8th Commandment – You Shall Not Steal

Exodus 20:15 reveals the eighth commandment: ”You shall not steal.” In this message, Adrian Rogers reveals three principles to teach our children about honest living.

God is saying to you today:
“Be so confident in My plans for you that you don’t even get upset when things don’t go your way.”

Let him that stole, steal no more. But rather let him labor working with his hands.
The thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needed.
Now, did you listen to it? In that verse?
There are three things that every parent ought to try to emblazon into the heart of his or her child to etch there into his or her consciousness.
Three grand principles. The first one is integrity. Let him that stole, steal no more.
The second principle is industry, but rather let him labor working with his hands.
The things that is good. And the third is generosity that he may have to give to him that needed.
Now, all of these according to the New Testament are wrapped up in this uh this commandment that says, thou shalt not steal, profound truth.
Simply stated, this is love worth finding with pastor teacher and author Adrian Rogers.
Be finding the book of Exodus chapter 20.
Our verse for today is verse 15 and you don’t have to have a doctorate to understand it.
It can’t be much plainer.
Shout not steal there a reverse that is needed that this one is we’re talking about a perfect tin for homes that win.
And this is one of God’s great laws for living rules for righteousness and, uh encouragements to have the kind of homes that will win.
You know, America has just forgotten the basic rules of honesty. I read about the market in California.
There was a little boy standing there in front of the fruit stand, there were grapes there.
He was putting those grapes cramming those grapes in his mouth as fast as he could.
There wasn’t an adult anywhere a clerk was standing by absolutely hopeless and helpless not knowing what to do.
And this little fella just cramming the grapes in his mouth.
After a while his mother appeared and she saw what was happening. She said, Johnny, not so fast.
This is uh the kind of a situation that we, we live in where we seem to have forgotten the basic rules of honesty.
Well, I wanna be very pertinent in this message and tell you this message tells us that any time we take anything that belongs to someone else or that we keep from someone, the thing that we owe to them.
We have transgressed this commandment. Now it might be time, it might be money, it might be affection, it might be possessions.
It may be courtesy or appreciation or love or anything else.
If we defraud somebody else, we have taken that which does not belong to us and we are guilty of stealing and many synonyms to extort to burglarize, to defraud to filch to cheat, to misappropriate, to rob, to swindle to swipe to embezzle.
Now, how do we teach our Children what this commandment means?
You remember that God gave this commandment to the Children of Israel and then he said that fathers are to teach these things to their sons and to the grandsons.
Well, there’s a verse in the New Testament that I’d like for you to put in your margin.
And it is Ephesians chapter four and verse 28.
And in my estimation, this one verse is the perfect explanation, an amplification of the Old Testament verse that says, thou shalt not steal again.
Ephesians chapter four and verse 28 listen to it. Let him that stole, steal no more.
But rather let him labor working with his hands.
The thing which is good that he may have to give to him that.
Now did you listen to it? Let me read it again. This is a dynamite verse.
Let him that stole, steal no more, but rather let him labor working with his hands.
The thing that is good that he may have to give to him that need.
In that verse, there are three things that every parent ought to try to emblazon into the heart of his or her child, to etch there into his or her consciousness.
Three grand principles. The first one is integrity. Let him that stole, steal no more.
The second principle is industry, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, the things that is good.
And the third is generosity that he may have to give to him that needed.
Now, all of these according to the New Testament are wrapped up in this uh this commandment that says, thou shalt not steal integrity, industry and generosity.
Those are three characteristics that all of us ought to say.
Dear God, help me to teach these things to our Children and help me and help us that we might practice these things before our Children.
Now, let’s talk a little bit about the demands of integrity.
The first of those three items, uh, you know, there are many ways that you can live without integrity.
Of course, there’s direct stealing. You know what the kids call shoplifting a five finger discount where they just go in and ft that, it is amazing how much is stolen by sheer shoplifting.
Well, it may be not just shoplifting, armed robbery, burglary.
Our city is plagued with this stealing at the workplace is, uh, epidemic.
Did you know according to the research that I did that the American economy loses $40 billion a year from, uh, stealing on the workplace.
That’s, uh, simply embezzlement or pilfering from the workplace.
And so that’s, that’s one kind of stealing just, uh, direct stealing, whether it be, uh, shoplifting or whether it be burglary or bank robbery or pilfering on the job or embezzlement, all of these things will receive as sure judgment of almighty God.
But there’s another form of stealing and that’s fraud, what we call white collar crime.
You know, for years, the beach nut people uh sold baby foods.
And uh mother said, well, when you think of beach nut, you know, we, we just uh we give our little Children, I know we’ve raised ours, these little jars of baby food.
And we thought, well, that’s, that’s purity and that’s uh health and all of that.
Then one day the authorities discovered that they had been selling apple juice and they sold it for 10 years.
And on the label, it said 100% fruit juice, no sugar added.
And when they analyzed it, they found out it was a little more than chemicals and dye and water sort of a chemical cocktail.
And so they were, they were told you can’t, you can’t sell this on the market.
You can’t advertise this and let mothers think they’re giving their babies apple juice when you’re giving them this chemical concoction.
So what did they do with it? I’ll tell you what they did with it.
They loaded up nine tractor trailers with the stuff and within days it was being sold in Puerto Rico in the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands Bible says thou shalt not steal.
I read about a motel. You walk into that motel. It says the rooms are $80 cash rebate, $20.
I think about that. Doesn’t say the rooms are $60.
It says the rooms are $80 cash rebate, $20.
So if you’re a salesman, you go in there and they give you a receipt for an $80 room, you turn that into your employer and said I rented a room for $80.
You put $20 in your pocket. Now this, this is going on all over the land.
It is a form of stealing, half hearted work is stealing.
You work for an employer and don’t give him an honest day’s labor. You’ve stolen from him.
Colossians three verse 22 servants obeying all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but as singles, but in singleness of heart fearing God.
Now if, if you don’t fear God enough to give an honest day’s work, you have broken the commandment that says, thou shall not steal.
I heard about a man who applied for a job and he asked the prospective employer said, what will you pay me?
He said, well, I’ll pay you what you’re worth. He said, oh no, no, no, nothing doing.
He said I just quit a job making more than that.
And there, there are a lot of people who are being paid more than they’re worth and, and if you’re an employer and you don’t pay a man what he’s worth, you have stolen from that man listen to these scriptures.
Those of you who have businesses.
Colossians four verse one, masters give unto your servants that which is just an equal knowing that you also have a master in heaven that I, that, that also speaks to the domestic work in your house that made or those people who work in your yard, do you pay them?
What is just and equal? I mean, if you were in their place, would you expect to be paid more than you pay those people?
James chapter five and verse four says, behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud.
Crith and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabo.
That means that God sees when you don’t pay what you ought to pay.
And God sees when you don’t earn what you get paid for some who are sitting in this building today have no idea that you’ve broken the commandment that says, thou shalt not steal.
You just think of yourself as a shrewd businessman.
Now, tax avoidance is one thing, tax evasion is something else. Having insurance is one thing.
Insurance, insurance manipulation is something else. High finance and sharp dealing. Jesus warned about the Pharisees which devoured widows houses.
They saw an opportunity to take advantage of unsuspecting widows whose husbands had died.
And the the woman did not know how to protect herself.
And so the Bible says in Habakkuk two verse six, woe unto him that increase, that which is not his withholding love and devotion breaks this commandment.
Did you know the Bible commands husbands and wives not to defraud the other in the matter of sexual love that if you withhold from your husband or from your wife, uh physical sexual love and endearment that you defraud them.
Why if you withhold from your neighbor, love you defraud your neighbor.
The Bible says in Romans chapter 13 verse eight. Oh no man, anything but to love one another.
We owe that love. Some have defrauded their parents of honor.
Some parents have defrauded their Children of guidance and love and instruction.
God’s word says, thou shalt not steal.
Do you know the worst is to steal from God?
And so many are stealing from God. You say, how am I stealing from God?
Well, I wanna ask you a question. Have you given him your life? You belong to Him.
You know, I mean, you’re not your own. You are bought with a price.
Isn’t that what the Bible says? You are his by creation. He made you, you’re his by redemption.
He died for you. You’re not your own. You’re bought with a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are Gods.
And when you live your life for self and self alone, as if Jesus Christ never lived.
And Jesus Christ never died. You my friend are a thief. We need to teach this to our Children.
We need to teach our Children integrity. Line upon line, precept upon precept.
But here’s the second thing we need to teach them. Not only do we need to teach them integrity.
We need to teach them industry. Now, remember what our verse said?
Let him that stole, steal no more but rather rather let him labor working with his hands.
The thing which is good work is not bad. Work is good. Work is not a curse.
Work is a blessing. Do you know what is wrong with this generation?
Our young people do not know by and large the duties of honest work and labor.
Now, the Bible is very clear about the necessity of work.
The Bible says in second Thessalonians chapter three and verse 10, if any would not work, neither should he eat the Ancient Jews.
They understood the meaning of this commandment. Thou shalt not steal.
And they also understood the commandment that says six days, shall thou labor was just as well?
Was just as true as the one that says on the seventh day with rest. God commands labor.
He says six days, shout thou labor. They saw labor and work as a divine imperative.
And the old rabbis used to say this, he who does not teach his son a trade teaches him to steal.
We have boys and girls who are going to college today.
And graduate with college and still don’t know how to make a living.
The rabbis again saw work as a gift from God and the prophets did also Ecclesiastes chapter five verses 18 and 19.
Listen to it behold that which I’ve seen it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink and to enjoy the good of all his labor that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him for it is his portion.
What that God gives him work and then the fruit of His work.
Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth and hath given him power to eat thereof and to take His portion and to rejoice in his labor.
This is the gift of God. Labor is the gift of God. Work is not a curse.
Six days, shout thou labor. Now look at this verse, Ephesians four verse 28.
Number one, it says, let him that stole steel no more. That is integrity, but rather let him labor.
That is industry. Now, here’s the third thing that He may have to give to him that need, the opposite of stealing is not not stealing, but it is giving.
It is giving and for every negative there’s a positive and we need to teach our Children generosity.
We need to teach them charity.
We need to teach our Children to work not only to meet their greed, but to meet others needs.
Let me give you a verse for your margin acts chapter 20 verses 33 the following, here’s what the Apostle Paul had to say.
He said, I have coveted no man, silver or gold or apparel.
And we’re gonna talk about that next week.
Coveting ye ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered under my necessities and to them that were with me.
He said I had my needs met because I worked.
And then he said, I was able to meet the necessities of them that were were with me.
And now listen to this, I have showed you all things how that soul laboring ye ought to support the weak.
And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said it is more blessed to give than to receive laboring that we might have to meet our needs and laboring that we might give to others.
It’s a sin and a shame before God that we’re expecting the government to take care of our loved ones and our parents and our Children when we ourselves ought to do it.
And if we would do it with industry, we would have to give to ourselves and to give to others.
This kind of living frees us from selfishness and little Children who learn to be selfish are going to be miserable.
Children. Misery comes from mirrors. Joy comes from windows.
When we are beginning to pour out and give to others, I want everybody in this building to do a little experiment with me.
If you will not ashamed to make you feel a little childish, but take your fist and squeeze it as tightly as you can for just a moment.
Everybody, if you will just take it and squeeze it just as tight and hold it there, squeeze it.
Keep it there. Hold it. Don’t let go. Just squeeze it. Keep squeezing, hold it. Don’t let go.
Don’t let up, just squeeze it, hold it. Alright. Don’t relax, hold it there, squeeze it. Go ahead.
Now, relax it. Don’t I feel a lot better.
That’s the way so many are living.
That’s why they go through life that way.
That’s the way they go through life. Let him that stole steel no more.
But rather let him labor, working with his hands and things that is good that he may have to give.
Life is made up of takers and givers teach the Children to give and, and, and there’s so much they can give, give them understanding and they’ll give you understanding people today.
Want somebody to understand and to care. It’s an amazing thing.
Give acceptance, give forgiveness to your Children and don’t let that bitterness poison you and them give love.
Love means I I I’ll do you good no matter what you do to me.
Teach the Children to give John Wesley, founder of Methodism.
Great man of God said this in one sentence.
Make all you can save all you can and give all, you can teach Children integrity, teach Children industry, teach Children charity, generosity.
Teach your Children to clean up the neighbor’s yard.
Go over and help, uh, a way to carry the groceries home.
Teach them, uh, to bring their own money to church.
Give them, give them their allowance, but let them take out of their allowance, a gift and, and it may be a nickel, a dime, a quarter, whatever it is.
But let the Children have the joy of bringing their money to church. Let the Children participate in mission projects.
Teach the Children how to give to their brothers and sisters, teach them how to give, train them in giving you do it by precept.
You do it by example, do it consistently.
I wish I had more time but talk to you about this but I don’t, time is gone.
But now listen to me, listen carefully.
The Bible says thou shall not steal.
And I wanna remind you again. Listen, listen, don’t even get your books.
Just look at me, Jesus on that cross poured out his life’s blood for you.
He suffered bled and died for you. He bought you.
You belong to him. Are you saved?
If you steal from God, I will promise you as surely as my name is Adrian Rogers that you’ll steal from yourself for your sins have withholding good things from you.
If I had 1000 lives to live I’d give every one of them to Jesus.
I am so glad that I know Christ as my personal savior and Lord, I know all of the toys of this world that we cling to.
We’re soon going to leave. We used to say when I was a kid.
Finders, keepers, losers, weepers, finders, keepers, Jesus says, keepers, weepers, losers, finders lose my life, lose your life for my sake in the gospels and you’ll find it.
Jesus said of the devil, the thief cometh.
But to steal and to chill and to destroy.
I’ve come that you might have life and have an abundant life.
Satan is the biggest thief of all and he wants to steal from you, the abundant life that Jesus has for you.
You know what you ought to do.
If you’ve never done it right now, you ought to just open your heart and say, Lord Jesus, I receive the gift of salvation and I give myself back to you.
Lord, I don’t want to steal from you.
My very life belongs to you and I give it to you right now.
And friend, you’ll understand that when you give to him, he gives back to you and what he gives to you is nothing.
And compared to what you give to him or gave up for him.