The Eighth Word: Stealing from Your Neighbor

Yeah, good morning, everyone.

If I haven't gotten a chance to meet you yet, my name is Ed, as both Jen and now Matt have

introduced.

I'm a pastoral intern here, and in the mini-series of the Ten Commandments, within the broader

series of preaching through the book of Exodus, we've now come to the Eighth Commandment.

That's in Exodus 20, verse 15.

Exodus 20:15

That's Exodus 20, verse 15.

Exodus 20:15

Please bow your heads in prayer as we just pray one more time for the reading and preaching

of God's Word.

Father, God, I am your humble servant.

All that I am, I'm just a herald of the King.

God, help me to preach faithfully to your Word, that you would speak mightily to our hearts,

to our spirits.

God, I humbly offer this.

We all humbly offer this time to you.

God, anything of this manuscript that is not of you, please show me.

Show me now.

That your name would be glorified.

God, we want to trust in you all the more.

I pray this time would be a reminder of your faithfulness to us.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Please stand, if you're able, for the reading of God's Word.

I'm going to start from verse 1, go to verse 3, and then we're going to skip ahead to verse

12, and then get to verse 15.

So it's Exodus 20.

And God spoke all these words, saying,

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before me.

Verse 12.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

And today's verse, you shall not steal.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

The act of stealing is almost as old as we are.

Despite having complete access to every other tree or fruit in the garden,

Adam and Eve commit the very first act of theft in human history

by partaking of the one fruit that isn't given to them by God.

That one act of stealing has then cascaded and multiplied to produce all kinds of stealing in this world.

For all of us, there's not one day.

We live that's not affected by that first theft,

as there are over 10 million acts of theft each year in America.

And that makes us live in fear or suspicion

to make sure that our car doors are locked,

that our checkbooks are somewhere safe,

and that our Amazon packages are picked up quickly.

And some of you have gone through firsthand the terrifying experience of being robbed in person.

But Adam's fall didn't just produce sin in the world surrounding us.

Adam was our representative too.

So we have that same sinful desire and impulse to steal.

Yet it's not surprising to feel like the Eighth Commandment is one of the more doable ones.

Me? A thief?

I've never scammed somebody out of their money.

I've never robbed somebody.

But God, knowing who he is addressing,

knows we are exactly the type of people who need to be told don't steal.

When packing for the retreat two weeks ago,

my wife, Christine, who graciously packed my bag,

she sat me down in front of my duffel

and slowly explained step by step

of what to do when I'm packing, unpacking,

what to do when my clothes got dirty.

This is where the socks go.

This is where the t-shirts go.

And out of my pride, I got a little irked.

She was talking to me like this,

like, babe, I'm not a child.

I don't need to hear this.

And to that she responded,

you are exactly the type of person that needs to hear this.

And in the end, for both Israelites and for us today,

we need to be reminded of this Eighth Commandment

because Jesus himself summarized the law

into two commands in Matthew 22,

in which he says,

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your mind.

And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

We need to be reminded of this command

because it's essentially all about love.

So today we'll explore a couple questions

about the Eighth Commandment.

I think this sermon structure,

I think you'll find familiar, tried and true.

We'll talk about what the Eighth Commandment prohibits

or the scope of the command.

Then we'll talk about the spirit of the command

and how we can obey as new covenant believers.

Finally, we'll see how Jesus fulfills both the scope

and the spirit of the law in his life, death, and resurrection.

And ultimately, the heart of the sermon will drive home

that we shouldn't steal

because we can trust in our generous Heavenly Father

who will provide for our every single need.

So first, what does the Eighth Commandment prohibit?

This commandment itself is a simple command

given without much explanation or pretext,

similar to the latter half of the Decalogue

as the latter six words focus all about

how we can faithfully love our neighbor.

In fact, in the Hebrew, it's actually only two words

that could be roughly translated to no stealing.

How simple.

And for the most part,

we can intuitively understand that this is wrong

without much explanation.

We have a sixth sense of knowing stealing is wrong,

especially when it happens to you.

Just try letting someone steal your place in line

or have someone borrow something of yours

without ever returning it.

And most of us would define stealing

as taking something that doesn't belong to you.

And I think that's a very clear and intuitive definition.

But from the Christian worldview,

knowing that God owns the earth and everything within it,

we can expand that definition by saying stealing

is taking something that isn't given to you by God.

for what do we have that hasn't been given to us freely?

And that slight change in definition,

I think, helps us understand

that while stealing most clearly

shows a lack of love for your neighbor,

it also shows there's something not right

between our provider God and us.

So we have a definition,

but what about some examples?

Both the Westminster and the Heidelberg Catechism

helpfully lay out some examples

forbidden in the Eighth Commandment,

like fraudulent stealing, extortion,

plagiarism, bribery, and gambling.

And while I won't go through every single application,

I think it would be helpful for us

to go through some of them

to understand the scope

of what were prohibited in the Eighth Commandment.

So let's start with physical acts of robbery or theft

that are most clearly prohibited here

and elsewhere in the Pentateuch.

For example, in Exodus 22,

in a couple different scenarios,

God prohibits Israelites

from stealing their neighbor's oxen or sheep,

most valuable possessions

in an agrarian society back then.

God also prohibits moving boundary markers,

essentially stealing land,

in Deuteronomy 19, 14.

The Bible also gives and often condemns

other examples of stealing in historical narratives.

For example, even when God commanded the Israelites

to devote everything to destruction in Jericho,

in Joshua 7, Achan,

he stole a beautiful cloak,

he stole five pounds of silver,

and one and a quarter pounds of gold.

It's about what an average worker would have made

in an entire lifetime back then.

He was then met with decisive judgment from the Lord.

The Eighth Commandment naturally extends

to prohibit deception or unfaithfulness

for personal gain,

and this is a sad reality

that we see far too often in our day and age.

For example, take Mr. Bernie Madoff,

public enemy number one back in 08.

Mr. Madoff was a previous penny stock trader

who would then go on to manipulate

and lie to over 4,800 clients

to run the largest Ponzi scheme in all of human history.

In total, he would end up embezzling

over $20 billion from his clients,

many of whom entrusted their entire life savings

to his hands.

And this likely played a massive role

in his own son's suicide.

Given the scale of financial damage,

it's no surprise to see the massive cost

of fixing this mess.

It's estimated that law firms

have and still are pocketing

over $800 million

from all the litigation and legal fees.

This is just how destructive

one man's sin of theft

can be to our society.

It's not hard to see then

that God also forbids the act

of false advertising

or lying about how efficacious

your product is.

This too is sadly commonplace today,

even in the industry that I work in.

In a study by the Dartmouth Institute

for Health Policy,

researchers analyzed the claims

of randomly selected TV ads

for drugs that aired between 2008 and 2010.

And they concluded that in roughly

over 15,000 ads,

about 66% of those claims

were either blatantly false

or potentially misleading.

That's two-thirds.

That's crazy.

That's insane.

Where are the Christians

in those companies

to oppose these kinds of decisions

and say, no, I won't mislead millions

just to make a buck?

To lie and cheat on your tax forms

is also a violation

against the Eighth Commandment.

Jesus himself commanded

that we render to Caesars

the things that are Caesars,

meaning that if we are members

of a civil government,

we should pay the appropriate amount

of taxes

and obey the established laws.

I've heard of a tactic

that immigrant families

who own small businesses

might use to cut the amount of taxes

that they owe.

They take some or all the income

that they earn in the States

and they send it back to a contact

in their native country

as, quote-unquote, a gift.

The money is then sent back

with a small cut to the launderer

and it can then be considered

non-taxable income.

I don't know if this still works.

Please do not try it.

But they often justify cheating

the system because of their

economic situation.

But in the end,

this is still wrong.

The sin of stealing

goes beyond financial matters, however,

as God in Exodus 21.16

also prohibits man-stealing.

We in this world

are woefully guilty

of this command.

We are guilty of kidnapping,

of forced labor,

and sex slavery.

It depends on which source

and how they define slavery

to estimate the number of slaves today,

but one thing is clear.

Unequivocally,

there are more slaves today

than in any point

in all of human history.

50 for Freedom writes,

there are more than

40 million people

around the world

that are victims

of modern slavery

in 2016,

including 25 million

in forced labor

and 15 million

in forced marriages.

In our own backyard,

including,

in our own backyard,

the Global Slavery Index

estimates that there are

more than 400,000

modern slaves

in America today.

These are appalling numbers,

knowing that these people

were made

in the image of God.

And just as a side note,

the Bible,

while it doesn't condemn

all forms of slavery

in their day and age,

this verse in Exodus,

the biggest 19.13,

Deuteronomy 24.7,

they all make it clear

that God hates

all forms of chattel slavery,

meaning that a human

can be our personal possession,

that we could be their

quote-unquote owner,

that we can be their God.

Only the I am

can and should

sit in that place

of absolute authority

over our lives.

Now, so far,

I've been using examples

of stealing

that violate

the Eighth Commandment,

that as a church,

we're more likely

to say yes

and amen too.

It's easy to point fingers,

just like the rich young ruler

in Matthew 19,

and say,

see,

I've obeyed this command.

All those other people

are in the wrong.

But we know

that when the law came,

sin increased,

seized an opportunity

through the commandment

to produce in us

all kinds of sin.

And it seared

many of our consciences.

So much so

that some stealing

has become

quote-unquote

respectable.

I know it's

seared mine too.

We can easily avoid

sociopathic forms

of stealing

that we talked about,

but we often justify

these seemingly

quote-unquote

victimless

acts of theft.

One of the most

overlooked acts

of theft

must be taking money

or resources

from your employer

and being unfaithful

to the agreement

that you set

with your employer.

A study

from the University

of South Florida

reported that

up to 75%

of employees

admit to stealing

from their employers

at least once

in their lifetime.

Typically,

about 10 times

is stolen

more by

insiders

and employees

than by customers.

And about

$350 billion

is stolen

each year

from misused

sick days.

I've had to

spend time

myself repenting,

stealing from

my employers,

taking snacks,

which some of you

guys may have

previously enjoyed

for that.

I'm sorry.

For office supplies,

using the company

printer

for personal use,

all the while

justifying it

because,

hey,

I work hard.

I deserve these things.

Of course,

I'm not saying

that we should

now become

obsessed with

productivity,

anxiously making

sure that every

single moment

on the clock

is productive,

especially because

I know that

our church works

very hard.

Our church works

very hard

for our employers.

But I also

know personally

how easy it is

to justify

unfaithfulness

in our jobs.

Back in my own

college days,

I was guilty

of breaking

my contract

on various jobs

by reading

Christian books

or working

on ministry

tasks

while all

on the clock

because

I was justifying

it,

saying I was

doing a holy

thing.

I was doing

a Christian

thing,

but I wasn't

doing what I

would say I

would do,

what I'm getting

paid to do,

and that's

wrong.

What about

illegal downloads

or streaming?

In this digital

world,

we often have

become desensitized

to illegal

streaming of

movies and

music,

downloading

student textbooks,

sharing

Netflix passwords,

even creating

new email

accounts just

to save a

couple bucks

to get a

free month

of Hulu.

All under

the guise

of frugality

and stretching

your dollar.

You might

oppose that

last one

because,

hey,

that's the

promo,

right?

That's the

promo.

But I don't

think it

takes a lot

of humble

reflection to

see that

that violates

the spirit

of the

offer.

And this

kind of

theft feels

inconsequential

because we're

stealing from

non-personal

entities like

corporations or

businesses that

don't have

feelings.

there's an

extra barrier

between you

and another

person.

But rest

assured,

they are

still there.

We are

still affecting

somebody's

livelihood.

It's been

estimated that

Netflix is

missing out

on up to

six billion

dollars in

revenue because

of the simple

issue of

account sharing.

I don't claim

to know that

this is a

sole cause of

their financial

struggles this

past year,

but recently,

as you guys may

have heard,

they've cut up

to 16% of

their staff.

There are

always consequences

to our sins.

One of which

is that sinning

like this is

contagious.

That's what

makes stealing

in some

contexts feel

okay,

not that bad.

Some of us

are quick to

feel that if

another Christian

brother or

sister is

slacking off

at work or

financially

cutting corners

somehow,

we feel

justified to

do the same

or feel like

we're missing

out on some

kind of

life hack.

But the

opposite is

true as well,

that righteous

living can be

an example

for us all.

Back when I

was in college,

some friends

and I decided

that we were

going to watch

Inception.

So my

immediate gut

instinct was

to get on my

computer and

start scouring

the internet

of how I

could watch

it for free.

And by the

time I found

something,

I,

by which I

probably got

a virus

on my

computer,

one of my

friends already

paid $4 to

rent the movie,

just $4.

But me,

super confused,

I protested.

I said,

why would you

do such a

thing?

You could

watch it for

free right

now.

And he just

remarked,

because it's

the right

thing to do.

And he was

right.

He set the

standard for us

moving forward

of what was

the righteous

thing to do.

because in

the end,

the eighth

commandment

goes beyond

billion-dollar

Ponzi schemes

and kidnapping

for child

labor.

It condemns

this attitude

of scouring

for steals.

We use that

phrase so

gleefully,

don't we?

Hey,

there's a

sale going

on.

It's

practically a

steal.

We got such

a good deal

on our

apartment.

It was

such a

steal.

videos go

viral for

sharing life

hacks or

loopholes that

would save

us some

marginal amount

of cash or

make our

Chipotle bowls

just a little

bit bigger.

And we feel

like we've

won as

insiders and

we beat the

system.

And don't

get me wrong,

there's nothing

wrong with

sales or

getting good

deals.

Those are

often clear

blessings and

answered prayers

from God.

But speaking

from my own

experience,

things get

murky when

scouring for

steals is

our only

objective in

life, just

to stretch

our dollars

as much as

possible, to

get the most

stuff, and

to see our

network steadily

climb.

Some of us

are savers

who live with

a scarcity

mindset, who

live feeling

emboldened by

the security

that a

bank account

brings.

So no

matter what

happens with

our jobs or

our health

will be

okay.

Because why?

Because we

have money.

Therefore, we're

quick to justify

not giving or

taking a little

extra because

what if?

What if this?

What if that?

We're constantly

living in the

what ifs.

For our

spenders, we

feel our level

of status or

respect go up

as we steadily

upgrade our

lifestyle, our

clothes, our

possessions, or

we need to

feel that we

need to enjoy

that next

gadget with

the new

bells and

whistles, and

we slog

through the

work week just

to live for

the weekend or

that next

vacation.

Either form

of excessive

saving or

spending, it's

greed, and

it's a

disordered love

for money.

And with

that love for

money, immoral

acts of stealing

really aren't

too far away.

Corners are

cut, justifications

are made just

so that our

lives can be a

little more

convenient.

Speaking of

which can be

most inconvenient

to those who

have this

objective in

life, tithing,

which comes to

our final example

of stealing,

robbing God.

Withholding

their tithe is

how the

Israelites ended

up robbing

God.

We, of

course, never

can truly steal

from God in a

literal sense as

everything in the

end belongs to

him.

But following the

example from the

Israelites in

Malachi 3, we

can rob God by

not giving him

what he is

owed.

Malachi 3

reads,

return to me

and I will

return to you,

says the

Lord of hosts.

But you say,

how shall we

return?

Will man

rob God?

Yet you are

robbing me.

But you say,

how have we

robbed you?

In your

tithes and

contributions,

bring the

full tithe into

the storehouse

that there may

be food in

my house and

thereby put me

to the test,

says the

Lord of hosts.

If I will not

open the

windows of

heavens for

you and pour

down for you a

blessing until

there is no

more need.

God.

In Leviticus 27,

God establishes a

financial system to

support the

Levites and the

priests, namely

that a tithe or a

tenth of all the

produce in the land

be given to the

temple staff so

they can focus on

serving God and

maintaining the

tabernacle or

later the temple.

Fast forwarding

roughly a thousand

years after their

exile out of the

land, after 70

years, a

remnant of God's

people return and

they rebuild the

temple.

But in Nehemiah

13, during one of

Nehemiah's absences

to serve the

Persian king, the

Israelites began to

rob God and

refuse to support

the temple staff

financially, forcing

them to abandon

their temple

duties, their

posts to support

themselves.

The entire nation

then was unfaithful

to God's

commands and

desires, despite

God's faithfulness

to them throughout

their entire national

history.

So, I've gave some

examples of how

these acts of

stealing can

financially ruin

your fellow

neighbor, cause

him to live in

fear, and set an

ungodly example in

this world.

We steal ultimately

because we're

motivated by fear

instead of faith.

And we deem our

own wealth or

comfort more

important than the

will-being of the

people around

us.

Now, having

addressed the

scope of the

command, we can

now discuss the

spirit of the

command, that as

new covenant

believers who know

the eighth

commandment is all

about love, we

know that it's not

enough for us just

not to steal.

This is most

clearly demonstrated

by Jesus' parable of

the good Samaritan.

I know some of you

heard Sean's message

on this passage pretty

recently, but I

think it's helpful

for us to look at

it again through the

lens of the eighth

commandment.

To give context, in

attempts to minimize

the scope of

righteous living and

to justify himself, a

Jewish lawyer asked

Jesus, who is my

neighbor?

To his surprise, Jesus

doesn't minimize the

scope of the law, but

instead he expands it.

That's where we'll pick

up in Luke 10.

But he, desiring to

justify himself, said

to Jesus, and who is

my neighbor?

Jesus replied, a man

was going down from

Jerusalem to Jericho,

and he fell among

robbers, who stripped

him and beat him and

departed, leaving him

half dead.

Now by chance a priest

was going down that

road, and when he saw

him, he passed by on

the other side.

So likewise a Levite,

when he came to the

place, he saw him

pass by on the other

side.

But a Samaritan, as he

journeyed, came to

where he was, and when

he saw him, he had

compassion.

He went to him and

bound up his wounds,

pouring on oil and

wine.

Then he set him on his

own animal and brought

him to an inn and took

care of him.

And the next day he

took out two denarii

and gave them to the

innkeeper, saying,

take care of him.

And whatever more you

spend, I will repay you

when I come back.

Which of these three do

you think proved to be a

neighbor to the man who

fell among the robbers?

He said, the one who

showed him mercy.

And Jesus said to him,

you go and do likewise.

As Edmund Clowney puts in

his book how Jesus

transforms the Ten

Commandments, Jesus does

not suggest we ask who

is my neighbor, how many

must I love, but he

wants us to ask to whom

am I a neighbor, to how

many can I show unmeasured

love.

And when we're looking at

this parable specifically

through the lens of the

Eighth Commandment, we

must have learned that

technically all three men

who walked by the

helpless man, including the

priest and the Levite,

didn't steal.

But it was only the

Samaritan who displayed

righteous, generous love.

He was the only one who

obeyed this Eighth

Commandment to the

fullest.

He exhibited God's

compassion by using his

own resources, sacrificed

his own comfort by putting

the man on his horse, forcing

himself then to walk, gave

up his own time, and

generously gave to make

sure the man would be

taken care of.

This is the spirit of the

Eighth Commandment.

It's not enough just not to

steal.

But God is calling us to

give generously.

Therefore, our questions

about the Eighth

Commandment shouldn't just

be limited to, is this

particular act sinful or

not?

Or even, how much can I get

away with?

But Jesus compels us to

ask, who around me is in

need of help?

To whom can I show

generosity?

Paul, in Ephesians 4, 28,

teaches us the same

message.

He writes, 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.

Do you see this radical

transformation from taker to

giver?

Yes, we must work hard to

provide for ourselves and for

our families, but both Jesus

and now Paul expand our

responsibility that we are

duty-bound to help anyone in

need.

Paul also challenges our

motivations to work hard.

Why do we arduously labor to

publish that next paper, to

plan that next meeting, to

help that next patient?

Is it to give or to have

something to give?

Is it outward or is it

inward focused?

We as former thieves should no

longer steal, but work hard to

give, meaning that we cannot be

hoarders of blessings anymore.

We must be a means for

blessings to go forth.

And it doesn't take long to

take a look at this broken

world and see the need for

Christ's church to go and make

disciples, to feed the poor,

and to feed the robbed.

Understanding all the needs in

this world, John Bisagno, the

late preacher in Houston, once

proclaimed, God has all the

money in the world he needs to

help the needy.

He has it all.

It's in your pockets.

God desires for us not to

steal, but to give generously

because ultimately it's for our

own good.

Because that's how we store our

treasures in eternal secure

places.

You often hear about smart, safe

investments, but there is no

smarter investment than in the

kingdom of God.

Jesus commanded us to store our

treasures in places where moth and

rust cannot destroy and where

thieves cannot break in and steal.

He assumes that on this side of

heaven, no investment is ever

secure.

Your money, your car, your house,

it will all depreciate, let alone the

fact that none of us will ever take

this stuff into the next life.

And giving generously continually

reminds us of those truths.

So easy to forget that.

It kills our idolatry of money.

And one of my all-time favorite

quotes is from Jim Elliott.

I'm sure many of you know it.

It goes like this.

He is no fool who gives what he

can't keep to gain what he cannot

lose.

I love that.

And if you're laboring for the

kingdom right now, as I know many

in our church already are, be

encouraged that it's not in vain.

You're making the smartest, safest

investment with your life right now.

But that's not the full picture just

to say that earthly investments don't

amount to anything because storing our

treasures here on earth alone ultimately

does reap something.

It reaps judgment because it ultimately

brings disrepute to God.

We started reading from verse 1 of

today's passage to remember the context

in which this command is given.

The prologue to the Ten Commandments

starts with, I am the Lord, your God.

I am your God who brought you out of

the land of Egypt, out of the house of

slavery.

We must remember that God has been so

incredibly faithful to the Israelites.

He intimately heard their cries, their

struggles and their bondage to Egypt.

So God performed crazy miracle after

miracle to free them.

He fed them daily with miraculous

manna and gave them water from a rock.

Water from a rock to drink.

Every single need that they had,

he provided.

He is so sensitive to our needs.

So any kind of stealing or excessive

hoarding or spending ultimately is a

rejection of God and his kindness

because it says to God and to the world,

I don't or I won't have what I need.

God is insufficient for me.

Or it says my convenience is more

important than obedience to the king.

So in the end, stealing actually robs us

of greater treasures.

Almost every law regarding stealing

demands that the thief either pays more

on top of what he stole or he pays with his

very own life.

And even if you get away with stealing in

this life, the God who is omniscient

and omnipresent, will he not see your

folly?

And at the end of the day, our sins of

theft and unbelief deserve eternal

condemnation as 1 Corinthians 6-9

teaches us that thieves will never,

they will never inherit the kingdom of God.

But if we continue to read on from verse 9,

Paul teaches that though we were like them,

these thieves in these world that ruin lives,

create havoc, though we are like them,

we were washed.

We were sanctified.

We were justified.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

and by the Spirit of our God, how?

It's only because Jesus fulfilled

both the scope and the Spirit

of the Eighth Commandment

with an unwavering trust

in his Father's good portion for him.

In Luke 4, during Jesus' fast for 40 days

and 40 nights in the wilderness,

Satan continually tempts Jesus

throughout the feast,

which culminates at the very end

with three final temptations.

First of which, Satan knowing

that this is when Jesus' physical body

was at its weakest,

he asked,

if you are the Son of God,

command this stone to become a loaf of bread.

He's asking,

why does the so-called Son of God

need to suffer in this way?

And maybe some of you

going through rough seasons in life

are asking the same question right now.

Why do I have to suffer?

Satan tempted Jesus and tempts us

to use then our power

to satisfy our own desires

rather than trusting in God

to supply all that we need.

But Jesus, out of an intimate love

for his Father,

he didn't justify sin.

And he clung to faith

as he quotes Deuteronomy 8.3,

man does not live by bread alone.

Jesus did not move a single inch

when it came to stealing

because he knew the Father's good desire

to provide for him.

We also know that Jesus was

not just not a thief,

but he was a generous giver,

fulfilling the spirit

of the Eighth Commandment.

Throughout Jesus' ministry,

he always looked outside himself.

He served and he gave

even when he was weary and tired.

Mark 6,

after the apostles returned to Jesus,

after their short-term missions trip,

after being sent two by two,

Jesus initially desires for them

to hide away

in a desolate place

to rest and to eat.

But upon hearing the masses

eagerly waiting for him,

Jesus has such great compassion

toward them and sees them.

He sees them as sheep

without a shepherd.

No complaining,

no excuses,

just compassion.

Then he abandons his plans for rest

to abundantly feed over 5,000 mouths.

No physically small task.

Jesus,

in every moment of his life,

oriented himself

towards loving

his Heavenly Father

and loving others.

No matter what the cost.

Not unlike the Good Samaritan.

And we see

just how far

his love would go.

That despite Jesus

living in sin,

living a sinless life

of trust,

generosity,

and sacrifice,

he died

the death

of a convicted thief

on our behalf.

In Gethsemane,

though agonizing

through prayer

and wrestling

with the Father,

sweating drops of blood,

in the end,

Jesus didn't rebel

in taking something

that God hadn't given to him.

But he,

for the joy

that was set before him,

he endured

an unjust trial,

beating,

mocking,

humiliation,

and ultimately

was hung on the cross

next to two thieves.

he lovingly

gave his body

and blood

as a propitiatory

sacrifice

for those of us

who have fallen short

of this Eighth Commandment,

for those of us

who feel the pangs

of our sins of theft,

unbelief,

and self-preservation.

He himself

bore the cost

of the thefts

we've committed,

and he withheld

absolutely nothing

from the one

he gave,

he loved

to give his very own life.

We read this passage earlier,

the thief

comes only

to steal

and to kill

and to destroy.

We have been reminded

of that

in sinful example

after example

in this broken world.

But Jesus,

our wonderful Jesus,

he came

and he gave

everything

that we may have life

and have it abundantly.

There is no one

like him.

There is no one

like our wonderful Jesus.

And what that means

is that poor thieves

like you and me

and the thief

on the cross

next to Jesus

will no longer

have a future inheritance

of hell,

but we will be rich

heirs

of the kingdom

in eternity

with our precious

Jesus.

Why should we gain

from his reward?

We cannot give

an answer to that,

but this we know

with all our hearts

that his wounds

have paid our ransom.

Brothers and sisters,

behold Jesus.

Isn't he so lovely?

Isn't our communion

with him

so precious?

Beholding Jesus

is the only way

we will ever

begin to lovingly

and sacrificially

be generous.

And this is by far

the most

important application

point in the whole sermon.

Only by beholding

our unbelievable

inheritance

in the person

of Jesus Christ

in whom the fullness

of deity

dwells bodily

can we ever

be transformed

from takers

to givers.

I pray we've all

come to the point

in our own

spiritual journeys

and maturities

to say,

who are we kidding?

I can't be super

generous

to the needy

and even to my enemies

by myself.

That's just not

possible

by myself.

Personally,

in my own pride,

I used to think

I could do this,

but years

and years

of trying

to muster up

this love

within myself,

I know for certain

I can't do this.

We cannot do

and be

what God

requires of us

by ourselves,

but it's only

through the past,

the present,

and the future work

of our forever

faithful king.

We must behold

the free riches

bestowed on us

through Jesus.

that's why

meditating

and savoring

scripture

is just so good

because it's full

of these reminders

of Jesus'

generous promises

and blessings

to us.

We read this passage

too earlier.

Take 2 Corinthians

8-9,

for we know

the grace

of our Lord

Jesus Christ

that though

he was rich,

yet for our sake

he became poor.

so that by,

so that you

by his poverty

might become rich.

We are so rich

in him,

so rich

in Jesus Christ.

Behold,

all our spiritual

blessings

are already yours

in Christ.

The spirit himself

has been given

to you

as a down payment,

as a guarantee

of your future

inheritance

of the kingdom.

That's Ephesians 1,

14-16.

Romans 8-32

is one of my

favorite promises

that

if God

did not spare

his only son

but gave him up

for us all,

how will he not

with him

give us

all things?

If God spared

no expense,

he's given us

the greatest thing,

the greatest inheritance

already,

and proven

his unbelievable

generosity,

why would the

most generous

God suddenly

be stingy?

We have

clear proof

on the cross

that God

will provide

for us

all things.

How will he

not with him

give us

all things

that we need?

Do you

trust him?

Do you trust him

that he will

provide for you

all things

that you need?

Then our

perspective

of giving

and living

for others

changes

by understanding

how well we are

provided for,

how rich we are

in Jesus.

how then can we

not generously

give and live

in freedom?

In the gospel

of grace

that Jesus

freely gives,

we are enabled

to be truly

content

in all that

we have.

Then we can

see money

as what it

really is,

a gift,

not our God.

We can budget,

we can set

financial goals,

all wise

things,

knowing that

we can save

and spend

money as

intended,

in trust,

in faith,

in our

provider God.

We don't have

to obsess

over having

the perfect

amount to

budget,

to give,

or spend

on ourselves.

When it

comes to

tithing,

while we are

not under

the same

obligation

from the

old covenant

to give a

tithe in the

same sense

that the

Israelites

were,

with Jesus

instituting a

new and

more glorious

covenant,

as Don Carson

has said,

we should

value our

riches in

Christ so

highly,

our freedom

from sin

so highly,

the gospel

so highly,

that we

should simply

love to

give.

There are

many examples

throughout

scripture and

church history

to show that

Christ alone

is the

catalyst of

that transformation

from stealer

to giver.

We see this

in Zacchaeus,

who is rejected

by society,

but accepted

by Jesus.

He commits

then to give

back fourfold

anything taken

in fraud.

To the early

church instituted

by Jesus

through the

Holy Spirit,

where they

give so

freely,

everything they

had was in

common,

no one had

any need.

To the church

addressed in

Hebrews,

in which the

author praises

him,

for you had

compassion on

those in

prison,

and you

joyfully

accepted the

plundering of

your property.

Why?

Since you

knew you

had yourselves

a better

possession and

an abiding

one.

From church

history,

one of the

greatest

testimonies

from a

stealer-turned

giver must

be George

Mueller.

We often

know him as

the incredible

man of faith

and prayer

that led

orphanages

in England

in the

early

1800s.

But I

think it's

less well

known that

he was a

thief and

a drunk

at a young

age prior to

meeting Christ.

He would

steal from

his father

and was

thrown in

jail even

for a couple

nights,

neglecting to

pay for a

hotel room.

But after

being invited

to a meeting

not too

different from

our own

community groups

that we have

here,

he encountered

Jesus' love

for him

there and

wrote,

and therefore

apprehending

in some

measure the

love of

Jesus for

my soul,

I was

constrained

to love

him in

return.

What all

the exhortations

and precepts

of my father

and others

could not

affect,

what all

my own

resolutions

could not

bring about

even to

renounce the

life of sin,

I was then

enabled to

do,

constrained

by the

love of

Jesus.

The

individual

who desires

to get

power over

sin must

likewise

seek it

in the

blood of

Jesus.

George

Mueller got

that only

through the

blood of

Jesus and

being constrained

by his

love can

we go and

be the

salt and

light of

this world.

Only then

did Mr.

Mueller go

on to live

a life of

faith and

dependence on

God for

every one

of his

needs.

Later in

life in

one of

his early

ministry

roles he

became a

pastor of

a small

church who

wanted to

pay him a

salary.

But a salary

is only

possible if

they continue

the practice

of selling

the front

seats of a

church service

at a premium

to the rich.

So then the

poor then had

to sit in the

back.

Such an

opposite trend

that we have

in our own

church I guess.

But seeing

how wrong

that is

he altogether

stopped that

practice and

refused then

to take a

salary trusting

in God to

then provide

for him.

Which he

did.

Walking

through Bristol

and seeing

the poor

orphans on

the streets

Mr.

Mueller then

felt God's

call on his

life to

start an

orphanage to

take care of

these very

children that

God loved.

But again

having no

resources he

simply prayed.

Prayed for a

building much

like a church

that I know.

People to

oversee it.

Furniture and

money for

food and

clothing.

And he

resolved to

operate his

orphanages on

prayer alone.

Asking God for

their needs.

And time and

time again God

answered these

prayers.

And over Mr.

Mueller's

lifetime he

recorded over

50,000 answered

prayers.

Sometimes with

no time to spare

right before

children's

mealtimes or

rent due

dates.

But always in

the end God

richly provided.

For the

truths of

scripture will

never fail.

My God will

supply all our

needs according

to the riches

of his glory by

Jesus Christ.

For our every

need and desire

may we carry

everything to

God in prayer

and trust in

his great

faithfulness to

us.

Finally let me

close with an

invitation to

anyone who's