Here are some of my thoughts on the eighth commandment from my final sermon on Exodus 20:15. Stealing is the taking of something that isn’t yours or the using of something that isn’t yours without the owner’s consent and approval.

Giving

Remember that the opposite of stealing is working hard that you may give to others.

Ephesians 4:28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

The whole purpose of your shrewdness, the ultimate end of your God-given gifts for work and business is that you may support gospel missions and help the poor. I say without reservation that if we were to rebuild this society the first thing we ought to destroy, after demolishing the baby murder clinics, would be the payday loan places and the houses of lottery and gambling!

God Owns You

If stealing is the taking or using of that which is not yours without proper consent of the owner, and 1 Corinthians 6:20 is true that you were bought with a price and you ought to glorify God in your body, then the failure to offer yourself as that living sacrifice, wholly and acceptable to God, is a violation of the 8th commandment. You are not your own.

We Are Constantly Thieves!

I’ve heard it said that when you break any of God’s commandments you also break the 1st commandment. I think there is an application of this idea for stealing as well.

Murder is the purloining of life. Sabbath-breaking is the unlawful appropriation of the Lord’s Day. All lust and adultery are the lootings of someone else’s wife or virginity. Lying is stealing someone’s trust. Blasphemy is the theft of God’s glory. Idolatry is pilfering the worship of God. And failure to worship and glorify the true God as God (especially our God), while giving that worship and glory to any other which is due unto him alone, is robbery of the affection and love that is due to our kind and gracious God and Father in Heaven.

You can listen to the whole sermon here: https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/cbcoh/sermons/41822182221436/