We are continuing our study this morning of the Ten Commandments by looking at the Eighth Commandment, which is a prohibition against stealing. Exodus 20, 15, saying, you shall not steal. Now, this is the third commandment in a row that consists of only two words in the original Hebrew text. The sixth commandment said, no murder. The seventh commandment said, no adultery. And now this eighth commandment, very succinctly, two words says, no stealing. So what exactly does it mean to steal? Well, the Hebrew word for steal literally means to carry away. So the commandment forbids us from carrying away in the sense of taking anything that simply doesn't belong to us. Now, you may think that unlike some of the other commandments, this one really doesn't apply to you because you aren't a thief, you've never robbed a bank, you haven't stolen someone's car, you haven't embezzled funds or held up a store, even shoplifted. Therefore, you may think that your only relationship to this commandment is that you've been the victim of someone stealing something from you. That's not the case because all of us, all of us, have violated the Eighth Commandment by stealing. Martin Luther, the German reformer, once said, if all thieves, who nevertheless do not wish to be considered such, were to be hanged to the gallows, the world would soon be desolate and would be without both executioners and gallows. In other words, he's saying everyone is a thief in one way, or another, and he's right. Now, while it is true that you may not be aware of how you have stolen and how you have broken this commandment, nevertheless, you have. And the reason we often don't recognize our sin of stealing is because we simply have an inadequate view of what constitutes stealing. Someone has put it, theft has many faces and some are very subtle. And so today we want to delve into an understanding of the real meaning, the applications, the implications of this Eighth Commandment, so that in addition to having a proper biblical view of stealing, we'll also know the positive virtue that God wants us to cultivate in order to obey Him in this area. Therefore, as in previous messages on the Ten Commandments, we're going to approach our study this morning by asking several pertinent questions about stealing that will help us to unfold the meaning of the Eighth Commandment with its host of implications and host of applications. So we begin with the first question being the essential question to ask, what does it mean to steal and how do we do it? I've already mentioned to you that the Hebrew word for stealing means to carry away in the sense of carrying away something that just doesn't belong to you. It belongs to someone else. And you've taken it without getting their permission or without the intention of returning it. That's stealing. So just to be clear, stealing isn't the same as borrowing something. It's taking what doesn't rightfully belong to you and keeping it. Now, in light of this basic definition of stealing, there are a number of easily recognizable ways that people steal, with overt theft and robbery, burglary being the most obvious. And many of us have been victims of these crimes. And those things hurt when you're a victim of a crime. I first experienced the pain of having something stolen from me when, as a young boy, my new bicycle was stolen. It was a devastating experience. And then years later, Michelle and I came home one night to find our house robbed. And I've also had my car stolen. There are other forms of stealing that our society easily recognizes as evil and worthy of punishment. These include hijacking and shoplifting and any form of extortion. And because these are such obvious violations of the Eighth Commandment, I don't think we even need to talk much. about them. However, some forms of stealing are not so obvious because they don't fall into the category of stealing where force or violence might be involved. Instead, these are, as I said earlier, they're more subtle forms of stealing. So let me list some of them for you. For example, many people steal from the government by refusing to pay their taxes. But Jesus very clearly said, render to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar. In other words, he was saying, give the government what rightfully belongs to them in the form of taxes. The Apostle Paul expanded on paying taxes to the government when in Romans 13 verses 1 through 7 he said this long passage, every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? And do what's good, and you'll have praise from the same. For it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword for nothing. For it is a minister, he's talking about the government, it's a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath, on the one who practices evil. Therefore, it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience sake. Now listen to this. For because of this, you also pay taxes. For rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them, tax to whom taxes due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Now here Paul makes it very clear, he couldn't make it any clearer, that we are to pay taxes for services rendered to us by our government. If we don't pay our taxes then we are cheating the government, we are stealing from them because we are taking their services but not paying for them. So we take services but we don't think we have to pay for them. Now there are some Christians who try to justify their crime of not paying their taxes by rationalizing that it would be wrong for them to financially support an institution that is opposed to biblical standards and morals. But that is an argument that is somewhat somewhat hypocritical. You can't say that you are concerned about morals or a lack of morals coming from the government and then do something that is morally wrong by refusing to pay them for services. To refuse to pay your taxes is morally wrong because it violates God's standard of not stealing. It is stealing. But it's not only stealing from the government when we don't pay our taxes, it's also stealing from them when we falsify or hide information on our tax returns. As someone has said, to do that is the same as if you walked in and stole gold from the National Treasury. Now, another way you can violate the Eighth Commandment is if, as a merchant, you overcharge your customers. This is dishonest. The Bible condemns this when it refers to merchants in the Old Testament who used dishonest scales to make their buyer think that they were getting more for their money. Hear the words of Micah chapter 6 verse 11. Can I justify wicked scales and a bag of deceptive weights? And here God refers to these scales as wicked and these weights as deceptive. In other words, it's dishonest gain which is stealing. Jesus strongly condemned the money changers in the temple in Jerusalem. Why? Because they were charging exorbitant rates to those coming to buy animal sacrifices. Today we would call this price gouging. Because the people had no other alternatives. Where were they going to go? They were stuck with these outrageous prices. And though these money changers didn't use violence, or force to rob the people. They were still crooks. They were robbers and this is why Jesus referred to them in the context of the temple. He called it a den of thieves. He called them a den of thieves. So, if you purposely overcharge a customer, then you're a thief. Even if your crime is considered legal. It is morally wrong and you are guilty of breaking the eighth commandment. Another form of subtle stealing is when you as a customer receive too much change back from a business transaction. And you knowingly, knowingly, allow yourself to keep the money. Though you may never be caught, it's really a stealing because that money doesn't rightfully belong to you. It belongs to someone else. It is stealing. And keep in mind, though you may not be caught by anyone, God knows, God sees everything. Another area of stealing in the business world that many people are guilty of is that of employers underpaying employees in order to increase their own profits. This is stealing because by paying your employees less than they are really worth, you're taking money from them for yourself. Jeremiah 22 verse 13 addresses this when God says, woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and his upper rooms without justice, who uses his neighbor's services without pay and does not give him his wages. Jesus spoke about employees having a fair wage when he said, In Luke 10, verse 7, he said, the laborer is worthy of his wages. In other words, we are to pay someone what their labor is worth and not exploit them by padding our own profits. Another form of stealing in which Christians are notorious is stealing by violating copyright laws, such as in buying a sheet of music and making copies for everybody in the choir, or in some cases, everybody in the whole church. This is stealing. It's stealing from the artist who makes his money by the sale of that music. In addition, another form of stealing is plagiarizing, taking a writer's hard-earned work and passing it off as your own. Related to this is academic cheating, because it not only robs the time other students have put into their studies, but it diminishes the results of their work when compared with the cheater. Another form of stealing is borrowing something from someone without returning it. Now, you may very well have not intended to keep this item originally, but nonetheless, if you don't return it, your borrowing has then become theft. Psalm 37, 21 says that one of the marks of the wicked is that, and I quote, he borrows and does not pay back. Now, in addition to tax theft, overcharging theft, keeping money that doesn't belong to you theft, underpaying employees theft, theft by violating copyright laws, plagiarizing and cheating theft, and borrowing but not returning theft. There are numerous occasions in the business world where people tend to steal on a regular basis without giving much thought to it. They've just done it so much and they've done it so long that they've just become callous to their actions as theft. They don't even think about it anymore. For example, unless you have a job which allows you to have flexible office hours that you could make up, you are guilty of stealing time from your employer when you come in late and you leave early. You get paid for a full day's work. You're also guilty of stealing money from your boss when you do substandard work and not give your best effort. You're being paid to do the best work that you are capable of. In addition, you're guilty of stealing when you use the company's equipment for personal use without paying for it, unless you've been given permission to do this, or taking materials that don't belong to you. They belong to your company, and you've taken them for your own use. That's stealing from your company. Now, you may look upon these thefts as so petty and so minor that you might think, well, it's a stretch to even put these in the category of stealing. But it is stealing because ultimately you are taking something that just doesn't belong to you regardless of the size of the item. You see, a common rationalization for this type of larceny is that, well, it's okay to steal from a company or business because you know why? They have plenty of money. They're not going to miss any. And besides, they pay me such a low salary that I have a right to take from them because, well, they just owe it to me. This is known as the Robin Hood principle. It's alright to rob from the rich in order to help the poor, you being the poor. But listen, all stealing, regardless of how petty it is or who you steal from, it is morally wrong, folks, and it violates the Eighth Commandment. And the real tragedy about taking inexpensive items is that not only do you compromise your integrity, and your testimony for Christ over such petty stuff. But once you violate your conscience by stealing inexpensive items, you will be more inclined to steal more expensive items, and it won't bother you because now you have a hardened heart. That's what happens when you violate your conscience enough. So the first question that helps us to understand the Eighth Commandment is this. What does it mean to steal? How do we do it? The answer is we steal by taking what doesn't belong to us, regardless of the amount of the item or the form of stealing something. So we move on to the second question that helps us to understand the meaning and implication and application of the Eighth Commandment. And that is, why is it a sin to steal? Now, you may be surprised that I would ask such a question as to why it is a sin to steal. Most people really haven't thought much about this beyond the fact that, well, God said we shouldn't steal. However, it is important to understand the root issues of stealing. and why stealing is wrong, because unless you understand the moral reasons behind the prohibition against stealing, you won't really have deep-seated biblical convictions against taking what belongs to others. So, why is stealing such a terrible thing to do? Why is it wrong? Well, in addition to the basic reason being that to steal from others is just a lack of respect for them and their property and also a lack of love for them, there are three other reasons related to the issue of why stealing is wrong. You might want to write these down. First of all, stealing is wrong because it stems, note this, it stems from a lack of trusting God to properly provide for you. You see, the reason why stealing exists in the first place is because someone has something that we want. So we take it, we steal it. Or we have something someone else wants and they take it from us. But note this, no one would possess anything that could be stolen if God hadn't given them that possession in the first place. Let me explain this. The foundational biblical truth that makes stealing so wrong is that God has established an individual's right to private property. God, who ultimately owns everything, has granted each of us the right to have personal possessions. Listen to these verses that tell us that God owns everything. Psalm 24, 1, the earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it. Psalm 50, verses 10 through 12, for every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains and everything that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all it contains. Deuteronomy 8 verse 18, but you shall remember the Lord your God for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth. God says that even our ability to get up in the morning and go to work, that's a gift from Him. He gives us that so we can make money and have certain possessions. That's something that God grants us. Now the primary way that God, who owns everything, provides for us so that we are sustained and have property and possessions is by working hard. We work hard. Proverbs 14 verse 23 says, in all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. And then Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4, 11 and 12, make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and to work with your hands and not be in any need. He means financial need, possession need. In other words, those who work hard have their needs met by the very process of hard work. So by implication, the eighth commandment affirms that God, as ultimate owner of everything, has granted us the right to be in possession of things as a result of working hard for those things. See, even though you have worked hard for what you have, God is the one who by his mercy, who by his kindness and grace has provided all these things for you. This is why we read, for example, these words. God said to the Jewish people, the nation of Israel, as they were on the verge of entering the land of Canaan. Listen to this. This is so important. Deuteronomy 8 verses 11 through 18. This is for Israel, but certainly applies to us. Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes, which I am commanding you today. Otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and gold multiply and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud. And you'll forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He led you through the great and terrible wilderness with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there is no water. He brought water for you out of the rock of Flint. In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know that He might humble you and that he might test you to do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, my power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth. But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who is giving you power to make wealth, that he may confirm his covenant, which he swore to your fathers as it is this day. So God says, don't forget that whatever you have, I've given it to you. We read this wonderful verse in 1 Corinthians 4-7. Paul said, what do you have that you did not receive? The apostle doesn't even have to answer that. It's so obvious. The answer is nothing. Everything we have, we've received. James 1-17, every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father. Whatever you have is a kind and gracious gift from your heavenly Father. And because God grants us the right to private ownership, we can dismiss the notion of communism, which says what's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine. The Bible does not teach communism. Now, there was a time the Jerusalem church temporarily had to live like that in a communal setting. They did that out of necessity. It was a very unique situation. But the Bible doesn't teach that that's the norm. What the Bible teaches is that each of us has been given exactly what God wants us to have. And whatever we have, is considered ours personally and not for common consumption. In fact, the Bible makes it very clear that God gives us the right to own private property. When in Acts chapter 5, Peter addresses that lying couple, Ananias and Sapphira, he actually addressed first the husband, Ananias, about some land that he and his wife owned. Listen to what Peter said. Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. Now, the sin of Ananias and his wife Sapphira wasn't in owning property. Peter admitted it was yours. Their sin was in lying about how much they sold it for. Therefore, in light of the fact that God has given us the right to own property, We are to respect each other's property and not take what doesn't belong to us. You see, stealing is morally wrong, note this, because it disregards what God has providentially given to someone else. Whatever you have in the form of wealth, property, possessions, has been providentially given to you by God. He has entrusted these material things to you, not someone else, but to you. Therefore, listen closely to this, for any of us to steal something that doesn't belong to us is essentially a sin of not trusting God to properly provide for us. You see, the root issue that lies at the heart of stealing is distrust in God's goodness to provide all that we need. Those who steal are essentially saying that God's plan for them is wrong. They have to have more than what God has provided for them, and so they'll get it by taking it from someone else. When we steal, whether it's by force or subtly, we are no different than the Old Testament Israelites who sinned against God by grumbling, complaining against God in their wilderness wanderings because they did not believe that He could or that he would provide for them. And so we read in Psalm 78 verse 19, they spoke against God. They said, can God prepare a table in the wilderness? The implication is we don't think he can. You see, their sin was unbelief in God's goodness and his power to provide what they needed. And that's exactly the same sin everyone commits who steals from another. It's a lack of trust. God has given you what he deems necessary for you. Don't take from somebody else. Now the second reason stealing is morally wrong is because it is motivated by a covetous heart. What is a covetous heart? It's a heart that wants what someone else has. That's what covetousness means. I want, I yearn, I long for what you have to become mine. Those who steal demonstrate that not only do they lack faith in God's goodness and his ability to provide for them, but they are actually dissatisfied. They're dissatisfied with God's provision for them, so they covet. They want what others have, and eventually they steal from them because they want it so badly. We'll learn more about coveting when we study the 10th commandment, but it is a wicked sin to covet because essentially, coveting is an accusation against the Lord for not doing what you consider to be the right thing. The right thing being giving you what you believe you should have, what you think you deserve to have, what you feel entitled to have. And as a result, you're gonna take what you want from others. That's stealing. Now, the third reason that stealing is morally wrong is that it is related to the sin of, note this, the sin of laziness. Scripture commands us to be diligent, commands us to work hard. It condemns laziness. It calls it slothfulness. As I said earlier, God provides for us by the method, the system of hard work. But those who steal want to get something for nothing. They don't want to work hard to get something. They want you to work hard. So they'll take what you've earned by your labor. Remember what Paul said to the Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, starting in verse 8. Nor did we, he meant he and his colleagues, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you. He means a financial burden to you. Not because we don't have the right to do this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you. Paul said, I could have pulled out my apostle card and said you should take care of us, but I didn't do this. I worked very hard night and day to become an example, a model for you, so that you would follow our example of hard work he means. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order if anyone is not willing to work. then he's not to eat either. Scripture very clearly teaches that if someone is capable, note that, they're capable of working and they don't, then we shouldn't give them any handouts because that just encourages laziness and it gives them an opportunity to steal under the guise of charity. Now it's important to understand that Paul is not referring to people who have a disability and cannot work. or those who have run into a hard time and temporarily need some help. He's not referring to that at all. He's referring to someone whose financial woes are caused by their own unwillingness to work. Those who make a career out of being unemployed. We're not to encourage this by giving to them because to give to them is to encourage them to essentially steal from us. Now, so far in our study, we have attempted to understand the meaning of this eighth commandment by asking two key questions. Number one, what does it mean to steal and how do we do it? The answer, by taking what doesn't belong to us. Second question, why is it wrong to steal? The answer, it's wrong because it's a lack of trust in God. It's motivated by covetousness and it encourages laziness. Now the third key question which helps us to understand the Eighth Commandment is this. What positive virtue does the Eighth Commandment encourage us to cultivate? I've mentioned before in previous studies of the Ten Commandments that every time one of the commandments is given in the negative form of you shall not, it is implied that there is a positive virtue of you shall that God wants us to develop to counteract the tendency to violate that particular commandment. So what is the positive virtue of the commandment not to steal? Well, the positive virtue of this commandment is clearly spelled out in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 28. Listen to what the Apostle says. This is a radical truth. He writes, he's writing to believers who have been converted He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that, here's the purpose, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. This is a marvelous verse in scripture, because it not only tells us that once we come to faith in Christ, we should never ever steal again, since stealing is characteristic of our old way of life as an unsaved non-Christian. But this verse also reveals that one of the marks of a converted individual is that instead of taking from others, like He once did. He now works hard in order to earn enough money to give to those who are in need. As I said, this is a radical truth. A true believer isn't to work hard only to take care of himself and his family needs. That's certainly part of it. But he's also, Paul said, to work hard to take care of others outside of his family who have legitimate needs, people he knows. Could be believers, could be unbelievers. In other words, the positive virtue implied in the Eighth Commandment is generosity towards others. See, God isn't only interested that we refrain from stealing. He also wants us to cultivate the virtue of generosity and being open-hearted, open-handed, and liberal in giving to others. In fact, generosity is actually an evidence of God's grace at work in your life, meaning, folks, it is one of the proofs of your salvation. Listen to these remarkable words in 2 Corinthians 8, 1 through 4. I know that in English they don't exactly flow off the tip of your tongue, so I'll explain after I read this what Paul means, but here's what he said. We wish to make known to you the grace of God, which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, Macedonians would have been the Philippians, that in a great ordeal of affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints. Now, as I said, it is easy to get lost in all of these words. kind of don't flow. But what Paul is essentially saying here is that although the Macedonian Christians were dirt poor, yet they gave generously out of their poverty to meet the needs of the poor Jewish Christians living in Jerusalem. And Paul tells us why they did this in spite of their deep poverty. Look back at verse 1, which is the key to it all. Now brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia. Now Paul says that because the Macedonians had experienced God's grace in their lives due to their new salvation in Christ, his grace had transformed them from being like everybody else, self-absorbed people, into now generous people who wanted to share what little money they had with their brethren in need. You see, when God saves you by His grace, He doesn't leave you alone to just figure things out. He doesn't leave you out there in your sinful lives. He begins to transform your character by His grace. Slowly but surely you begin to change. And one of the evidences of this transformation is that you want to share your resources with those who are in need. The story of the conversion of a man named Zacchaeus, a wee little man, a corrupt tax collector. It illustrates that when salvation comes to someone's life, crooks are transformed into generous givers. Here's what we read in Luke chapter 19, starting at verse 1. He, meaning Jesus, he entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zacchaeus was trying to see who Jesus was and was unable because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree in order to see him, for he was about to pass through that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house. And he hurried and came down and received him gladly. When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, He's gone to the guest of a man who's a sinner. Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I'll give back four times as much. And Jesus said to him, Today, today salvation has come to this house because he too is a son of Abraham. for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Not only did Zacchaeus make restitution for what he had stolen in taxes, but he gave, note this, he gave half of his possessions to the poor. Listen, Zacchaeus wasn't stuck on 10% tithe law. He spontaneously gave 50% of everything That's generosity, and that's why Jesus said today, salvation has come to this house. You see, Zacchaeus' new generosity was evidence of what? Evidence of a new heart. This is why the Bible often notes generosity as an evidence of our salvation. It just goes against our nature, which means that our nature has been changed so that we start to become generous. First John 3, 16 and 17. We know love by this, John said, that he, Christ, he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. And what does he mean by this? That we die for the brethren? No, not necessarily. But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? If someone doesn't have a heart of generosity to meet the need of a brother or a sister in Christ who is financially struggling, and they have the means to meet this need, then according to the Apostle John, one has to wonder if they have really come to know Christ. You see, God's grace, folks, it opens our hearts as well as our wallets to others. I had a friend who years ago told me, he said, Steve, when I was converted, my wallet was converted too. Listen closely, it's because when you are saved, God's grace is at work in your heart, progressively conforming you to what? We talked about you being transformed, you're changing, but into what? Into the very image of Jesus Christ, into his character, so that you are becoming more and more like Christ. And Jesus is the epitome and supreme model of being generous and giving. So part of God's work of sanctification in your life is that he is growing you in generosity so that you are becoming more and more like Christ in that area of life. Listen to what Paul wrote about Christ's generosity. I love this, 2 Corinthians 8, 9. For 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. This is the Christmas message. Jesus was rich in glory. But in becoming a man, he gave up his riches and he became poor so that we who are spiritually bankrupt could become spiritually rich. And he is our example of giving and generosity. Listen, don't make the mistake of equating giving, whether it be to a needy individual or to God himself, with merely a tithe, a 10%. The New Testament doesn't even teach tithing. There's no command of tithing in the New Testament. In fact, even Old Testament believers didn't give 10% of their income. Most Christians think that, but it's not true. They actually gave closer to 30% of their income because they gave three tithes a year as taxes for religious purposes to support the priests for feasts for the poor once every three years. So there's no such thing as just 10% anyway. And the New Testament very plainly teaches that we are not under the civil laws given to Israel, therefore we are not obligated to give any tithe Which, by the way, was a tax. It was not a love offering. It's a tax. So, if we're not commanded to give a tithe, then how much should we give today? Well, according to the Apostle Paul, we are to give whatever amount you want to give. Now, when's the last time you heard a pastor say that? The amount is up to you. But you, you should have the right attitude in whatever amount you give. 2 Corinthians 9, 7, each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart. Whatever you purpose in your heart to give, God says, that's what you give. But not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful, joyful giver. So Paul teaches that whatever amount you decide to give, which is up to you, then give it joyfully without any reluctance. However, while the precise amount is left up to you as to how much you give, Paul did give us a guideline in helping us decide how much to give. Listen to what the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 16 verse 2. On the first day of every week, that's Sunday when the church would gather, each one of you is to put aside and save as he may prosper, that's the key, as he may prosper so that no collections be made when I come. Now, when the Apostle Paul says that a person should give as he may prosper, he means that our giving should be in proportion to God's blessing in prospering us. If God has blessed you financially with just a little, then your giving should be just a little. If God has blessed you financially with more, then your giving should be more. Whatever amount you decide to give, folks, it's up to you. But the primary principle to keep in mind is that whatever amount you give, you should be generous in proportion to how God has blessed you. Now, the question that usually comes up whenever Christians are exhorted to generously give is, well, if I'm generous in giving to others, then who's going to take care of me? Well, the answer is God. God. And let me give you a passage that teaches this. 2 Corinthians 9, 6 through 8. Now this I say, Paul said, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one of us must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. Let me translate this. Essentially, what these verses are teaching is that if you are generous with others, then God will take care of you by being generous with you. In other words, those who bless others by liberally sharing their resources will experience God's blessings of material resources. Now, don't misunderstand. This is not the same thing as the health and wealth gospel. The health and wealth gospel says you give with the motive of getting so you can spend it on yourself and have all kinds of luxuries. No, but the scripture teaches. You give. You give generously and as God gives generously back to you, you give more to others. You give more. See, the clear and consistent teaching of scripture is that you can count on the Lord to generously supply your needs when you are generous in supplying the needs of others. But if you are stingy with people and you are stingy with God, then God is going to withhold material resources from you. It is very possible that some of you may be having financial struggles because of a lack of generosity. The eighth commandment is an encouragement not only to refrain from stealing, but to actually give and share generously with others. So what should be our response, folks, to the Eighth Commandment? You shall not steal. Well, the first thing we have to do with this commandment is honestly admit that we are not innocent. We are guilty of breaking it, one way or another, because we have stolen from others. In one way or another, we're all thieves, and therefore we are guilty of breaking this law. The good news, the good news though is that Jesus Christ forgives sinners. I remind you that our Lord was crucified between two thieves. And one of them repented and turned to him for forgiveness. And in response to this one thief, Jesus said, today you'll be with me in paradise. How could he say that when this man was indeed a crook? He was a criminal. He said this because while on the cross, Christ was bearing the full guilt of this thief's sins, all of them. Not only what he has stolen, but all of his sins. Though innocent of ever stealing, Jesus was treated by the Father as if he was a thief and a robber. And therefore, he bore the legal guilt for this man's sins, this thief's sins. Jesus was treated as one who broke the eighth commandment, but he never did. But those who come to Christ trusting him for their salvation alone, they're forgiven of their stealing as well as all of their other sins. So I ask you, have you been forgiven? Have you been forgiven? If not, then you are condemned before God as a thief, a criminal whose sins must be punished. But if you trust Christ, the person of Christ, If you trust him as the one who was punished in your place, then you will no longer be condemned, but will be wonderfully, completely forgiven. If you'd like to speak to one of our pastors about trusting Christ for your salvation, then just see me after the service. Now, if you are already a believer, and you're aware that you have taken something that does not belong to you, then you need to give back what you've stolen. You need to return it. This would be part of your repentance. This would be the fruit of your repentance. This would be a good time for all of us to examine our hearts to determine if there's any sin that you need to repent of, including stealing, including not being generous with others. Lord Jesus, we admit that we have been guilty of violating the Eighth Commandment. Some of us a lot more than others, but all of us guilty before you. We have taken things that do not belong to us. And Lord, we are grateful for the forgiveness that you have given us in yourself. That you were treated like a thief. You were treated as a lawbreaker because of our sins. And then you forgave us and you clothed us in your righteousness by imputing it to our account, crediting our account, Lord. So we thank you for that. And we remember that today. We remember that your death was for all of our sins. We can't even fathom that, but we take it by sheer faith. But we thank you for doing that for us. You who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become your righteousness in God's sight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand for closing prayer. Our Father, we thank you for your wonderful grace. Lord, thank you for forgiving us in Christ. Thank you for teaching us this morning that stealing is not just real obvious, but it's subtle. as many forms and faces. So help us in the future to be aware of that, to have moral integrity with our finances, our business dealings. And Lord, to always be generous, to never hold onto too tightly to things because you have a way of loosening those grips. Lord, we acknowledge that everything we have comes from you. Help us to see that we are simply stewards of what you've given us, and that we long to show love to others by giving to them. And we do pray for those who may not know you, Lord, that you'll draw them to yourself, that they would understand, enlightened about Christ's death being the full payment for sinners, and that they would repent and come to faith in you. We pray this all in Jesus' name, amen.