Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20100110.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Exodus: God's Forming The Nation Israel For His Abrahamic Covenant
Part II: God's Forming Israel To Heed Him, Exodus 15:22-40:38
F. God's Giving His People Their Moral And Civil Law, Exodus 20:1-17
2. The Latter Six Commandments: Loving Mankind, Exodus 20:12-17
d. Commandment Eight: Upholding The Sanctity Of Private Property
(Exodus 20:15)
    Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

    God's Exodus 20:15 KJV command, "Thou shalt not steal" is commonly and widely violated in today's world (as follows):

    (1) Around 20 % of the world's population lives under some form of communism, and in the 1848 "Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, p. 94, out of the ten goals of Communism noted there, the first four promote the government's forced seizure of private property. Indeed, page 82 of that work claims: "The theory of the Communists may be summed up in the single phrase: Abolition of private property." (learn-usa.com, "Goals, 'Communist Manifesto'")

    (2) It may be more sophisticated, but government stealing is arguably rampant here in America: in a letter to the editor in the January 4, 2010 issue of the Waterbury Republican-American, p. 4A, Art McNally of Woodbury, Connecticut complained how lawmakers in Washington, D. C., Connecticut State legislators and even some local town officials in Connecticut use their powers "to force laws and policies upon the people they represent" by increasing taxes in a recession. To Art, and to many other citizens like him, this is an oppressive seizure of taxpayer money, a form of mass extortion!

    (3) It's easy to point a finger at the secular world on this issue, but Church leaders have notoriously become guilty of extortion, too:

    (a) Pete Francis of Marquette, Michigan, in an Internet blog posted on January 12, 2008, wrote: "Churches and religion -- legalized extortion and the robbery of the poor by the rich."

    (b) Sadly, his critique often runs true: in a Midwestern Christian College, on occasion, its impressionable, young college students have been chided from the pulpit in chapel for giving to the school's ministries only 10 % of their income while they allegedly greedily keep the other 90 %! Hence, the leaders have urged that, once in a while, they should give the 90% to the school and live on the 10%!

    (c) Years ago, a relative showed me a letter from a nationally famous evangelical leader. It was a response to my relative's $35 donation to his ministry, and it essentially said, "Thank you for your donation, but I feel you can give more the next time!"

    I was astonished at this "guilt-trip pressure", a type of extortion, and told my relative he need not give a penny more to that ministry!

    We may then ask, "As God calls us not to steal in Exodus 20:15, what does He mean, why, and how may we handle this sin?"

    Need: "What does God's Exodus 20:15 prohibition on stealing really mean, why did He give it, and how are we to handle stealing?!"

  1. The Hebrew text at the Exodus 20:15 prohibition on stealing uses the verb, ganab for "steal," and it means to take what belongs to another without his consent, The. Wrdbk. of the O. T. , v. I, p. 168.
  2. Various Ancient Near Eastern people groups viewed what one owned as an extension of his person, making stealing a wrong against the owner's person, so they executed the thief for stealing:
    1. When David cut off the edge of Saul's robe, his conscience troubled him, for to touch one's clothing was to touch his person, and it was Biblically wrong to lift up a hand against the Lord's anointed king, 1 Samuel 24:6, 10, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to 1 Sam. 24:5.
    2. With this viewpoint, various Ancient Near Eastern people groups inflicted the death penalty for stealing (Ibid., Theol. Wrdbk. of the O. T.), a practice reflected in Jacob's assertion in Genesis 31:30-32 that whoever had stolen Laban's idols was to be executed!
  3. God modified this culturally based punishment for stealing to align with His values, but in a way that still effectively curbed stealing:
    1. Human life is worth more than possessions to God (Luke 12:22-23), so the typical Ancient Near Eastern practice of punishing the thief for general theft by death was excessive punishme nt in God's estimation.
    2. However, as man saw his possessions as an extension of himself, God called for stealing to be punished in ways that lessened man's motive to steal, but that punishment by death still be used in extreme cases:
      1. The thief had to pay his victim double what he stole (Exodus 22:7), so he lost the very amount he tried to gain by stealing, thereby teaching him the futility of ever wanting to steal again! (Ibid.)
      2. Were the thief to use what he had stolen for gain, the penalty was doubled again, further inhibiting him from stealing, Ex. 22:1; Ibid.!
      3. Yet, for stealing a person or God's goods, the sin's gravity called for the death penalty, Ibid.; Ex. 21:16; Joshua 6:17-19; 7:11, 25.
  4. Scripture clarifies the kinds of thefts that can occur (as follows):
    1. Embezzlement, the fraudulent seizure of possessions by one entrusted to handle another's property, is stealing, Lev. 6:2a KJV, ESV, NASB.
    2. Robbery, the openly forced seizure of another's property, is another form of stealing condemned by God in Lev. 6:2b KJV, ESV, NASB.
    3. Extortion, the seizure of another's property against his will chiefly by intimidation or deception, is stealing, Lev. 6:2c KJV, ESV, NASB.
    4. Failing to return what was lost to its known, rightful owner is another form of stealing condemned by God in Leviticus 6:3.
    5. Failing to pay promptly what one owes a hired laborer who needs the pay is another form of stealing condemned by God, Leviticus 19:13.
    6. Failing to aid a person in dire need of basic living items when one can help him is another form of stealing opposed by Deuteronomy 24:19.
    7. Failing to work for a living while living off of the charity of others is another form of stealing condemned in 2 Thessalonians 3:8-10.
  5. However, God offers full forgiveness and renewal for the thief:
    1. When one believes in Christ as his personal Savior, he is forgiven all trespasses, including the sin of stealing, John 3:16; Colossians 1:14.
    2. If possible, the new believer should repay those he wronged, Ex. 22:7.
    3. For restorative therapy, God calls a former thief to work and earn his own income so he can even meet the needs of other folk, Eph. 4:28. This therapy gives one confidence that he can acquire what he needs without stealing, further diminishing future temptations to steal.
    4. The believer must learn to rely so much on God's faithful provision for his livelihood that, whether his income is bountiful or meager, he is content with his state, not needing to steal, Philippians 4:12-13, 19.
    5. As a goal, the believer should aim for a moderate standard of living: having too much tempts him to deny his need for God, and having too little tempts him to steal and profane God's name, Proverbs 30:7-9.
    6. The believer should work as independent of others [and government aid] as is possible for a living to protect his personal testimony and to avoid poverty (1 Thess. 4:11-12), reducing his temptation to steal!
    7. If a believer steals, he is forgiven by God through heeding 1 John 1:9!
Application: May we (1) trust in Christ as Savior to be justified by God and cleansed from any and all forms of stealing, John 3:16; Colossians 1:14. (2) Then, may we heed God's program of renewal listed in section "V,B-G" above for effective victory over stealing!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

 The fact that this sermon "happened" to be scheduled for this Sunday is of the Lord: the 2010 Church Budget was posted today on the sanctuary bulletin board to prepare for the January 29th Annual Meeting, and it shows that on December 31, 2009, we ended the year $7,009 behind in paying our missionaries' salaries!

There are several ways we can react to this news that would violate God's Word on stealing! Thankfully, the passages we used in this sermon give us edifying direction, so we apply them (as follows):

(1) One "reaction" may be to claim we cannot afford to pay our missionaries, and so do nothing about the deficit. However, that would violate Leviticus 19:13 that calls us to pay the needy laborer his wage without delay, paying what we agreed to pay! True, we have notified our missionaries that we may have giving shortfalls in this recession, but we have a duty to try to pay what we have agreed to pay them.

(2) Another "reaction" may be to say that the folk in the body who can "afford" to do so must give to make up this budget shortfall!

However, coercing anyone to meet the deficit from what is legally his personal property is extortion opposed by Leviticus 6:2c!

(3) Another "reaction" may be for us leaders to pressure the whole body to give more, but that would again violate Leviticus 6:2c!

(4) Thus, we must heed God's Word to live above stealing: namely, (a) Leviticus 19:13 and Leviticus 6:2c call us not to neglect our duty either to pay what we agree to pay our missionaries or not to press anyone to give more. (b) Then, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, 2 Thessalonians 3:10, Proverbs 30:7-9 and Deuteronomy 24:19 teach the solution calls every Church member to take Biblical responsibility as follows: we MAY have to ((1)) readjust the Church Budget OR ((2)) readjust where we each direct our contributions OR ((3)) ask ourselves if we should EITHER ((a)) adjust our standard of living UPWARD and give LESS to the Church better to care for our own family needs and so lessen our own temptations to "steal", OR ((b)) to adjust our standard of living DOWNWARD better to be able to give MORE toward the solution. ((4)) We must graciously but candidly communicate to one another on such matters and get involved in the Annual Meeting to arrive at an edifying solution!

May we trust in Christ for salvation from sin! Then, may we rely on the Holy Spirit to live above stealing in all of its forms!