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welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 65 for our call to worship Psalm 65 I'll begin reading in verse 1 to the chief musician a psalm of David a song praise is waiting you O God in Zion and to you the vows shall be performed o you who hear prayer to you all flesh will come iniquities prevail against me as for our transgressions you will provide atonement for them blessed is the man you choose and cause to approach you that he may dwell in your courts we shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house of your holy temple by awesome deeds and righteousness you will answer us so god of our salvation you who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth and of the far-off seas who established the mountains by his strength being clothed with power you who still the noise of the Seas the noise of their waves and the tumult of the people's they also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of your signs you make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice you visit the earth and water it you greatly enrich it the river of God is full of water you provide their grain for so you have prepared it you water its ridges abundantly you settle its furrows you make it soft with showers you bless its growth you crown the year with your goodness and your paths drip with abundance they drop on the pastures of the wilderness and the little Hills rejoice on every side the pastures are clothed with flocks the valleys also are covered with grain they shout for joy they also sing amen well please turn to Psalm 24 be Psalm 24 B as in Bravo and you can stand and we'll sing together [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh [Music] well let us pray our Father in Heaven we gather together again on the Sabbath evening and it's a great privilege and a delight for us we come to the Father through the son and the power of the Holy Spirit confessing that God is all in all we praise you for who you are you are from everlasting to everlasting you are the God who made the world the God who governs the world and the God who has redeemed as a lacked out of the world and we give praise to you Most High for your sovereignty for your power for your majesty and for your glory as well God as the blood-bought children of Jesus Christ our Lord we give praise to you for mercy and for grace we thank you for your forgiveness of our sins as the psalmist says you have removed our iniquity our transgression as far as the east is from the west as the Prophet says you've taken our sins and cast them into the depths of the sea and we rejoice in this blessedness we rejoice in your mercy and grace we rejoice in the gospel of our salvation and as we gather together tonight as we sing these hymns of praise as we look to the holy scripture we pray that our minds would be engaged that your name would be hallowed among us that your Kingdom of grace would come through the preaching of your word and that father your will would be done among us here in this local church we ask that you would be glorified not only as we gather on the Lord's Day but each and every day as we find ourselves as individuals and in families and in workplaces and in society at large help us to be faithful to you to let our conduct be worthy of your gospel and to that end father please supply the Holy Spirit and even tonight father through the preaching of your word help us God to internalize these things may it be the case that we would hide your word in our hearts that we might not sin against you we ask tonight that you would forgive us for our sin and transgression as we come before you scripture is clear that your eye is too pure to behold any any evil to look upon it favorably and God we know and confess that we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love so we pray that you would forgive us for our sins thanking you for the Lord Jesus Christ and the great provision made at Calvary we know that he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and that you are faithful and just to forgive those who confess their sins to you so even now Lord God cleanse us in that precious fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness for those God who have yet to taste and see that the Lord is good we pray that your word would come with power tonight that the law of God would convict and show them their need for the Savior and God we pray that you would grant the graces of faith and repentance so that sinners may come out of darkness in the marvelous light confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior our hearts are so encouraged when we look at that analogy put forth by our Lord in John's Gospel just as Moses lifted up the the brazen serpent so must the Son of Man be lifted up and we know the cure back then was to look and to live and we know the cure today is to look and to live Father be merciful not only here but in other churches in our community throughout this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth we pray that gospel preaching would go forth that it that word would run swiftly and be glorified and that you would save from every tribe and tongue and people in Asia that you would cause your face to shine upon the nations and let them be glad and God in heaven we ask that you would do this for your glory sake and for the magnifying of your great and awesome name in our context we pray for the various persons that are not well physically God we think of mrs. Boult we think of mr. Proctor we think father of Bev and also for Jack whistles father we just ask that you would look with favor upon him that you had caused him to find health first and foremost for his soul and as well for his body and for others God in our Mets that struggle an ongoing basis we just commit them to you and to the word of your grace we know and confess that you're not only Lord God over the spirit over the heart but you are Lord God over the physical as well we also pray for Dawn Neufeld that you would uphold him we know that he has struggles on a regular and ongoing basis and pray that the nearness of God would be his good we also pray for each and every one of us God we all confess a spiritual weariness we all confess as we come out of the world that there are many things in the world many things in our own hearts and lives many attacks by the devil and we need your grace and we need your help and your power so please fill us all with your Holy Spirit and cause us to walk in a manner that is pleasing in your sight and do protect us as Jesus taught us to pray lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one and God we ask that you would bless the persecuted Church we know that a great multitude of brothers and sisters throughout the world do not enjoy the liberties that we have in this nation and God we ask that you look with favor upon your suffering Saints we ask that you would bless those as we prayed this morning for several countries and several persons and difficult hardship situations of hardship we would pray father that you would sustain your Saints give them the grace of perseverance and God again we know that it's through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God so encourage the saints of Christ that are under undergoing such things and cause them to shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation and give them boldness to hold forth that blessed word of truth and God finally we pray for the civil government in this nation prophet Isaiah lived in a day where men called good evil and evil good and it looks as if we live in a similar situation we see the the promotion of wickedness and lawlessness and all manner of transgression against your holy law and as we pray often in your wrath we pray you would remember mercy and again father pour out your Holy Spirit awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins and cause your people to think your thoughts after you and to pray and to intercede for this generation and we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me again in your him books to number 455 455 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] well you can turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 29 for our scripture reading this evening Genesis chapter 29 I'll begin reading in verse 1 so Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east and he looked and saw a well in the field and behold there were three flocks of sheep lying by it for out of that well they watered the flocks a large stone was on the wells mouth now all the flocks would be gathered there and they would roll the stone from the wells mouth water the sheep and put the stone back in its place on the wells mouth and Jacob said to them my brethren where are you from and they said we are from Haran then he said to them do you know Laban the son of Nahor and they said we know him so he said to them is he well and they said he is well and look his daughter Rachel is coming with the Sheep then he said look it is still high day it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together water the sheep and go and feed them but they said we cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and they have rolled the stone from the wells mouth then we water the sheep now while he was still speaking with them Rachel came with her father's sheep for she was a shepherdess and it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the wells mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother then Jacob kissed Rachel and lifted up his voice and wept and Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's relative and that he was Rebecca's son so he ran and told her father then it came to pass when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister's son that he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house so he told Laban all these things and Laban said to him surely you are my bone in my flesh and he stayed with him for a month then Laban said to Jacob because you are my relative should you their force serve me for nothing tell me what should your wages be now Laban had two daughters the name of the elder was Leah and the name of the younger was Rachel Leah's eyes were delicate but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance now Jacob loved Rachel so he said I will serve you seven years for age your younger daughter and laban said it is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man stay with me so Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her then Jacob said to Laban give me my wife from my days are fulfilled that I may go into her and Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast it came to pass in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob and he went into her and Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid so it came to pass in the morning that behold it was leah and he said to Laban what is this you have done to me was it not for Rachel that I served you why then have you deceived me and Laban said it must not be done so in our country to give the younger before the firstborn fulfill her weak and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week so he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also and Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid then Jacob also went into Rachel and he also loved Rachel more than Leah and he served with Laban still another seven years when the Lord saw that leah was unloved he opened her womb but Rachel was barren so Leah conceived and bore a son and she called his name reuben where she said the lord has surely looked on my affliction now therefore my husband will love me then she conceived again in borås son and said because the Lord has heard that I am unloved he is therefore given me this son also and she called his name Simeon she conceived again and bore a son and said now this time my husband will become attached to me because I have borne him three sons therefore his name was called Levi and she conceived again and bore a son and said now I will praise the Lord therefore she called his name Judah then she stopped bearing a man well let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word and as we've had cause to reflect in many instances at the Wednesday night study we thank you for this book of Genesis this promise of seed this promise of land this promise of blessing given to Abraham and and and passed down to Isaac and to Jacob and to Joseph and to the nation as a whole and how we praise you and thank you that we live in that time that the Apostle tells us in the fullness of time God sent forth his son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law we know that this family set apart in Genesis was ultimately the the human origin for Messiah and we give praise to you for that one we give praise to you for him that is altogether lovely in him that is chief among 10,000 we pray God that you would bless our time as we continue in worship and help us to bring glory to your great name and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you can turn with me to psalm 119 our that psalm 119 our as in romeo and you can stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] we can turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5 Deuteronomy chapter 5 as we continue to work our way through the Ten Commandments we're in the eighth commandment tonight so Deuteronomy 5:19 but I'll read beginning in verse 6 Deuteronomy 5 6 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage you shall have no other gods before me you shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth you shall not bow down to them nor serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the father's upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my Commandments you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God in it you shall do no work you nor your son nor your daughter nor your male servant nor your female servant nor your ox nor your donkey nor any of your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you and remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you you shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor you shall not covet your neighbor's wife and you shall not desire your neighbor's house his field his male servant his female servant his ox his donkey or anything that is your neighbors these words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice and he added no more and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me amen will let us pray father again we thank you for the written word of the Living God we thank you that you've not left us alone in the world but you've given us Scripture and you've given us the Holy Spirit and what a blessed promise and gift that this is and we pray tonight that the Spirit guide us and lead us and help us as we consider this passage in Deuteronomy 5 as we look to the rest of scripture to see your condemnation of this act of thievery god help us to be honest help us to be men and women of integrity help us to be men and women of hard work and Industry and to bring glory and honor and praise to you knowing that we're not saved by our ability to keep the law but we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and having come to the Savior he points us now to this blessed law as a pattern for our sanctification as the Lord Christ prayed sanctify them by thy truth thy Word is truth and may such things occur even tonight as we consider this your word and we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well as we consider this particular section of scripture remember that we are in fact a Reformed Church and as a result we believe that the Ten Commandments have perpetuity in new covenant setting the Ten Commandments reveal who God is and whatever covenant you happen to be under whether it's the old or the new the Ten Commandments are abiding we know as Paul says that the law is good if one uses it lawfully that's what he says in 1st Timothy chapter one and verse eight so we don't preach these as Commandments in this way you need to go out and not steal in order to be saved we will never be saved by the works of the law we are sinners in adda and the only way of escape the only way of deliverance is through the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ but as we understand when Christ saves us when Christ gives us his holy Jarett he points us to the law as a pattern for our sanctification in other words christians should live in a manner that is consistent with god's law Jesus says in the Upper Room discourse if you love me you will keep my Commandments the Apostle John in first John says the commandments of God are not Grievous as well we see the Apostle Paul specifically in Ephesians 4 cautioning the people in Ephesus against stealing or theft and encouraging them to diligent hard work and to charitable giving so we'll draw out some of those things as we move through this commandment tonight I want to look first at the prohibition of the command secondly the reason for the command and then thirdly the positive aspect of the command now typically in the last few commandments I've only read the Westminster larger catechism with reference to the positive but tonight I do want to draw out some positives from this particular commandment but in terms of the prohibition this obviously is extensive or it's applied extensively throughout Scripture there's a whole host of things that fall under the car the the purview rather of the eighth commandment it's a very simple statement you shall not steal and essentially at its root basic definition that means the unlawful taking of another another's property either by force or fraud we're not supposed to do that that's God's work we're not supposed to take something that does not belong to us and in terms of a sample of the sins forbidden in the first place you have the act of burglary we looked at that briefly last time or two times ago when we looked at the sixth commandment and saw that it was legitimate to engage in self defense well the particular passage in Exodus 22 verses 2 & 3 deals with the crime of burglary or the sin of burglary and that simply means entering a dwelling with the intent to steal something also under this commandment a sin prohibited is the act of robbery now we oftentimes confuse robbery and burglary but there is a distinction and the scripture makes that robbery is taking something someone by the use of violence or intimidation so burglary hopefully with reference to a burglar he doesn't want to encounter anybody along the way of burglary he simply wants to get in and steal with reference to robbery there is an intent on the part of the person to do violence to the other as they deprive them of their goods you see this in proverbs chapter 1 verses 10 to 19 by way of an example of what robbing man or wicked men look like in terms of robbery and then as well in Jesus parable of the Good Samaritan it was certainly bad for these robbers to fall upon this man and inflict him with violence and take everything away from him a third sin condemned in this prohibition is the act of kidnapping now there are three passages that deal with kidnapping in that I'm aware of that specifically speak to kidnapping the first is in Exodus chapter 21 Exodus chapter 21 at verse 16 he who kidnaps a man and sells him or he if he is found in his hand shall surely be put to death and that is repeated again in Deuteronomy chapter 24 at verse 7 now typically we think of kidnapping as a rich man's son or daughter being taken and then held for ransom that's certainly condemned by God in the scripture but most likely what sin villiers slavery the act of taking a man from one place to another and then making a slave out of him and this is the only instance in terms of fact where there is a capital sanction pronounced upon the criminal in other words with reference to theft in the Bible it wasn't executional it wasn't a capital offense it was rather there were other means by which burglars and thieves and robbers and those sorts of people were dealt with but with reference to man stealing scripture says that that is in fact a capital offense now Paul repeats man stealing in first Timothy chapter 1 and verse 10 when man says it is today regarded as certain that the prohibition of stealing referred originally to the kidnapping of a free person it was intended to steal a man's freedom to enslave him and to indeed in upon him that gross injustice so we've got burglary robbery kidnapping and then the act of fraud and essentially fraud is deception deliberately practiced to secure unfair or unlawful gain intriguingly we just read of an instance of fraud we have that man lay bet who at the one hand or on the one hand you know funds all over his his nephew and then on the other hand engaged and engages in fraud against him and ends up having another seven years of a basically slave service wrought out by Jacob so fraud is an act of sin against God and there are various ways of engaging in fraud scripture speaks about moving a landmark you're not supposed to do that you are not supposed to defraud another person by moving the landmark and extending your own property as well the use of unjust weights and I want to just not focus on this for a long time but just show you where God's law is with reference to these violations look at Leviticus chapter 19 Leviticus chapter 19 the use of unjust weights is a method of engaging in fraud and in exile of it occurs chapter 19 at verse 35 you shall do no injustice in judgment in measurement of length weight or volume you shall have honest scales honest weights and honest Ava and an honest hen I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt now this has repeated several times in the Bible so it's obvious that it's something that God condemns I'm not saying it's the worst of all of the sins but it's certainly something that comes under fire very often under Solomon or in Solomon's proverbs he says it in proverbs 11:1 proverbs 1611 proverbs 20 10 proverbs 20 23 proverbs 22 22 and 23 so this is again an act of fraud that is wicked the use of unjust weights and I would suspect that this includes counterfeiting and what's called fractional reserve banking and inflation on the part of the government it's always intrigued me that whenever Christians bring economics with reference to the government there's a certain pietistic strand in the church that says we shouldn't be concerned about such things the eighth commandment calls us to be concerned about such things there's also a type of Christianity that suspects the bible does not pronounce a positive affirmation of any one sort of economic theory but it certainly condemns socialism and communism by the eighth commandment that is condemned you shall not steal it is unlawful on the part of private individuals or on the part of governments to deprive things from their people again fractional reserve banking that simply means that banks only have to have a little bit of money backing the currency that is in play that means this is what's called fiat money it only has value because a group of men say it has value that's problematic that leads to economic collapse and again against the pietistic reaction that says well we shouldn't be concerned about economic collapse absolutely positively we should the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and he will hold government's accountable for the way that they have exploited and for the way that they have stolen from their body politic if you look at Isaiah the prophet you see a direct condemnation by God to these particular sins in Isaiah chapter one Isaiah chapter one verse 22 specifically well we'll pick up in verse 21 prophet Isaiah the prophet of God who's come to denounce the sins specifically of Judah and in verse 21 how the faithful City has become a harlot it was full of justice righteousness lodged in it but now murderers your silver has become dross your wine mixed with water your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards they do not defend the fatherless nor does the cause of the widow come before that that reference in verse 22 your silver has become dross and your wine mixed with water the reference is to false weights silver replace by some cheap alloy as well a quart of wine made into a gallon by adding water to it God condemns that thievery is condemned at the level of the individual it's also condemned at the level of the of the government authorities and that's precisely what Isaiah is doing in this particular instance and then another means of engaging in fraud is the exploitation of hired workers the exploitation of hired workers Deuteronomy 24:14 and James v for James sounds like one of the prophets of the Old Testament when he comes to deal with the sin of the new covenant church he doesn't say well we shouldn't be concerned about such things we should just pray and just sing and just engage in acts of piety again we should pray we should say we should engage in acts of piety but acts of piety include obedience to the eighth commandment you shall not steal it is a reprehensible sin and a crime against Almighty God as well the act of extortion the acquiring of property by undue legal power or undue influence proverbs 22 22 and 23 Matthew chapter 23 14 and 20 Matthew 23 25 remember when he talks about the the Pharisees and the religious leaders who basically exploit widows what do you think he means by that a widow would come to these religious authorities a widow would come to seek counsel in terms of planning for her future now that her beloved husband is gone and these these monsters these pariahs would victimize them and extort money from them Christ condemns that and pronounces a woe upon them again he doesn't say well you know it's money and I have no truck with anything that has to do with money whatsoever that is simply untrue brethren the Scriptures tell us that God is angry with the wicked every day with reference to every cent when it comes to the 10 commandments certainly we ought to lift up our voices for the unborn we ought to lift up our voices with reference to the elderly and the infirm we ought to be a people that propound the sixth commandment in this generation but we also ought to remember the seventh visa vie sexual sin and the eighth commandment visa vie theft the the unjust deprivation of property from others by individuals or by governments and then you've got the destruction of property it's always wrong to destroy somebody else's property there is the negligent one the the man who can't control his animal and it goes out and destroys another animal that's a crime we had an instance of that where my dog was viciously and savagely attacked and when I called the RCMP they said well that's not our business that is a property crime that dog is my property and somebody else's dog tried to eat it that is a crime and it should be handled as such and that's unacceptable to say well we don't we don't look into such things call this number and play phone tag with the city it is negligent and person's guilty of negligence are guilty and they should be punished as well through wickedness the reality is is that there's some vile wretched people in this world that destroy things for no good reason there are people that that have utter disregard for the property of other people and they engage in this unlawful practice and think that there's no problem whatsoever God the Lord sees God the Lord is as against this sort of thing as he is against the various other transgressions of his holy law now before we move on we ought to consider in a religious context the act of religious theft Gary North has famously said men want their religion but they want it cheap God the Lord commands his people to give to give from their the bone the benefits that they have received again this isn't a health wealth prosperity time I'm not going to put on the big hairdo and say you know you give together whatever none of that but God Almighty has prospered us why I read Psalm 65 you know when Psalm 65 was sang it was at the time of harvest they didn't look to their government praised their government for the rain for the Sun and for the abundance of the earth they praised God Almighty as a result of the blessings they had received so God says bring back some and give it to me in terms of sacrifice in terms of an expression or an act of worship turn over to the Prophet Malachi Malachi deals with this particular sin in a religious context Malachi chapter 3 verse 8 will a man Rob God yet you have robbed me but you say this is the pattern in Malachi he condemns them for a particular sin and then they essentially say who us what are you talking about Lord us we would never do such a thing as vile as that what do you mean and then he gives the specific or concrete example will a man Rob God yet you have robbed me but you say in what way have we robbed you in tithes and offerings you are cursed with a curse for you have robbed me even this whole nation bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and try me now in this says the Lord of Hosts if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it and then turn to the to the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 23 Matthew chapter 23 the condemnation of the scribes and the Pharisees verse 23 specifically woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you pay tithes of mint and anise and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law justice and mercy and faith there's a sermon right there all on its own but it's the next phrase or clause that we ought to pay attention to these you ought to have done justice mercy and faith without leaving the others undone their problem wasn't that they their problem was that they neglected justice mercy and faith he says practice justice mercy and faith and don't leave the other things visa vie tithing undone in other words don't rob from God do not be a thief and violate the eighth commandment relative to persons around you or relative to God Almighty it is a sin against him so those are some external expressions of the sin but in terms of the inner inner disposition we saw that with the commandment last week it's not to contest the condemnation of the external act of adultery that Jesus condemns in the Sermon on the Mount but also the inner heart disposition of lust and the same thing obtains with reference to the sin of thievery in the first place it expresses covetousness now we'll deal with covetousness in more detail in a few weeks from now as that's the last commandment or the tenth commandment but as well the sin of discontented nests turn over to first Timothy chapter 6 for just a moment first Timothy chapter 6 specifically at verse 6 now godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out and having food and clothing with these we shall be content but those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil for which some have strayed from the faith and their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows the emphasis of the Apostle is to be content with what you have it isn't to be Craven about what your what you don't have or what your neighbor has or lusting or coveting after that and then the reason we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out and then that principle in verse 8 having food and clothing with these we shall be content now we'd like you know I don't know what a famous suit is of 6,000 dollar Italian suit or you Oh steak and lobster but that's not what God's promises that's not necessarily the case beans and rice do the same thing in the digestive system and perhaps more so than lobster at time so so it's not the case that well we have to have this type of food or we have to have this type of clothing I mentioned this morning in Philippians chapter 3 I referred to it Paul said I know how to abound and I know how to be abased you understood what it was to have plenty but as well to have not plenty and so he learned contentedness he learned how to appreciate what God gave verse 9 says those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare interesting turn of phrase the scripture enjoins upon men hard work do you see a man who excels in his work he shall stand before King Solomon says there's nothing wrong with hard work in fact it's commanded that we work hard and in the working heart God oftentimes prospers and blesses his people and later on we're going to consider what he says later concerning money in 1st Timothy chapter 6 but suffice to say right now it's this desire to be rich it's this desire to have it's this desire like the horse leech that says give give again according to Solomon it's not that hard work blessed by God producing a bounty is necessarily condemned by the Lord it is this Craven desire for something that is not right and Paul condemns it and then he says in verse 10 and something we all need to get our minds wrapped around the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil it's not money we all need money in order to live as my brother often says and I have not you know been shy and repeating it we don't live on love and fresh air you cannot go to Walmart and say well I don't love money so I don't have money but I want this stuff they're gonna say get out you have to have money in order to buy this it's the love of money is our money we all need money nothing wrong with money money isn't sinful in and of itself money doesn't go out and rob banks money is money it's a tool that we need that we are stewards over it's the love of it it is when it becomes an idol it is when Mammon gains our affections and our attention and our time it is when ma'am and has displaced the true and living God that's what Jesus condemns in Matthew chapter 6 and that's what the Apostle is condemning here in 1st Timothy 6 because look at verse 17 he says command those who are rich in this present age to get rid of all their money that's not what he says he does not say if you have money you're a wicked terrible specimen of a human being and you need to divest yourself of all that money so that you can be wholly righteous and virtuous no that's not what he says there's certain rules governing those who possess a lot of money and that's what Paul deals with in first Timothy sex not get rid of it and everything will be hunky-dory brethren if you are rich and you are deprived of your money you could still be as sinful if you're poor you're still sinful it's not that only the rich have this sin it's poor people have said everybody has said it's how we deal with what God has given us or not given us that makes the difference so the sin of covetousness the sin of discontented nests and then as well the sin of idolatry I already mentioned Jesus in Matthew 6:24 but turn to Ephesians 5 this idea of idolatry connected to money material possessions Ephesians 5:6 well let me just back up here verse 3 fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness let it not even be named among you as is fitting for Saints neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor coarse jesting which are not fitting but rather giving of things for this you know that no fornicator unclean person now notice nor covetous man who is an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ than God let no one deceive you with empty words for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience therefore do not be partakers with them and the same is essentially repeated in Colossians 3 at verse 5 Colossians 3 verse 5 therefore put to death your members which are on the earth fornication uncleanness passion evil desire and covetousness which is idolatry so you've got the external sins that we can that we consider but you have this internal disposition this covetous heart this this idolatrous heart this lack of contentedness with reference to God that is the internal disposition that is equally condemned by God in the prohibition of the eighth commandment you shall not steal now secondly by way of a major observation the reason for the command why does God give this command because God's holy because God is good because God is righteous and thievery is unholy thievery is bad and thievery is unrighteous it is a wicked expression of contempt against our neighbor the earth belongs to God Psalm 24 we sang it at the outset of worship and in the Providence of God he gives certain things to certain people why does he give great wealth to one and he doesn't give it to the other I don't know in the eternal decree of God wherein he has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass he has purposed that some men some women some people will be well-off and others won't remember the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 26 he says the poor you will always have that is a settled principle not that we shouldn't try to help poor people not that we shouldn't try to ameliorate the downtrodden and the poor not that we should close our hearts to the cries of those in need and say well you know Jesus taught there's always going to be poor so we'll just step over them as we walk into our offices no we ought to be kind we ought to be gracious we ought to express that benevolence and that generosity but in the in the final analysis God puts people where they're at now that doesn't mean you're you know stuck in a particular position you can't get up and go get a better job or things like that don't be fatalistic with this but in terms of wealth and prosperity and then conversely poverty it's ultimately God doling out according to his purposes who has and who hasn't now Deuteronomy 8:18 highlights that reality that God gives wealth you can turn there Deuteronomy 8:18 and you shall remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you power to get wealth that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your father's as it is this day so when everything belongs to God God gives power to some to get wealth and then as I said Matthew chapter 26 verse 11 the poor you will have always it is God's providence again please if you're struggling don't just say well you know God wants me to always struggle you can try to get a better job you can achieve more skills you can use the means that God has ordained and you can try to claw your way up from that debt that you happen to be in so don't become a fatalist with reference to this doctrine but in terms of the reality God is overall God gives the power to get wealth and God in fact has it to be the way or the case that the poor you shall always have now in terms of God we then have man the position of man we're not supposed to steal from one another because we're image bearers of the living and true God we're to respect one another were to be kind-hearted toward one another we're not to let those sort of innate desires for stuff overrule goodness and decency to the point where we are takers from others instead of those who are charitable and kind and gracious we need to be stewards of God's good gifts and then as well it is an attack upon man it is an attack upon man Vern poythress in his book the shadow of Christ and the law of Moses says the destruction of or ex-pro expropriation of property is in direct attack on the human life supported by it you may not be cutting the throat of a particular individual but if you take his wealth if you take his stuff if you take his Goods if you take his things then eventually it will affect him in a manner that is detrimental to his well-being so the act of theft is an indirect attack upon man himself in terms of his life and his ability to sustain life and then obviously the law of God God says you shall not steal so we've seen the prohibition we see the reason let's look thirdly and finally at the positive aspect of the command and there are three things that I want to consider here first of all the necessity of diligent labor now I guess I should repeat the qualification from the sermon on depression working yourself into the pit isn't necessarily a good thing working yourself into the position where your wife and children don't recognize you isn't a good thing so let me just get that out of the way okay you can't work so much that everything else falls apart around you you you know that's again it's worn like a badge today well I'm so busy I'm so busy I'm so busy and we are everybody's so busy you almost want to just go to Hawaii where they ceased heard you nobody lives by clocks there I know a Reformed Baptist pastor that wanted a plan to church I shared this I think at the confession study and he says they're a great group of people but men you can't plan a chant Church there I mean you still want to start at 11 everybody comes at 11:30 if the waves are big I mean it's just the way it is they come running with their surfboards lean them up against the wall and then run into worship with their you know their their sandals in their shorts on he's again lovely wonderful people but but clocks don't seem to matter in Hawaii there's other cultures like that that's not true of us we have clocks everywhere so we need to probably have that sort of qualification made clear that we don't want to work ourselves to the point where our wives and our children don't recognize us there's no there's no dignity in that try to work on a good work-life balance that's a helpful thing I think what they're calling it now in the in the sort of business world but in terms of diligent labor we not only get that from the fourth commandment right six days you shall labor and do all your work but the eighth commandment you shall not steal turn to the book of Ephesians the book of Ephesians where we'll see these principles drawn out from Scripture the mandate to reap the benefits from your labor not through theft notice in Ephesians chapter four at verse twenty-eight let him who stole steal no longer but rather let him labor working with his hands what is good that he may have something to give him who has need as well you see it in the epistles to the Thessalonians it's in the second letter to the Thessalonians where you have that famous statement if a man does not work neither shall he eat well why is that well the Thessalonians thought that Jesus was going to return in any moment they probably sat on their roofs looking up at the sky waiting for the return of Jesus guess where they weren't when they were on their roofs they weren't in the shop they weren't in the they weren't at the Forge they weren't at the the surgery they weren't at wherever they were supposed to be they were waiting and Paul lays down that mandate if a man does not work neither shall he eat so you had this situation where you'd have a potluck and you have all these people that aren't working because they're waiting for Jesus and Paul would stand at the table and say no unless you're working you're not eating that's just the way it goes well that sounds so harsh that sounds so vicious that sounds so unkind no it isn't harsh and no it isn't vicious and no it isn't unkind you need to work that's the simple statement that Byatt that the Bible everywhere upholds but as well this statement by Paul it's very obviously a situation that he's addressing among Christians let him who stole the the language of the tents that is used seems to indicate it was still possibly going on among some of the professing believers and so Paul wants to stop it he wants to correct that he wants to bear down upon them with Christian ethics to tell them that this is in fact no way to live the Westminster larger catechism says what are the duties required in the eighth commandment and one part says and an endeavor by all just and lawful means to procure preserve and further the wealth and outward estate of others as well as our own we have manifold repetitious statements in the book of Proverbs enjoining upon the people of God hard work listen to Thomas Watson he says the bread that tastes most sweet is obtained with most sweat isn't that beautiful I remember years and years ago brother Steve Lawson and I would go to that that if anybody's listening on the internet they'll go Steve Lawson goes to that church and surely there's a famous preacher named Steve Lawson but we used to go to Union Gospel Mission I remember talking to this one guy and he he really seemed with jetty he wanted to work and one of the things that he indicated was the lack of dignity that he underwent this this feeling he didn't use the language that that you know articulated it this way but you could just see the I get involved I just want a job I just want to work I'm trying to find something trying to be able to support my family trying trying to do something that's good and right and lawful that is absolutely positively the case there is there is blessedness in work the bread that tastes most sweet is obtained with most sweat he says a godly man would rather fast than eat the bread of idleness vain professing Christians talk of living by faith but do not live in a calling they are like the lilies of the field they toil not neither do they spin an idle person is the devil's tennis ball which he banned he's up and down with temptation till at last the ball goes out of play so there is this necessity for diligent labor that Paul says here in verse 28 let him who stole steal no longer but rather lat him labor working with his hands what is good and that brings us to a second positive aspect the necessity of charitable love toward others see what Paul goes on to say he goes on to say working with his hands what is good that he may have something to give to him who has need so I don't get this condemnation of rich people in our society I get it there's a lot of problems with rich people in our society but rich people for the most part are people that are pouring money into the economy there are people that are hiring other people there are people that are that are in a position to be a blessing toward others let's not condemn them let's encourage them to utilize their resources in a manner that is consistent with God's holy law not just say oh you're bad and terrible because you've worked hard and God's blessed you and you're successful do we really want to be those people do we really want to condemn somebody that's worked hard that's experienced the blessing of God and that is prospered I mean if that's really who we want to be we ought to move down south and vote for Bernie because that's what they are preaching and promulgating their brethren it is wrong there is sin there is abuse there is wickedness associated with riches but there is sin and wickedness and an evil associated with non riches and as the people of God there is the impetus upon us to not only work hard for ourselves and for our wives and our children but for others that are in our contact they could use assistance I've said it before people don't go to Timbuktu which is in what is it where is it at burkina faso yeah I mentioned Timbuktu this morning my brother says that's a real place I've just always heard it as a kid I think I've known it's a real place but didn't realize it was in Burkina Faso but the bottom line is with reference now I lost my point of thought and I apologize for that but the bottom line is with reference to this whole idea is yeah these people don't go to China people don't go to Mayan mark these people don't go to Burkina Faso missionaries don't get sent out on love and fresh air it takes dough it takes money how do we get Bibles printed in other languages Oh we'll just expect that the Lord will drop them down out no God has put brains in men's head he's putting money in other men's pockets he brings them together they love Jesus they operate together and they get Bibles into the hands of people that need that I have not yet met a publisher that's just going to do this for free you're not gonna just say oh yeah we just love everybody we want to print Bibles and good Christian books no that's just not the reality as the people of God making a little bit of money so that we can look out for the others around us is to obey God's law don't think that it's somehow wicked bad or evil to work art experience the blessing of God and to know a degree of prosperity or blessedness and then finally the necessity of biblical contentment now you can turn back to first end of the 6 where we can see what Paul says I'm sorry necessity of biblical contentment it is enjoined upon us there in verses 6 to 10 but I want to look at that other passage in verses 17 to 19 command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty nor to trust and uncertain riches but in the Living God see there's a tendency or a temptation involved with a man who has a great deal of money he says command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty pride is often associated with a lot of money but even before that just think about this command think about this Paul tells Timothy I want you to gather up the rich people in Ephesus and I want you to bring them into the study and I want you to have a Bible study with that I want you to tell them how they're supposed to deal with their money Timothy doesn't say well I don't know about that sort of thing because I'm not a man of means it doesn't matter you're a man of God and God speaks to all men everywhere and rich men at purse / particular propensities to particular sins and they need to be addressed and if they and you command then you don't suggest it you don't try and courage that you command them what God says to do with the money that God's given them command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty you don't parade your money around you don't drop big bucks all over the place and and you know short sort of exalt yourself nor to trust in uncertain riches again a man who has you know seventy billion dollars could possibly be tempted to not trust God in fact that's what Solomon says in proverbs 30 or I think it's ascribed to Edgar there give me neither poverty nor riches why because if I'm poor I'll go out and steal and dishonor God but if I'm rich I'll forget him he understands the tendency of the human heart give me neither poverty on the one hand because their sins associated with that give me neither riches on the other hand because their sins associated with that let me just live or fly under the radar let me be nondescript give me enough to eat and enough to wear that is what my desire is and here we have the propensity of the rich to be haughty to trust in riches and then he goes on well look at it try a nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the Living God do we actually think what he says in the next Clause who gives us richly all things to enjoy well maybe it's just me having been brought up Roman Catholic I live by guilt very often I know we're supposed to walk by faith a lot of guilt in this heart still trying to dis possess it to Canaanite that remains in the land want to get it out of there but it's almost like my wife will affirm this if anything good happens to me I almost feel guilty it just shouldn't happen that way that's not the way God has designed it I showed you from probably many many times Deuteronomy 28 one of the problems with Israel is that they would go into the land a land of abundance a land flowing with milk and honey a land filled with goodness and blessedness and their hearts wouldn't be thankful to God they would grumble they would whine they would complain they receive it and say thank you Lord for your goodness that's the consistent response when someone gives you a gift if I were to give you a gift and you say but I'm so unworthy and it makes me feel guilty and I feel terrible take the gift and have fun God Most High gives us good things if you're not convinced to that look back for just a moment we'll return here first Timothy chapter four first Timothy chapter four verse one now the spirit expressly says that in the latter that in latter times some will depart from the faith giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons speaking lies in hypocrisy having their own conscience seared with a hot iron boy these are bad men they are doctrines of demons that they're espousing what must this be it must put some some unholy cabal where people go out into the woods and they offer child sacrifice and they engage in the most vile and reprehensible things I mean that's how he's setting it up isn't it it's a terrible thing that's in view we'll look at the particular identification of the sins in view in verse three forbidding to marry asceticism this idea that the physical is somehow bad that it's wrong for a man and a woman to enjoy one another contra proverbs chapter 5 rejoice with the wife of your youth there have always been those people that think it's somehow holy to be miserable that think it's somehow holy to just be unhappy to just look like you've always sucked on a lemon and to have the most miserable expression and that's somehow godly Christianity what happened to rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice brethren that ought to be the trajectory in the Christian life not this miserable disposition where it looks like our dogs just died forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with Thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth for every creature of God is good and nothing is to be refused if it is received with Thanksgiving for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer so back to first Timothy chapter 6 no what God does with some people in terms of conveying upon them great riches nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the Living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy so you don't have to put ashes in your soup you can just enjoy it because God is good now here's specific instruction let them do good that they be rich in good works ready to give willing to share storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life let them do good that they be rich in good works ready to give willing to share you see that's the kind of instruction we ought to be giving to rich people rather than suggesting they're somehow the enemy of the world because they've worked hard they've been blessed and they have prospered that is simply an unbiblical concept that for whatever reason has gained a lot of traction in recent years in North America well in conclusion in the first place we ought to know what the penalties involved in violating the command are with reference to the act of man stealing or kidnapping or enslaving others that was in fact a capital offense the scripture is clear that the person that would enslave or steal another human being is guilty and should be punished by death the other violations of the eighth commandment were not punished by death now I would suspect that in the case of robbery when violence was inflicted upon a particular person that act of violence would in fact be punished more severely or harshly up to and including death if in fact the robber actually killed the person that he was robbing from but in terms of property crimes as a whole it wasn't the case that there were punitive amputations you didn't get your hand chopped off if you stole in Old Covenant Israel there's one instance of punitive amputation in the Old Testament law Deuteronomy chapter 25 the woman seized upon the genitals of a man and squeezed them it was it was called for that she would have her hand cut off and probably the issue wasn't a property crime but it had to do a seed it had to do with children it had to do with an inability on the part of the one who was victimized to be able to produce children but the the proper penalties involved in the first place was restitution the penalty involved restitution in other words the criminal had to pay back the victim it's so contrary to today today if somebody steals from you they go to jail so they can pay their debt to society they didn't steal from society they stole from you and now the government's going to steal from you again because you have to pay for them while they're in jail so that they can eat three hots and have a cot it really isn't right and for whatever reason it is the way it is and it doesn't look like it's going to change and while Butler you sound pessimistic and fatalistic well I'm a realist restitution I think I've mentioned before the Bible is Pro victim not pro criminal not pro Society in a vague reference but pro victim somebody steals from you and they're caught they pay you back exodus chapter 22 if they are unable to pay you back now hold on to your pews but this is what scripture says indentured servitude they become your indentured servant to work for you until such time as they have paid back what they stole from you again Pro victim not pro society not pay your debt to the state no you robbed or stole or thieved from someone you pay that someone back so that's what's involved with reference to the penalty now in terms of the use of the eighth commandment as we have considered the law is good if one uses it lawfully the reform have rightfully and helpfully identified three uses of the law the FIR juice is the civil use the second use is the pedagogical use and the third use is the normative and I'll explain as we go along in the first place with reference to the civil use the law of God functions hopefully to restrain men there is the sense where God's law is written on man's heart by virtue of creation I'm not talking about Jeremiah 31 redemptive writing of the law on the heart but the Romans 2:15 the reality that we are made in the image of God and as a result we have the vestiges of God's law written on our hearts and the law of God is function and one of the functions is is to restrain man so that they don't become as evil as they could potentially be the second use as I said is the pedagogical a pedagogue is a child tutor when we hear this teaching on the law of God hopefully it causes us to reflect upon our own conduct hopefully it causes us to perhaps identify wow I shouldn't have stolen that Snickers bar from Walmart the other day I shouldn't steal time from my employer I shouldn't be a discontent wretch I shouldn't be a craven wretch that covets my neighbor's Goods Wow the law of God has found me out what's the answer the child tutor or the pedagogue points us to Jesus how do you know your sin the law of God tells me so so if that has occurred tonight I want to encourage you you will not go to heaven by reforming your work habits you will not go to heaven because you work harder or longer and give more to the poor the only way to go to heaven is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone in other words believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved when we come to Christ there's a blessed thing that happens we receive both the forgiveness of sins and a righteousness that enables us to stand in the presence of God it's imputed to us and it's received by faith alone the law cannot save you you cannot go from this place purposing in your mind and head to never thieve again and never deprive anyone again and to only ever do good and promote the welfare of others that's not going to work you need grace you need faith you need Jesus to save you from your sins and then the third use is the normative use in other words how do Christians or how should Christians normally use God's law in their day-to-day lives well the scripture provides some answers in the first place we are called upon to pay our taxes now I realize there is such a thing as unjust taxation that's perhaps another sermon in fact I might extend this eighth commandment to consider some of the particular abuses of this commandment at the higher levels of government so pray for me on that but in terms of taxation the very basic requirement according to Romans 13 7 is that we pay our taxes that that's the reality now again we can get into the idea of unjust taxation we can deal with all the ins and outs and the particulars involved but the basic bottom line principle according to Paul in Romans 13 relative to the civil government is that we pay our taxes secondly the payment of our debts the payment of our debts you have to pay your debt it's just you know maybe it's just me but it's always amazed me these persons say well you know these credit card companies they charge like what 19 percent you signed it you did there there's a perfect instance as to when you should have read the fine print you dug this hole you put yourself in it and now you're gonna say I'm not gonna pay now how about don't sign such things if you don't want to pay 19 percent interest you certainly have that prerogative nobody puts guns to your head at least as far as I know and says you must get this Visa card or you must have this MasterCard and we're gonna tax you to death well if that happened gone to your head I might be entertaining the thought okay you can try and finagle your way out of that but for the most part if people that willingly enter into such arrangements and agreements and then they default and then they say well I'm not gonna pay but you knew what was involved in fact there is this thirdly the honoring of our contracts the honoring of our contracts what does the psalmist say about the righteous man in Psalm 15 for he swears to his own hurt and does not change he swears to his own hurt and does not change he doesn't say well I now see that this is going to hurt me so I I reject the terms of the contract no you have to be smart on the front end okay let me just encourage you that before you spend are you engaged and you know whatever it is that you want to do you have to use the brain God gave you prior to entering into an arrangement to make sure that you can follow through because if you default or you don't pay back that is an act of theft but they're big credit it doesn't matter but the gut it doesn't matter Paul says pay your taxes Paul says honor your debts God says the man who swears to his own hurt and doesn't change is the righteous man who dwells at the mountain of the Lord actually I think Psalm 15 is a description of the Savior but certainly as the Savior so we ought to be as well the returning of lost or erroneously credited money or property I've got tax for all these I just do we don't have time for all these the returning of lost or erroneously credited money or property if you find your neighbor's ox you don't hide it in your backyard you return it to him it's his ox well no I haven't seen it do you hear the bleeding of the ox or whatever they do they move or whatever but you hear that wait a minute I think you know it's not here you can't do that God says no it's wrong it's it's that the the making of restitution for wrongly acquired property and I would suggest as well damaged property the practice of diligent labor the practice of charitable giving and the cultivation of contentment as we see in first Timothy chapter 6 one final text and then we close first Corinthians Chapter six first Corinthians chapter six this connected back to the pedagogical use of the law the child tutor function when we are alerted by God to our sinfulness before God the scripture calls upon us to go to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation Paul says in first Corinthians 6:9 do you not do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God do not be deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites look at verse 10 nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you but you were washed but you were sanctified but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God praise God that when we study these Commandments and when the Lord provokes or demonstrates or shows us our own sin he shows us the glory of the Savior who forgives us of our sins and we ought to be mindful that the things condemned in the commandments aren't necessarily the unpardonable sin there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared that was david's blessed statement in psalm 130 at verse 4 well let us pray our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for its clarity concerning these sins these crimes against you against men we ask God that you would help us to take seriously what Paul says in Ephesians 4 first 10 to these six help us God to be content with the blessings that you have showered upon us Lord as we consider our lot in life here in North America based on what we have in terms of what others don't we have been blessed so richly we've been prospered so much and we give praise and glory and honor to you help us not to be haughty help us not to trust in these things but in the Living God and help us to engage in good help us to be charitable help us to be loving and kind with the Blessed resources that you've given go with us now protect us in this week help us to glorify you and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation you