God has set the Eighth Commandment as a hedge about a man’s possessions and this hedge cannot be broken without sin.

You shall not steal. Exodus 20:15

This Commandment recognizes that the Lord owns everything in heaven and on earth and only He can give it or take it away. This Commandment exposes us to our true heart condition. It is from out of a man’s heart that evil things, like theft, defiles him (Matthew 15:18-20; Mark 7:20-23). Thievery reveals unbelief in our heart (our distrust in God’s providence; and covetousness, which is the root of theft). The sin forbidden in the Eighth Commandment is stealing either a person or an object; meddling with another man’s property. Theft comes so easy to us since our original spiritual father, Satan, is a thief.

There are three kinds of theft that we all are inclined to commit:

• Stealing from others. By that, shoplifting, bribery, fraudulent dealing, blackmail, kidnapping, receiving stolen goods, borrowing with the intention of never returning. Have you ever cheated on a test? Have you ever downloaded music you should’ve paid for? Can you honestly say that you’ve always worked a full work day and never slacked off? You’re stealing time from your employer as he pays you to work. Robbing men of Biblical truth is spiritual theft; it is to rob them of their souls.

• Stealing from yourself. A man may rob himself by foolishly wasting his estate; wasting his life like a prodigal. He is a thief to himself, by idleness, when he misspends his time. He who spends his hours in pleasure and vanity robs himself of that precious time which God has given him to work out his salvation.

• Stealing from God. A man may be a thief to God when time, money, talents are withheld from God, despite that God is the giver of these things. To spend part of the Lord’s Day in vanity and pleasure is spiritual theft. It robs God of His due worship and glory.

When I witness to someone and ask, “How many things have you taken in your life that didn’t belong to you, regardless of its value?” Many will admit to taking a candy bar and think nothing of it. Unfortunately, petty theft is still theft. If I go into your wallet and take $1 or $100, it’s still stealing no matter the value. Yet sinners will often try to justify themselves. They will tell me, “I’ve stolen once, but since I’ve reformed; I’ve stopped stealing.” The problem is time doesn’t forgive sins. Since God is not bound by time, He sees your sins of yesterday as if they were committed today. The consequence is that thieves will not enter the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9,10). What would be worth stealing for the loss of your own soul? Jesus asked he same question: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

So what’s the remedy? Follow Jesus Christ, the Savior, up to Calvary to the place where He was crucified between two condemned thieves (Mark 15:27). There your sins of unbelief, covetousness and thievery have been dealt with by the blood of God’s Son. The Son satisfied the Father’s wrath for your selfishness. So instead of stealing to store up on earth, rather store up your treasures in heaven where thieves can’t break in and steal (Matthew 6:19,20). God is not against you owning stuff. He’s just against stuff owning you. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21).

Then after your sins have been forgiven and you have been given eternal life, make restitution for your past thefts. Scripture makes it very clear as to what one must do to begin the process of restitution (Exodus 22:1-15; Proverbs 6:30,31). Follow the example of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. After he meet the Lord who is rich in compassion, Zacchaeus restored fourfold anyone he defrauded of anything. Augustine said it this way, “Without restitution, no remission.” “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 (Ephesians 4:28).”

Live by faith. Be content with the estate that God has given you. Believe that condition best which God has carved out to you. Take heed of getting the world with the loss of Christ.

The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart. Psalm 19:8