11/14/17–Eph 6:2-3, The 10 Commandments, Pt 26, The 8th Commandments, Pt. 2, Lesson #17-122

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcQ4-5EEPBU&t=3s
Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard

www.GraceDoctrine.org

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Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, (If You have - Trusted in Him for Eternal Life), it is important to prepare yourself to: Take-in God’s Word and/or Participate in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite, or acknowledge your sins privately, directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father & the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher.

1 John 1:9 says— “If we confess [simply name, cite, or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown & forgotten sins].”

For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please see: The Salvation Message @ the end of this document.

2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

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The Doctrine of the Ten Commandments Related to the Church Age, Part XXVI.

Zech 5:3f; Mat 6:19-20; 15:19; Mark 7:21-23; Eph 4:28; Rev 9:21

The 8^th Commandment, Ex 20:15; Deut 5:19, “You shall not steal.”

This is the 4^th of the horizontal commandments, given to encourage the respect of other people’s property, and is closely related to the 10^th Commandment, “you shall not covet…” This too is an important element in a stable society to protect the freedoms, privacy, and property of each individual.

“To steal” means, “to take without right or permission, generally in surreptitious way. Taking that which does not belong to you. To get or effect secretly or artfully. To move, carry, or place surreptitiously. To rob or commit a theft.”

It includes, “man stealing,” (i.e., kidnapping), the stealing of intangibles, (i.e., dignity, self-respect, freedom, or rights), and cheating someone out of something.

The punishment for the transgression of theft went beyond the civil law codes. The flying scroll of YHWH in Zechariah’s vision was an embodiment of God’s judgment through the Holy Spirit who reveals sin. It was a written source for indictment on those who stole and those who took the Lord’s name in vain, Zech 5:3ff. A curse entered the house of the thief by means of this scroll.

New Testament Usage:

The protection granted by the 8^th Commandment under the covenant provided freedoms that are still essential to a free society; the freedom from involuntary servitude and the right to hold property are protected by this law against theft.

Therefore, this command against stealing is reinforced repeatedly in the NT, and is a Commandment for the Church Age, Mat 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Rom 2:21; 13:9; 1 Cor 6:10; Eph 4:28; Titus 2:10; 1 Peter 4:15.

The Greek word for “steal” is the verb KLEPTO, κλέπτω that means, “steal, embezzle, or cheat.” This is where we get our English word kleptomaniac from that means, “somebody with an obsessive urge to steal, especially when there is no economic necessity.”

KLEPTO is first used in Mat 6:19-20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Here we see that the Commandment is a heart issue regarding the mentality of your soul towards God versus the world, (i.e., Satan’s cosmic system). Jesus urges His followers to seek the kind of treasures they can store up and enjoy in heaven rather than those of this world. The desires of man, the focus of his life, what he loves, all depends on what he considers a treasure. For the believer, God and His Word, (i.e., the mind of Jesus Christ), should be the greatest treasure in your life. When they are, along with being filled with the Holy Spirit, Eph 5:18, you will perform Divine good, (i.e., the fruit of the Spirit, Gal 5:22-24), in life that is rewardable for both time and eternity, 1 Cor 3:10-15. God is always concerned about a man’s heart. If his heart is set on the things of this world, they will be lost, stolen. If his heart is set on God, his reward is everlasting.

The next three verses give the negative / sinful aspect of a man’s heart that is focused on the world.

Mat 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, (KLOPE), false witness, slanders.”

Mark 7:21-23, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, (KLOPE), murders, adulteries, ²²deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. ²³All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

Rev 9:21,”And they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.”

The Commandment is given in Mat 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; in a listing given to the rich young ruler by Jesus Christ to show that one is not save by works of the Law, and in Rom 13:9, in Paul’s list of commandments that bring about a civil society that is summed up by “loving ones neighbor.”

It is used in Mat 27:64, regarding the Lord’s tomb where His body was laid, which the Pharisee thought Jesus’ disciples would rob to falsify His resurrection, cf. Mat 28:13.

In John 10:10, our Lord used it to compare Himself to the false teachers / Pharisees who were robbing people of salvation and eternal life; whereas, Jesus came to “give life” so that they could “have it abundantly.”

Similarly, Paul uses it in Rom 2:21, to rebuke the Pharisees of their false teachings regarding the Law.

Finally, KLEPTO is used in Eph 4:28, “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”

There, Paul urges a change of heart and body from living a life of taking from others, to one of contribution, service, and sacrifice for others. This also teaches that there are only three ways to get wealth: work for it, have it given to you, or steal it, and stealing is wrong.

The issue is the misappropriation of goods or properties that God has sovereignly bestowed according to His own pleasure.

Ananias and Sapphira stole from the church and the Holy Spirit by holding back some of the proceeds from the sale of their land, yet saying they gave it all to the church, Acts, 5:2-3; cf. Titus 2:10. (The verb to “hold back” or “pilfer,” is NOSPHIZOMAI νοσφίζομαι that means, “to put aside for oneself secretly, misappropriate, pilfer, or embezzle.”)

To steal is to show discontent with what one has as a result of Divine disposition, cf. 1 Tim 6:8, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”

God is our provider. Because God gives His people everything they need, we do not steal and should be satisfied with what we have, 1 Tim 6:17, “Do not set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.”

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A PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have;” it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it, and it can never be lost or taken away from you [John 10:28-29]. Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life [also called eternal life in Scripture] is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell you that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you. God the Father also loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son for you by sending Him to the Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place. Taking upon Himself all of your sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our sins and paid the price for our sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held against us.

Right where you are, you now have the opportunity to make the greatest decision in your life. To accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life by truly believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day as the proof of the promise of eternal life. So right now, you can pause and reflect on what Christ has done for you and say to the Father:

"Yes Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ,
died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."

If you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal Family of God !!!

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Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard
23 Messenger Street, Unit 3
Plainville, MA 02762

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