Series: Big 10
“STOP, THIEF!”
Exodus 20:15
OPEN
When I was growing up, my closest neighbor friend, who was a few years older than me, loved to play Robin Hood. He always got to play Robin Hood while I always had to be Little John. After a while, I wanted to be Robin. He said, “Ok. We’ll play another game and you can be Robin.” I said, “Great! Who are you going to play?” He said, “Batman.”
That story isn’t true but it is true that one of my favorite characters growing up was Robin Hood. And I’ve kind of remained a fan over the years. Whether it was the Robin Hood portrayed in a book, the one portrayed by Errol Flynn, the one played by Kevin Costner, or the one played by Russell Crowe, I’ve enjoyed the Robin Hood stories over the years. They’re fun stories and they provide a strong sense of action and adventure in the telling.
But you know what? There is one thing we tend to forget about Robin Hood because it ruins both the character and the story. The bottom line is that Robin Hood was a thief. He was a crook!
Even though he robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, the end does not justify the means. A right motive does not justify a wrong method. Although his motive might have been right, Robin Hood was both a robber and a hood. The reason why everyone knows the name, Robin Hood, is for the simple reason that he lived his entire life breaking the eighth commandment which says in Ex. 20:15 – You shall not steal.
Unfortunately, America has become a nation full of Robin Hoods. In 2011, more than $30 million was stolen and just over 100 people killed or injured in some 5,000 bank robberies reported from across the nation. Retail crimes where organized gangs of shoplifters make off with store merchandise to turn around and sell it to other retailers costs the U.S. about $30 billion a year. 86% of us have something stolen every five years. An estimated 8.6 million households had at least one person age 12 or older who were victimized by identity theft in 2010.
If you’re looking for an honest employee, you might have some trouble finding one. According to Lousig-Nont and Associates, a Las Vegas based pre-employment testing firm, out of 7, 443 people tested for honesty, they ranked 52% as being in the category of low desirability for employment because they admitted to stealing or thinking about stealing regularly or said they would steal if they thought they had a good enough reason.
You might be startled and even disturbed by those statistics. While there have been thieves as long as there have been humans, something has changed recently in our culture. Thievery has become much more prevalent and even more socially acceptable in recent years.
We’re going to talk about some issues today that you might think I’ve included just to be stepping on someone’s toes. I can’t preach this message without talking about how we handle our own money. Realize that there are times that while I’m stepping on your toes, I’m stepping on my own as well. Heb. 4:12 – For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
So, just in case you think this may be one commandment you haven't broken, think about it this way: If you have broken any of the prior seven commandments, you've automatically broken the eighth commandment.
• If you have broken the first commandment, you have stolen from God the honor that is due to Him alone.
• If you have broken the second commandment, you have stolen from God the worship that is due to Him alone.
• If you have broken the third commandment, you have stolen from God the dignity that is due tp Him alone.
• If you have broken the fourth commandment, you have stolen from God the day that belongs to Him alone.
• If you have broken the fifth commandment, you have stolen from your parents the respect God demands for them.
• If you have broken the sixth commandment, you have stolen either another person's life or another person's reputation.
• If you have broken the seventh commandment, you have stolen another person's mate or another person's sexual purity.
There is more than one type of stealing and more than one way to steal. You don't have to crack a safe, pick a pocket or hold up a bank in order to be a thief. So how do we live out this commandment and live by God’s standard and not the world’s? It all boils down to three basic principles.
RESPECT WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN OTHERS
Eph. 4:28 – 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.
Although it’s not the immediate context of the verse, Eph. 4:28 tells us that there are only three ways that you can acquire money and property; only three ways anyone can gain anything:
by stealing it, by working for it, or receiving it as a gift from someone else. Therefore anything you have that you have not earned, or received as a gift or an inheritance, you have stolen and it makes you a thief.
We all know the obvious meaning of this commandment would be the actual physical taking of something from someone else whether you do it by force or by stealth or by deceit. It doesn't matter whether it is by gunpoint in broad daylight or by breaking through a window in the darkness of night. We can steal from other people. It doesn't matter to God whether it is a piece of candy or a piece of jewelry, whether it is a dime or a dollar. It doesn't matter whether the person you are taking it from is rich or not. It is stealing and God condemns it.
You might think you’re getting by with something. You might think that you’re quite the sneak thief and that no one knows what you’ve stolen or how you’ve stolen it. That’ is just not the case.
God sees every act of theft that takes place. In fact, I think God probably gets a kick out of the way robbers try to disguise their crime. A thief will break into a house after dark. A robber will put on a mask before he goes to the bank. A child will make sure nobody is looking before he steals the candy from the store.
The fact of the matter is that God knows it, because God sees through the dark, God sees through a mask and God is looking when nobody else is. The Bible says in Heb. 4:13 – Nothing in all 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 always sees and God always knows and God always watches. You can't steal anything that God doesn't take note of.
A burglar broke into a house one night. He shined his flashlight around, looking for valuables. He picked up a Blue Ray player and went to place it in his duffle when he heard a strange, disembodied voice that echoed from the dark saying, “Jesus is watching you.”
He nearly jumped out of his skin. He clicked his flashlight off and froze in place. He waited several minutes and didn’t hear anything else so he turned his flashlight back on and continued his work. Just as he started to disconnect the flat screen TV, he heard the same voice say, “Jesus is watching you.”
Freaked out, he shone his light around frantically, looking for the source of the voice. Finally, in the corner of the room, his flashlight beam came to rest on a parrot. Now angry, he hissed at the parrot, “Did you say that?” The parrot said, “Yep. But I’m just trying to warn you.”
The burglar says, “Oh, yeah? Who do you think you are?” The parrot said, “Moses.” Now the burglar laughed and said, “Who in the world would ever name their parrot Moses?” The parrot said, “The same kind of people who would name their Rottweiler Jesus. Sic him, Jesus!”
There are other types of stealing. There is the crime of shoplifting or what some people call the “five-finger discount.” Stores are doing everything they can to stop this problem. They use sophisticated alarm systems, one-way mirrors, locking devices, moving cameras, electronic tape signals, but the problem just keeps growing.
Every day there is a little over 1 million shoplifting incidences in America causing a loss rate of between $19,000 and $25,000 dollars stolen every minute. The vast majority of shoplifters either deny they were shoplifting or make an excuse for it.
But then there is the other side of the coin. It’s the business person who takes advantage of his customers. God says in Amos 8:5-6 –“Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land,5 saying, ‘When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?”— skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, 6 buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.”
You hear it and see it all the time. A repairman will tell you something needs fixing that doesn't need fixing. A doctor advises you to undergo a procedure that really isn't necessary. A salesman skips over the fine print. Someone sells you a car and doesn't tell you that it is leaking oil.
Another way to steal is to utilize someone’s creative or artistic endeavors without paying for them or giving credit to the person from whom the work originated. While preparing for this message, I read a sermon by James Merritt that impressed me so much that I’m using his basic work to bring this message today. Whenever I’ve used someone else’s work, I’ve always mentioned the name of the person who influenced what I’ve presented from the pulpit.
People are constantly pirating music, computer, programs and movies. Students, reporters, and preachers all plagiarize someone else’s work and claim it as their own. I've heard all kinds of rationalizations, but none of them work. God calls it stealing.
How about this one – unpaid debts. Do you owe money you never intend to pay back? I’m not talking about owing a debt that you can’t repay because you’re out of work or just making enough money to barely keep your head above water. There are people who intentionally incur debt knowing they’re never going to pay it back.
Have you ever borrowed anything and forgotten to return it? Walk through your home and your garage sometime and do an inventory. Do you have a book that you borrowed that you never returned? Did you break something that belonged to someone else and you failed to replace it? You may not think of this as stealing, but it makes you just as much a thief as if you put on a mask and took it at gunpoint.
RELEASE WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO GIVE HIM
There are at least three things that God has entrusted you with that God expects you to use for Him and for the good of others. First He has given you your time. Time is a resource. But it’s a different kind of resource. You can’t buy it, rent it, borrow it, store it, save it, renew it, or multiply it. All you can do is spend it.
Eph. 5:15-16 – Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. The ESV translates verse 16: making the best use of the time. The NASB: making the most of your time.
William Bougknight says that we find our best example on how to spend our time from Jesus. Bougknight says, “He was usually busy, but found time to pray a lot. His total ministry was accomplished in three short years, but he found time to play with children, to investigate a fig tree, to take a nap during a boat ride, to rest at noon-time beside a well, and to attend a wedding reception.” God has given you your times and seasons. Do you make the most out of them? If not, you’re robbing God.
Next, God has given you your talent. Every person in this room has gifts and abilities that are God-given. You have a duty and a responsibility to use those gifts and those abilities for the glory of God.
If you can sing or play an instrument, you should be using that talent to lead others in worship and glorify God. If you don’t, you’re stealing. If you have the gift to teach, but you refuse to lead a small group or a Bible study class, you are stealing. Think about the gifts and abilities that you know God has given you. If you are sitting on your hands and keeping that gift in your pocket you are stealing.
Rom. 12:6-8 – Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. You can steal not only by taking something that does not belong to you, but by failing to use something that has been given to you that can be used for the glory of God and the good of other people.
There is one other thing that God wants you to give to Him and that is not only your time and talents, but His tithe. See, this is where people say, “The church only wants my money.”
There are three comparative views toward money and possessions. The first is the communist view – everything belongs to the state. The second is the capitalist view – everything belongs to the individual. And finally there is the Scriptural view – everything belongs to God. Psalm 24:1 – The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.
Perhaps the most egregious example of stealing in the entire Bible is found in the Book of Malachi. God says through his prophet in Mal. 3:8-9 – “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.
Don't miss the principle here that God teaches using the tithe as an example. If someone has something that belongs to them and you take it from them then you are stealing. On the other side of the coin, if you have something that rightfully belongs to somebody else and you keep it, you are also stealing.
This is going to sound harsh, but there is a lot of thievery in the church. Just a few years ago on average it was determined that church members gave 2.52% of their income to the work of God. Now if this verse is true then the average person in the church is a thief.
I know there will always be people who say something like, “Wait a minute. Tithing is Old Testament.” So are the Ten Commandments. How can you say you won’t be obedient to them just because they’re in the Old Testament? They’re the principles on which the Old Testament law is built and the New Testament reinforces them.
Somebody else says, “Well, we are under grace. We are no longer under law.” Where does the Bible say that just because we are under grace that we ought to do less than we do under the law? In fact, we owe a greater debt to grace than we do the Law.
The opposite of stealing is not the avoidance of theft. The opposite of stealing is giving. The opposite of taking from others what you have not earned to satisfy your wants is to give to others what you have earned to meet their needs.
Paul says in Acts 20:34-35 – You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. 35 In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
RELY ON WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN TO YOU
The sin that is greater than taking what doesn’t belong to you and keeping what belongs to someone else is that of refusing to trust a God who said He would provide everything you need.
Phil. 4:19 – And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Now here the question is very simple. If you believe that one verse of scripture, why would you ever be tempted to steal?
Right before God lays out the 10 Commandments, He says in Ex. 20:2 – “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” He was reminding the people of Israel that he had already provided everything they needed. For 19 chapters before the 10 Commandments, God had cared for the needs of his people. One of the names of God in the Old Testament is Jehovah Jireh – “God who provides.”
God was saying, “You need to remember some important things. When you were thirsty, I gave you water. When you were hungry, I gave you manna. When you were in the dark, I gave you a pillar of light. When you were in danger I parted the Red Sea. I've already proven that I will provide everything that you need.”
When God gave this commandment what He was really saying was this, “I don't want you stealing, because I am your provider. I want you to live every day trusting that I will supply all of your needs. You don't need to scheme, manipulate, deceive, lie or steal to get what you need. I am responsible for you and I will take care of you.”
Isn't that exactly what Jesus said? Mt. 6:31-33 – “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Stealing is a sin against God in at least two ways. First, stealing is a failure to respect what God has provided for others. It robs what he has given to someone else and he wanted them to have. If not, he would have given it to you.
The second way is that every theft is a failure to trust that he will provide for our needs. Whenever you take something that doesn't belong to you, you are denying that God has given you or is able to give you something that you need.
CLOSE
I’ve saved the ultimate theft for last. If you’ve never come to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are the greatest thief of all. The moment that Jesus Christ died on the cross, His blood paid for our sins, and He bought us lock, stock and barrel.
1 Pet. 1:18-19 - For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
That ought to be a great comfort to all of us who have ever broken the eighth commandment or any other commandment. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, if you remember, He died between to thieves, so that every thief who would trust in Him could be saved by the God who provides everything that we need.
