"THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT" (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 7/31/25

“Thou shalt not steal.” (Exodus 20:15)

As the holiness of God sets the believer against uncleanness in the Seventh Commandment: "Thou shalt not commit adultery," the justice of God sets them against rapine and robbery in this one. The thing forbidden by this command is meddling with another's property. Lawyers define theft as "the laying hands unjustly on that which is another's." In doing so, you’re essentially invading another's right by taking that which is theirs.

We will start by asking, “Where does theft come from?” The first source is unbelief. A person has a high level of distrust in God's providence. They are resolved that they will spread a table for themselves, but it will be at another's cost, served with stolen goods. Another place theft springs from is covetousness. The Greek word for covetousness signifies 'an immoderate desire of getting' - this is the root of theft. A man covets more than his own, and this itch of covetousness makes him scratch what he can from another. These are both internal sources, but the external cause of theft is always Satan's solicitation. The devil is the greatest thief ever, having robbed us of our coat of innocence and persuading humankind to take up his trade as well. He tells us how easily we can live by thieving. And just as Eve listened to the serpent's voice, so do they.

There are several different types of theft. Some may steal from God, and this is a great offence. We are told to keep the Sabbath day Holy. Not part of the day, but the whole day must be dedicated to God. Therefore, to cut God short and spend the other part of the Sabbath in vanity and pleasure is spiritual thievery. There is a stealing from others by way of stealing away their souls. Heretics are thieves because, by robbing men of the truth, they rob them of their souls. Biblically, the worst kinds of stealing are to steal when one has no need, stealing sacrilegiously, committing the sin of theft against checks of conscience, and examples of God's justice, robbing the widow, orphan, or poor.

There is stealing from oneself. A man may be a thief to himself by wasting his estate. He wastes that which might conduce to the comfort of life. One can also be a thief to oneself by idleness. This is when he misspends his time. To spend one's hours in pleasure and vanity is to rob oneself of the precious time God gives to work out our salvation. Another way a person may rob himself is by suretyship. As Proverbs 22:26 says, "Be thou not one of them that are sureties for debt." We should always lend to others what we can spare and help others with it if needed, but we should never be a surety. This essentially means one who goes into debt to aid another. It is highly unwise for a person to help another in a way that ultimately harms himself. This is to rob themself and their family.

Property must be observed. God sets the Eighth Commandment as a hedge around a person's estate, and this hedge cannot be broken without sin. It reproves those who would live upon stealing. Instead of living by faith, they live by what they can take. The apostle exhorts that every man eats their own bread, but the thief only eats the bread of another.

The command is an exhortation to all to take heed of this sin of thieving because it is a sin against the light of nature. Some may try to excuse this sin and come up with some way to write it off, but God won't.

If we are to avoid stealing, we must live in a calling, for an idle person tempts the devil to tempt him. We also need to be content with what God has given us.