human dignity. "or put a stumbling block in front of the blind." Now what happens if you put a stumbling block in front of the blind? You cause someone to fall or trip. You subject him to possible ridicule and injury. You rob him of respect and safety. "but fear your God." In other words, I am watching. "I am the Lord."

"Do not pervert justice." That is, do not rob someone of justice. "Do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great." Just because they are some kind of a celebrity does not mean that the standards of justice are reduced or adjusted. "but judge your neighbor fairly." In other words, to not rob him of a fair trial. "Do not go about spreading slander among your people." In other words, do not rob someone of their reputation. "Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life." In other words, do not rob your neighbor of safety. "I am the Lord."

"Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so that you will not share in his guilt." In other words, do not rob yourself of innocence. If you know that your neighbor has done something wrong and you are silent on the issue, you share his guilt.

"Do not seek revenge." In other words, do not rob justice of due process. "or bear a grudge against one of your people." In other words, do not rob someone who wants to have forgiveness or reconciliation. "but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."

So stealing is not just limited to tangible property. Now according to Webster's dictionary a thief is someone who steals. A person who is guilty of theft or larceny, one who takes the goods or personal property of another without his knowledge and consent, and without the intention of returning it. Now a thief is somebody who has stolen something. So how many times does somebody have to steal something to become a thief? Just once, right?

So they say that confession is good for the soul. If you have ever stolen something in your life - a penny, a friend's toy, cheated on a test, taken credit for something you didn't do, even if only once in your entire life, I'd like to invite you to raise your hand right now and so do confess. Okay? Thank you very much. I'd like to know I am not alone. And for those of you who didn't raise your hand there is another commandment that...(Congressional laughter)

The fact of the matter is this commandment applies to each and every one of us. Now stealing is known by many, many different names. In fact, I'm going to give you just a partial list of names for stealing. To pilfer, filch, purloin, lift, as in shoplift, pinch, snitch, swipe, cop, plunder, rob, rifle, loot, burglarized, thieve, defraud, swindle, cheat, sack, ravage, embezzle, larceny, plagiarize, misrepresent, impersonate, identity theft, forge, copyright infringement, insubordination, misappropriation, and that is only a partial list. That is a small fraction.

You know it's incredible how many ways people can create to steal from each other. Now you notice that there is a continuity and an interrelated aspect to the Ten Commandments. Taking the name of the Lord in vain is stealing God's glory. Adultery is stealing another man's wife. Murder is stealing another man's life. There are so many ways that we can steal; we can't even begin to cover them all in our brief time today. But let me give you some of the more common ways that stealing takes place.

Number one, deceiving customers is stealing. The problem is not new over 3000 years ago God spoke through His prophet Amos, in Amos chapter 8, and said, "Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land, saying, 'When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?'" In other words, all they are interested in doing is making money, and anything that gets in the way of making money including any religious observance and so forth is something to get through.

And then God goes on to describe what it is that they are doing and how they are going about making. God says, "skimping the measure". Bigger boxes, less content. "boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, selling even the sweepings with the wheat." Now that means when they swept up the floor they didn't throw out the dirt they threw it in the wheat and sold it to the customer by weight.

Now God said, "The Lord has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: 'I will never forget anything they have done.'" Have you ever wondered if God is looking down on every transaction? Every time a cash register drawer opens God is looking down and watching. When a repairman makes unnecessary repairs, God is watching. When the salesman glosses over the fine print, God is watching. When a person sells their car without disclosing the problems with it, ouch, God is watching. When the contractor skimps on the quality or the completeness of the job, God is watching. God is watching every time.

Hebrews 4:13 says, "Nothing in all of creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." God is watching and someday we will have to give an account.

That's one way of stealing. Another way is defrauding employers. If you pad your expense account or you take company supplies or equipment home for personal use, without permission, that's stealing. If you waste time on the job or intentionally decrease your natural productivity, that's stealing. If you take a 20-minute coffee break when the agreement calls for 10 minutes, that's stealing. If you arrive late or leave early without consent or just cause, that's stealing.

Now some might say, well I'm not stealing money or merchandise, so what's the problem with fudging a little on the time? The problem is that time has value. Benjamin Franklin said time is money. So if you're stealing time, you're stealing money.

Let's see we can illustrate this on a personal level. If someone goes into your wallet or purse and takes money out of it without your consent, what are they stealing? Well they're stealing your money, right? But they're also stealing your time. How did you get the money? By trading your time. In your employment you make an arrangement with your employer, I'm going to trade this number of hours for this amount of money, so when somebody steals your money they're also stealing your time.

Now Benjamin Franklin also said, Dost thou love life? Then waste not time, for time is the stuff that life is made of. And what wise Mr. Franklin was saying is that time is the measurement of life, that life is measured in time, and when someone steals times they are also stealing a portion of another person's life.

Now the value of property in our culture is measured in money. So if someone steals property they're stealing money, and if they're stealing money they're stealing time, and if they're stealing time they're stealing a portion of someone else's life. Don't steal time. Don't kill time. If you are paid to work for 40 hours then put in an honest 40 hours of labor.

The third way that stealing is often conducted in our society today is by delaying payments. God says in Leviticus 19:13, do not hold back the wages of a hirer man overnight. Now in that culture at that time workers were paid daily at the end of the day. That was the standard business practice of the day. And in effect God was saying don't make late payments.

Now the business practices of our day are different, that every business agreement has a payment deadline either expressed or implied. When you go to the corner market to buy some groceries the payment is payable immediately, if you are purchasing through a credit card company then the payment is payable on a given day of the month. The point is - make your payments on time. Don't make late payments. Keep your agreements.

Another common way stealing takes place is defaulting on loans. Psalm 37:21 says, The wicked borrow and do not repay. What kind of person?...the wicked, right?

1 Corinthians 6 says the wicked do not inherit the kingdom of heaven. The wicked borrow and do not repay. If you borrow something make sure that you give it back. If you borrow someone's garden tools make sure that you give them back. It doesn't matter how small or how large the article is. If you borrow someone's ski equipment make sure that you give it back. Whatever you borrow make sure that you give it back.

Don't take out a loan without the intention of paying it back, and the worst kind of loans to make are to family and friends. You might consider just giving them whatever it is that they are asking to borrow with no expectation of it being returned.

Another way that's common is defrauding or deceiving the government. That's stealing as well. Romans 13:6 says, This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes. Now there's no reason why you should overpay on taxes. A legal strategy for minimizing taxes is good stewardship. On the other hand, tax evasion, that is, not paying what you rightfully owe, is illegal, and even more importantly, it's stealing according to God's Word.

Now there might be some who say well some of the taxes are unconstitutional, and to that I say there are proper ways of challenging or contesting what you think are illegitimate taxes. However, wisdom dictates that you should choose your battles, and Jesus Himself models this.

There's a story told of Jesus and Peter in Matthew chapter 17, and in that story Peter is approached by one of the temple tax collectors and said, do you and your Master not pay the temple tax, the two drachma tax? So Peter went to Jesus to figure out how to respond to this and Jesus gave a short but susinct legal argument, the conclusion of which, the summary of which, was no we don't owe this tax.

After Jesus had taken the time to say, in effect, we do not owe this tax, Jesus said, But so that we may not offend them...and then He gave instructions to Peter to go fishing - throw his line in the lake. Jesus said the first fish that you catch open its mouth and you'll find a four drachma coin in, take it to the temple and pay the two drachma tax on you and the two drachma tax on Me. So Jesus said, no we don't owe this tax, but so that we don't offend them go ahead and pay it anyway. Jesus was modeling choose your battles wisely.

Now another way that we steal is by defrauding the Lord. There's a passage of Scripture in Malachi Chapter 3 where God speaks through His prophet, saying, I the Lord do not change. Will a man rob God? And yet you rob Me. But you ask, How do we rob You? and then God gives the answer - in tithes and offerings. You are under a curse because you are robbing Me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.

Now the storehouse was a reference to the place of worship. Tithe means tenth, and was used as a measure of what was to be brought to God in worship.

Everything that we produce ultimately comes from God. Now some might say, hey, I worked hard for that, and yes you did, but who is it that gave you the strength to work hard? Who is it that gave you the health to work? Who is it that gave you the mind to be able to accomplish the task? You see the source of life is God. Everything we produce in life has God as its ultimate source. Without God we could accomplish nothing.

In effect God leases us life and charges us 10%. Now He could have charged more.
He could have charged 20% or 30% or 50%, He could've charged 99%. Who's going to argue with God? But God says, I want 10%, and not just any 10%, God wants the firstfruits. He wants His 10% first, before anyone else gets their percentage, God wants His 10%.

Now the very first issue between brothers, that is Cain and Abel, was over bringing an offer to the Lord. Worshiping the Lord with tithes and offerings is from the very beginning of mankind and it predates the giving of the law. If someone says that we're no longer under the law and therefore are not obligated to bring tithes and offering, they expose their lack of understand.

You see the law was given through Moses 400 years after Abraham brought an offering to the Lord through Melchizedek, and many centuries after Abel brought his offering to the Lord. Worshiping the Lord through tithes and offerings has occurred throughout the history of mankind beginning with the very first generation. Giving to God through tithes and offerings predates the giving of the law.

God says through His prophet, withhold from God and you are under a curse, but give and you will be blessed. Test Me in this says the Lord Almighty and see if I will not throw up the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. God wants to bless us with so much that we won't even be able to manage what He blesses us with.

Now why should we be honest? Why should we be people of integrity? Well let me suggest four reasons. First reason, we are being watched by God. Job 34:21 speaks of God, saying, His eyes are on the ways of men; He sees their every step. Now if you think that you can steal and not get caught or prosecuted, ultimately you will stand in judgment before God. You may be able to fool the shopkeeper, you may be able to fool the policeman, you may be able to fool the judge, but you are not going to be able to fool God to whom we must give an account. We are being watched by God

The second reason why we should be people of integrity is that we reap what we sow. Galatians 6:7 says, Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Let us not be weary in doing good...at the proper time, we will reap a harvest. If we are stealing then we sowing into the sinful nature, and we reap what we sow.

The third reason why we should be honest is that dishonesty damages the soul. Jesus said what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? If you lose your soul in pursuing profits, what have you gained? When you die all that you have gained is lost and you stand bankrupt before God carrying a debt of sin. So then what have you really gained?

Someone has said you can sell your soul for a few measly dollars, but you can't buy it back at any price.

1 Corinthians 6:9 declares, "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." Thieves are not going to heaven. Dishonesty damages the soul.

There's a fourth reason, and that is that honesty will be rewarded by God. In Luke chapter 16 Jesus told the parable of the shrewd manager and He concludes with these words, Jesus said, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"

Now what are these true riches of what Jesus is speaking? Well, the worldly wealth will pass away with the world, but true riches are those that do not pass away - heavenly riches, eternal riches. And Jesus is saying how we handle the wealth that God has put into our stewardship will affect the wealth that we receive in eternity. If we handle this world's wealth wisely then we will be rewarded with a great wealth in heaven and eternity.

Those are four reasons why, but the next question is, how? How do we become people of integrity? Well the first step is to repent. Repent means to turn around. That's what the word means. It means quit going in the direction that you're going and go the other direction.

Ephesians 4:28 says, "He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need." You see the opposite of stealing is sharing. The opposite of taking is giving. Instead of stealing we need to share. Instead of taking we need to give. Repent.

There is a second step that we need to take as well, and that is to make restitution wherever possible. Restitution is a biblical principle. In Exodus chapter 22 God gives guidelines regarding restitution. It reads: "If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep." What God is doing by this is making sure that crime does not pay.

"A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing, he must be sold to pay for his theft."

Now God created man to be free. God intended man to be free. The founding documents of our nation which were all built upon biblical principles declare that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution uses the phrase life, liberty, and property.

Someone who steals another person's liberty is called, in the Old Testament, a manstealer. We might call them a slaver or a kidnapper. The judgment for manstealing was death. It was a capital punishment. Now although one man cannot rightfully steal the liberty of another man, a man can by his own behavior give up his own liberty and sell himself into slavery by his behavior and his choices. A thief must certainly make restitution, but if he has nothing he must be sold to pay for his theft.

"If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession-whether ox or donkey or sheep-he must pay back double. If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and lets them stray and they graze in another man's field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard. If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution."

And the chapter continues with example after example of making restitution. Restitution is a biblical principle. That's true in the Old Testament; that's also true in the New Testament.

Luke chapter 19 describes the story of Jesus coming through the little town of Jericho and there lived a dishonest tax collector named Zacchaeus. The story reads, "Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamorefig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, "Jesus has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' " But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house.""

Zacchaeus put his money where his mouth was. He didn't just make an empty declaration of faith, he changed his behavior, and Jesus declared without question that salvation had come. Restitution is not only an Old Testament principle it's also a New Testament principle as well.

So then why should we be honest? Why should we be people of integrity? Because God is watching, because we reap what we sow, because dishonesty damages the soul, but honesty will be rewarded by God. And how do we become people of integrity? By repenting and making restitution wherever possible.

Thou shalt not steal. Let's pray.

Lord, as we have all acknowledged, this commandment applies to us, each and every one of us, and each and every one of us are guilty of having broken it. Lord we are forever thankful that our salvation is not dependent upon our ability to keep these Ten Commandments, because if it that was the case we would all be lost. Thank you Lord for salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, Your only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior.

And although, Lord, our salvation is not related to the keeping of these Ten Commandments, these Ten Commandments allow us to glorify You in our living when we keep them. Lord it is not within our capabilities do so within our own strength or our own power. Thank you Lord for giving us Your Holy Spirit who lives within us, who patiently and faithfully transforms us little by little into the image of Jesus Christ.

Thank you Lord for Your grace, Your mercy towards us. We desire to be people of integrity so that we might bring honor and glory to You. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. God bless you.