Tonight, we turn to Lord's Day 42 of the Heidelberg Catechism. That's page 892. In the back of your hymnal, page 892, as well as turning in God's word to Ephesians 4. We'll be looking at several passages tonight, but Ephesians 4, verse 28 is what will serve as the opening to our Consideration of the 8th commandment tonight. You shall not steal. Deuteronomy 5.19 tells us. And then Ephesians 4.28, we read this. 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. This commandment is understood by all. If you would say to someone, do you believe that there's something like stealing? They'd say, well, no. They may say, no, I don't. I'll say, well, I'm going to take that from you. Oh, then they would know very quickly. They would respond very quickly to say, well, now, wait a minute. I don't think you can do that. We have a sense of this, and we know that stealing is wrong, and yet there are many ways that we steal from others that aren't so obvious, and Lord's Day 42 sets some of those before us in a very convicting way. Theft happens in other ways. Listen to what question and answers 110 and 111 say. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment? He forbids not only outright theft and robbery, which governing authorities punish, but in God's sight, theft also includes all evil tricks and schemes designed to get our neighbor's goods for ourselves, whether by force or means that appear legitimate, such as inaccurate measurements of weight, size, or volume, fraudulent merchandising, counterfeit money, excessive interest, or any other means forbidden by God. In addition, God forbids all greed and pointless squandering of His gifts. What does God require of you in this commandment? Answer 111, that I do whatever I can and may for my neighbor's good, that I treat others as I would like them to treat me, and that I work faithfully so that I may help the needy in their hardship. Dear people of God, the Bible, God, is not against owning things privately. We can think of many teachings in scripture that speak to that. Just think with me for a few moments about some of those. In Exodus 22, the Bible speaks of payment having to be made if someone steals someone else's property. By stealing or killing another person's animal or by taking produce from someone else or allowing their animal to graze in the field such that crop is lost, there needs to be repayment, reimbursement. There's a sense that there's nothing wrong with holding that property. In fact, there's something wrong with taking that or stealing in some way. God's law teaches that we're not to covet anything that what? Belongs to our neighbor, right? Teaching private ownership. The Bible says we're not to move property lines to gain unjustly. Proverbs 23. We're not to trespass on the property of another to get gain. Again, Proverbs 23. Inheritances in the Bible were passed down from generation to generation. The notion of having and then passing on that which one possesses to the next generation. That's why Naboth wouldn't sell his vineyard to King Ahab. He says, no, no, it belongs in the family. It's part of the family inheritance and I can't sell it to you. God has given that to our family. The Bible records that believers bought and sold property. Abraham being an example of that in Genesis 23. Prosperity, national prosperity, is one of the blessings that God gave to his people. That they had possessions, that they had prosperity. We see that in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Acts chapter 2, we see that the early church had possessions. The record of the early church giving as there was need was not teaching that the early church practiced communal ownership, rather what was being highlighted was their generosity. They gave when there was a need. And Peter speaks to Ananias, you remember Ananias is going to come and he's going to lie about what he got for the land that he sold, or for the property that he sold. And Peter says, the land, before you sold it, it belonged to you. It belonged to you, he says there. It was yours, why are you now pretending as though you've laid before us the whole price and yet you're holding back the money because you are greedy. Bible's not against private ownership. The Bible's teaching on possessions. That's what we're looking at first this morning or this evening rather. The Lord calls people to work so that we might possess something and be able to live independently. We would be able to live independently and provide for those who, for proper reason, can't provide for themselves. Sloth is sinful. Living off of others when we are perfectly capable of working is warned against. We're to live independently, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. gives us that word, Paul speaking to those who were being slothful, not being workers, says this. Aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. The Bible is against being possessed by our possessions, where we live for our possessions and we think about our possessions and how we might pile up gain, keeping it to ourselves. Possessions can't give life, they can't provide security, they're fleeting. Kent Hughes says this, every time I give, I declare that money does not control me. Perpetual or continual generosity is a perpetual de-deification of money. So it's not something I worship. When I give it away, I say, I'm not worshiping this. I don't need this. God has given it to me and I want to be a good steward with it. We'll talk more about stewardship in a moment. God doesn't warn against money and possessions. He warns against the love of money. He says it's the root of all kinds of evil. The dishonesty, the covetousness, the greed, all of that which comes out in our hearts. He warns against believing that life consists in the abundance of one's possessions. So what can we say in summary of this first point? We should not feel ashamed to have property. We shouldn't be ashamed to acquire wealth or if we possess estates so long as our wealth doesn't become a hindrance to our faithful following of the Lord Jesus Christ. So far as it doesn't keep us from being a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ and hearing these words of Ephesians 4, giving to those in need of being generous. Money and property can be a hindrance, and we should be aware of that, but it doesn't need to be that way. So the Bible doesn't speak against private ownership. It speaks, in fact, of the reality of it. Secondly, what does this commandment forbid? commandment says obviously God forbids outright theft and robbery that's what the governing authorities punish when something is taken unlawfully there is that's very clear God forbids that but more than that in God's sight theft also includes evil tricks and schemes Designed to get our neighbors goods for ourselves whether by force or means that appear legitimate Even though they're not and it gives the listing and accurate Measurements of weight size and volume and so on and he forbids all greed and squandering of our gifts or of his gifts rather unjust weights and measures that's also included in here and We need to understand something about private ownership. It gives a degree of freedom. If you remember God called the people out. He delivered his people from bondage. He delivered them from enslavement. They were enslaved in Egypt and now he gives them this command as he's preparing to give them the land. He says you're going to go into the land and I don't want you to steal. I want you to take from others. Isn't that interesting? What does it say about our hearts when we know that there's going to be prosperity coming and it's more important for us to hear about not squandering and not hoarding? You would think, well, we get more. We want to give away more. But we know from our own heart, we know from our own experience that the more we get, the more we really start to rely on that. We think this really is giving me a lot of possibilities. This is something I could really live for. God had set them free to live for Him, for others. He delivered them from bondage, gave them this land. He said, don't steal, don't take from another. Don't endanger their ability to live freely. He saves us and wants us to be free to do honest work and to be good stewards of what we've received from Him. We're to save and to spend and to give, all in a biblical way, in the right way, to give account what we've done because we are going to give account for all that we've said, all that we've done with the things that we've received. Look at what is forbidden in this commandment then according to the catechism. Look a little bit closer now. Not to gain from others through evil tricks or schemes. Here it says through inaccurate measurements, these sorts of things. Well, in the days long ago, that's how they would do their commerce, right? Children that have these scales and they'd put a standard weight on this side and whatever was put on this side, they would determine how much was being brought in and how much the buyer had to pay to the seller. And they would obviously sometimes mess with those weights and measures so that it would be in their favor, so they wouldn't have to pay as much, and they could sell it for more. And it was dishonest, and God said, don't be that way. But how does that happen? What creates that? Well, it comes from covetous hearts, right? It comes from hearts that long for money and for goods more than for honesty. If we're discontent, if we're impatient, we want to wait, right? We want to take that cruise that our parents took when they were 60 in our 30s, right? Or when we're 40, and we can enjoy it more, and we think we should have that. That's only right. Don't want to wait for that. We become impatient. We try to figure out how we're going to do it sooner. Well, it's very tempting then to be dishonest in our dealings if we're just driven by resources and by discontent and by impatience. So there's really a challenge here against those things as well. Stealing is speaking to the attitude of our heart. Are we discontent? Are we impatient? Are we covetous? Maybe we don't use inaccurate measurements, unjust scales today, they did in times past, but we can see how we do that today. But before we do, listen to some of the wording that God gave through his prophets in the Old Testament, warning against dishonesty and stealing. The minor prophets are filled with it, the concern for integrity and for honesty in the society. In Hosea, we read the Lord sees the merchant in whose hands are false balances. He sees that they love to oppress. Now that could have meant the balances, the scales. It could have also meant they had a balance sheet and they were adding interest to it so that they would keep this person indebted to them and they would never be able to get out of it. And God says, I see that. I don't want that among my people. I don't want you to enslave someone. I don't want them to have to move from being able to work freely to now being in bondage again. I've delivered from that. Amos declared that Israel was filled with robbers. They were conducting unjust business with deceit. This was an abomination to the Lord. You can think of other examples too, but how about a modern scenario? Where do you sell your stuff? eBay, right? Or maybe you don't, maybe some other website, but you're selling your stuff. Now, how are you going to sell that? Are you going to be honest about describing it? Because when you put it up there, you've got to make a description. This is what it looks like, this is the condition, so on and so forth, right? I was reminded as I was preparing for this sermon, just how quickly we can falsely advertise, right? I was listening to someone, he said, boy, he says, I was convicted when this commandment came around and I thought back to a time when I had put something on eBay and I put it out there and I thought I had considered the condition and all of the factors so that I could give it the price that I put on it. And when the person came who wanted to buy it, they looked at it, and they found things that I hadn't listed. They found things wrong that I hadn't put on there, and I realized I didn't really want to list those things. I didn't really want to describe the product as it really was because I wanted more money for it. And right there, you're convicted that that's just being dishonest. That's stealing, right? We need to think about that. We're not always completely honest, and that's because we think, well, yeah, I just want to get rid of this. I've gotten my use out of this, and I want something else. And so I'm going to just be a little dishonest and maybe get more out of it than what I should. Or the Bible speaks against trickery, speaks against such schemes. It's convicting to me, right? I thought of another way, you want to sell an automobile. Now, you don't want to sell that automobile, at least if you're dealing with my sinful heart, you don't want to sell that automobile to a family member or a friend, because you know there's some things wrong with it, but you're hoping that you can sell it for a better price, and you don't want that to come back to you. You don't want the person to come back and say, wait a minute, I thought you said this car ran fine. It's it's rattling like crazy and there's this and oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that. Oh, I didn't talk about that or oh, whoops. Yeah, well And you right away are it's those scenarios where you start to think now. Wait a minute. Am I being honest here? Am I being forthright or am I trying to get away with something? We've experienced this. We've been on the other end of it as well. We've been sold things that we're told to be in good working condition, good working order, only to find out that they don't work well. This is deceptive. So what is it that we Think about when we're in this commandment. We're thinking about honesty here. We're thinking about being fair. We're thinking about how we want to present these things and not steal from others. So, not gaining through evil tricks or schemes. So then, this commandment is not only instructive, it's convicting. Secondly, the commandment we could go deeper into, but I'm not going to tonight. The second part of it is, in addition, God forbids all greed and pointless squandering of his gifts. Well, thinking of greed particularly, how do we use the resources God has given to us? Are we generous with that, or do we hold on to it? Do we want it to work for us and for us alone? We can't ever say, it's my money and I can do whatever I want with it, just to cut right through it. That's wrong. God gives us What we have and he says I want you to use it rightly. I want you to save it in a right fashion I want you to you spend it in the right fashion. I want you to to give I want you to be mindful of how you're using your possessions whether that could be a Talent to I've given you this talent. How are you stewarding that I? We gotta be good stewards with what God has given. Children, maybe I can put it in a different way since you're not pulling in a salary at this point. Your parents teach you to be good managers, to manage your room well, to be clean and neat, right? Because if you're not clean and neat, who's doing the work? Mom or dad, what are you doing? You're stealing from their time, right? This is a pigsty, what am I supposed to do with this? Well, that's kind of where the socks fell, right? What are you doing? You're not learning to manage well what you're given, what you're responsible for. And so what your parents are trying to teach you is be good managers so that when you are entrusted with more, you are mindful that this is to work for others. I'm not to take from others. I'm not to steal from others from their time or from their energy. I'm to be a good steward, to be thoughtful with what has been given to us to manage. For stewardship, then, do you spend money on things you don't need? I need another pair of shoes. I don't have a pair for Thursday. I've got a pair for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But I don't have a pair for Thursday. I need another pair of shoes. Now I'm pointing at myself a little bit. We can over invest. See how we like to just change things up? It's an investment. It's an investment. That way I won't go through my other shoes so quickly. But do I need seven pairs of shoes? I'm getting us to think a little bit about this, not to put myself on display. I want us to think about this a little bit. There's all kinds of ways that we try to rationalize. It's an investment, or I'm just doing this because I'm trying to be stewardly. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't commit sin against the ninth commandment. Now lie to yourself, right? And say, I need these. This is only stewardly. We need to think about, what are the needs? And how am I giving to the needs around me? Am I just piling treasures up on earth? Jesus says in John 6 verse 19, don't amass treasures on earth. fill that shoe closet, don't fill that garage with all kinds of things that are going to tie you down and take you away from other more important matters. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in and steal." What are we investing in? What are we giving to? How are we thinking about the time that we have, the investment of our time and our energies? What are they being... Where are we investing our time and what are we doing with our time? It's said last Sunday night that the early church was known for its radical purity and for its radical generosity. It was Known for its radical generosity. In the early church, there was this understanding that the church was not only going to care for its own, but for others outside the church. I forget which one of the rulers back then was, he was shocked, he said, the Christians are totally outdoing us when it comes to benevolence. They're taking care of the people we're supposed to take care of. What's going on here? And the church is what was known for its radical generosity. Let me just remind us of that Acts chapter 2. It says this. All who believed were together and had all things in common. They were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. They were selling their possessions and belongings. There's this private property, but they were giving, saying, you know what? I don't need this. I'm gonna be generous. There's a greater need here. There's a greater cause for me to give to. This isn't a communism that they're practicing here, but a radical generosity. go back earlier still in the Old Testament tithing, right? We read about tithing and the non-tithers were called thieves because they They held back from God. They were to tithe to support the ministry of the Levites. Remember they didn't have property and they didn't have resources. How was the gospel ministry? How is the ministry of the word going to go forward? It was by the people's provision. What was important to them to provide so that the word of God would go forward so that these these these teachings would go forward that would lead to eternal life right to people looking to the Lord for life. we have here is more than a law then. It's a window into the being of God. It's a window into the gospel. Who is God? What are we saying about God when we're generous? Remember, we're representing Him. What are we saying about Him? He is generous beyond comparison. There's no one, nothing that compares to God when it comes to generosity. The gospel is all about God's riches given to us at Christ's expense. Grace. God's riches at Christ's expense. We should speak of how generous God is, and we should show that in the way that we give. As I was thinking, or as I was studying for this passage, it was brought to my attention in my study that Psalm 69 speaks of stealing, speaks of taking and restoring. And if we think that of all the scripture pointing to Christ, this speaks to Christ. In Psalm 69, what we read is this. The psalmist says those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head though. I have stolen nothing yet. I will restore what has been stolen or it's it's answered and it's it's stated in the form of a question. But what he's saying is must I restore what I didn't take? And what does Christ do when he comes? He restores relationship. He restores connection, though He has not taken. We've taken, we've abused, we've stolen. Christ comes and says, I come to repay, to make payment. That word in John 19 is, it is finished, paid in full, right? Everything is paid in full. The balance sheet has been paid. I've given everything that My people might be restored. Christ redeems thieves like you and me. Like the thief on the cross who said, will you remember me in paradise? Will you remember me? And Jesus said, I tell you the truth today, you will be with me in paradise. I have given everything that you might be. I am restoring through my actions. He did not consider equality with God something to be held on to, but set aside his glory to come to earth, to rescue sinners, to give everything, to earn life for us. The gospel is about God's generosity. He gives what we cannot possibly earn. It's been said this way, Jesus assumes a poverty of respect and honor, a poverty of strength. And he did so because God loves to restore sinners to a place of honor. That's very, very good, very helpful. I read that this week. Jesus assumes a poverty of respect and honor, a poverty of strength, and he did so because God loves to restore sinners to a place of honor. So God is setting before us then what is seen here. He's giving, he's providing for us. And he says, now I'm entrusting you, I'm making you stewards. I'm calling you to fill the earth and subdue it. I'm calling you to be good stewards of what I've given, all the gifts and the talents and the resources. Now represent me. Show others who I am. I'm not stingy. I'm not going to hold back. I'm going to give. And I'm not going to pile up as though I have some need. And he says, as my people, you don't have need. I will provide everything that you need. So give, and do so generously. So, question and answer 111. The Bible talks about ownership of things. What does this commandment require? The Bible talks about ownership of things, but it does not say that what we possess is ours and ours alone. What does God require? That I do whatever I can and may. Notice that. Whatever I'm able to do, and whatever I'm called to, whatever I'm permitted to do. Whatever I may do that I've given been given permission to do for my neighbors good to do all of that that I treat others as I would like them to treat me and that I work faithfully so that I may help the needy and their hardship. There are those who are needy. Jesus said, the poor you shall have among you. They will be there, and we are to provide. And deacons, you have that high calling to point out those needs and to remind us of where those needs are, to consider the causes, and to say, yes, the people of God can give to this cause. We've looked into it, we see this, and this is a way that the church can represent God in being generous. So we're to be good as we are able, to do good, rather, as we are able. or to do to others as we would want them to do to us, or to be industrious so we can help those who are in true need. I was going to take time to look at all of the generous people throughout the Old Testament and some in the New Testament tonight. I'm not going to do that. The Bible's filled with examples of generosity, of giving away. And we can think of the widow with Elijah. We can think of Zacchaeus restoring. There's many other examples. They're transformed, they're confident in God's provision, or they're transformed in the case of Zacchaeus, and they said, what I've taken, I'm gonna give back, and even more, and I'm gonna help those who have need. There are examples of generous people throughout, but Christ is the ultimate example of an endless, infinite generosity, and he displays God's generosity. His act to deliver us should lead us to want to give freely to those who are in need. His love and sacrifice for us should lead us to love him and others. Paul gives that charge to the Galatians. In Galatians chapter 6 he says, Those who, the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the spirit will from the spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. To give. Kevin DeYoung in his commentary on the catechism here says this, instead of hoarding, or he summarized it in this way, instead of hoarding our money, we hand it over. Instead of building bigger barns, we nurture bigger hearts. Instead of looking to take, we seek to give. A concise way of thinking about the call of this commandment, to be giving, not holding to ourselves, thinking about how can I get more for myself? God can and does forgive thieves and he can turn them into lovers of their neighbor. As we look to Christ, we see how he has given so much and how he promises that if we are in him, we can be made new. We can be turned from those who are greedy and covetous and want to hold to ourselves and to be those who want to give, to be generous. to be providing for the Lord's work. He shows us the generosity of his Father and tells us that he can give us joy in giving. Better to give than to receive. joy in giving, generosity, what a transformation God can do in us as we look to him and say, Lord, would you make me that new creature in Christ? Would you help me to show the world what your generosity looks like through the work of my hands and through the giving that I provide? That is the prayer that we ought to make, that God would make us generous, that God would make us industrious, that God would make us lover of neighbor, such that, as the catechism says, we might provide all those things that our neighbor needs. That I do whatever I can and may for my neighbor's good, that I treat others as I would like them to treat me, and that I work faithfully so that I may help the needy in their hardship. This, then, is God's word to us in the commandment, promising us forgiveness of sins where we've sinned against him, holding back unjustly, but also the way in which we can be made new. May God make us as he would have us to be, as his children and his representatives. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for how generously you give, and you give, and you give. You do not withhold. You provide all that we need. We thank you, Father, for the gift of your Son, in whom all payment is made, so that it is finished. We are not living to earn your favor. favored in your son, but we are now living in your son as new creatures in him those who Ought to be known for radical generosity such as the world says They make an impact that body of believers really is Hearing the call and responding Lord make us new make us a those who would not hold on to what you give to us, but that we would give with open hand and pray that all glory would go to you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.