Exodus 20:15

God said in Exodus 20:15, “Thou shalt not steal.” It is easy to see how this commandment fits in with what we call the golden rule. Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” You would not want someone to steal your stuff, so do not steal theirs. God has assigned more than one principle for you to apply to your life so that you can obtain the things that you need and want. The first principle is the principle of work. It says in Second Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” And it says in Second Thessalonians 3:12, “Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.”

The principle of work was established in the beginning in the book of Genesis. Once Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden, work became a requirement for life on this earth. The Bible says in Genesis 3:17-20, “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”

Of course, there are other ways that a few individuals can have their needs met: inheritance, winning the lottery, or receiving a large gift from an unknown benefactor. But even in those rare circumstances, the people involved still need to work in order to accomplish something with their lives. Even God works. He accomplishes good. It says in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” God created, and therefore, we also should be creating, doing, and accomplishing. You are here on this earth to accomplish something, no matter where your money comes from. Jesus said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

The ninth of the Ten Commandments is as follows from Exodus 20:16, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Sometimes we shorten this to: “Thou shalt not lie.” But the way that the Bible gives this commandment in Exodus 20:16 emphasizes the fact that a lie hurts people: it hurts “thy neighbour.” When you tell the truth, you are more like God. When you tell a lie, you are more like the devil. Jesus said in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” In contrast to the devil, God is the truth. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…”

The truth is a very powerful force. The truth reveals God. The truth saves souls. There may be nothing more powerful than the truth, and there may be nothing more destructive than a lie. Align yourself with the truth, and you will be aligning yourself with power. But if you tell a lie, you have aligned yourself with the devil and with something that is very destructive. It says in James 3:6, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” Two of the Ten Commandments make reference to the tongue. The third commandment says, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” And the ninth commandment says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

Truth always wins. When Jesus returns to the world, all lies will be destroyed once and for all, and truth will win triumphantly. Right now all the world is being divided into two groups: those who believe the truth and those who believe a lie. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 9:1, “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.” The Apostle John wrote in First John 2:21, “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” Every person must decide if they are going to seek truth or stay under a lie. If anyone seeks truth, they will eventually come to Christ because Jesus is the Truth.

The last of the Ten Commandments is found in Exodus 20:17 where God said, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.” To covet is to lust. It is a sin to have too strong of a desire to possess anything. For one thing, we should trust God for everything that comes into our possession. We should always ask for God’s will and trust that His will is being done. God has a different will for every person. For you to covet someone else’s possessions shows that you are not trusting in Jesus. If we have the right attitude about life, we should be happy about other people’s good fortune. Exodus 20:7 is speaking against negative competitiveness, whereby some people see life in all aspects as if it were a competition to see who comes out on top. In reality a person who has more possessions has more things for which he or she will be held accountable before God. We will give an account for what we have done with the things that God has put into our hands. Being rich will bring a curse with it, if the riches are not used in the right way. That is why it says in James 5:1-6, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as if it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.” The Bible also says in First Timothy 6:6-11, “But 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 raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.”

The ninth and the tenth commandments are interesting because they both mention “thy neighbour.” This gives us a strong reminder that we are to be mindful of how our actions affect our neighbor. Jesus said in Mark 12:29-31, “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

The Ten Commandments are truly a wonderful guide for life. The first four of the commandments deal with our relationship to God. The fifth commandment tells us how to be rightly related within the family. And commandments six through ten teach us how to be rightly related to all the other people on the earth: our neighbors. How wonderful the world would be if everyone would obey these commandments and accept them as a guide for life. One thing is for sure: a holy and righteous God has given us these commandments and He expects that we will obey them. There is a great and fearful judgment awaiting whoever does not obey these Ten Commandments. That is why the setting around the giving of the Ten Commandments was so awesome and fearsome. It says in Exodus 20:18-19, “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

I do think that the people of Israel in a way were right to fear death. This holy God was giving commandments that would not be easy to keep. In fact no one has kept them all perfectly except for Jesus Himself. It says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” If we do not keep these commandments perfectly, then we are in danger of death and judgment. It says in the first part of Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death….” Thank God that the last part of Romans 6:23 says, “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The law gives us the perfect guide for life. The law gives us the commandments so that if we obey them perfectly, we will please God and go to heaven to be with Him forever. But that is the problem. We do not obey them perfectly, and therefore the law can only condemn us. What purpose is the law then? If it can only condemn us, what good does it do? There is a passage in the book of Galatians that explains very clearly what good the law does. It says in Galatians 3:10-26, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Believe in Jesus and you will be set free from the curse of the law. You will have the righteousness of God which comes by faith without works.

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