The Eighth Commandment 07/02/2023

First Baptist Church Leominster

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And, thankfully, if you're a disciple of Jesus Christ, you ate and drank in faith, confessing your sins, you may rejoice in the reality, your sins are forgiven you.

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Amen. Because of the time, we'll forego our New Testament reading and give

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Jason a little more time to bring forth God's word.

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Let's pray to this end. Our Father, we thank you for your word before us.

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We pray now that you fill Jason with the blessed Holy Spirit to speak your word forthrightly to us with clarity and with power.

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And we pray that you would fill us with the blessed Holy Spirit to enable us to hear rightly, to understand it, believe it, and apply it.

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And so help us, our God, as we look to your law now, the Eighth Commandment, even as we consider,

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Lord, your righteousness, your righteous commandment. Help us, our God, to look to the gospel of Jesus Christ, to which it should point us, for the end of the law, indeed, is faith in Jesus Christ.

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For we do pray these things in his name, amen. I vividly remember a conversation that I had years ago back in college with a very good friend of mine.

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He was a bit older than me, and he was reformed in his theology, which at the time meant nothing to me.

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I didn't know anything about reformed theology. In fact, I probably didn't even know how to define the term theology, let alone reformed theology.

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And this friend of mine was lamenting to a group of us that the moral law, the Ten Commandments, was not emphasized enough in the church.

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In the majority of churches, he said the Ten Commandments were not taught nor preached, and this failure was apparent in the lack of sound and biblical

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Christians. And he even surmised that most of the students at our Bible college would not be able to recollect the

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Ten Commandments if they were asked. And I wholeheartedly nodded in agreement as I frantically tried to remember all

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Ten Commandments, which I could not. Later that day, I looked up the Ten Commandments, and I read through each one of them.

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And I'm not sure if it was my arrogance or my ignorance. It was probably a bit of both. But when

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I arrived at the Eighth Commandment, I thought to myself, finally, a commandment that I have not violated.

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Years later, after I actually studied the Eighth Commandment, I realized just how foolish my thinking had been.

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The Eighth Commandment is far more than merely a prohibition against theft. There is a negative component to this commandment as well as a positive.

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In other words, where a sin is forbidden, a corresponding duty is required.

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There is also a spiritual component to this command. Yes, the Eighth Commandment demands our outward conformity, but it also demands inward integrity because the law of God is spiritual.

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Well, let's take a more detailed look at the Eighth Commandment. Please turn with me to the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 20.

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By way of reminder, commandment number one, you shall have no gods, other gods before me.

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Commandment number two, you shall not make for yourself a carved image or of 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.

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You shall not bow down to them or serve them. Commandment number three, you shall not take the name of the

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Lord your God in vain. Commandment number four, you shall remember the

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Sabbath day to keep it holy. Commandment number five, you shall honor your father and your mother.

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Commandment number six, you shall not murder. Commandment number seven, you shall not commit adultery.

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And commandment number eight, Exodus 20 verse 15, you shall not steal.

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Well, what is the meaning of this commandment? What does it mean to steal?

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Well, the Hebrew term steal means to carry away or to go by stealth and carry away.

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It refers to taking that which belongs to another person, taking it secretly or taking it by force or by threat without the owner's consent.

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This term covers each and every aspect of theft, theft in every shape and form.

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There are many examples of theft seen throughout the scriptures. In fact, in the very beginning, the first sin committed entailed the sin of theft.

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Eve saw that the tree was good for food and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.

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So she took of its fruit and ate. Eve took that which was not hers to take.

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She stole forbidden fruit. She ate the forbidden fruit. She gave some to her husband who ate the forbidden fruit and their eyes were opened and then they hid from the presence of the

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Lord. In the book of Joshua, Achan, the great troubler of Israel, after the conquest of Jericho, took some of the things that had been devoted to destruction.

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A cloak, 200 shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels.

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However, he was caught. Achan, his family and all of his belongings, including the devoted things which he had stolen, were burned with fire and stoned with stones.

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Judas Iscariot was one of the 12 disciples who had walked alongside the Lord Jesus Christ in his earthly ministry.

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He had firsthand experience of Christ's teaching, Christ's miracles and Christ's love.

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He also had charge of the money bag and he used to help himself to what was put into it.

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Judas Iscariot was a thief. The scriptures refer to him as the son of perdition, the son of damnation.

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Judas eventually betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver and then went out bitterly and hung himself.

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In the book of Acts, the first Christians were described as being of one heart and soul.

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All material things were held in common and there was not a needy person among them. If there was a need, as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet and it was distributed to each as any had need.

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A man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property but conspired together to keep back some of the proceeds and then sought to deceive the others by laying down only a part of the profit.

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The consequence of this deceptive theft was instantaneous death.

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Ananias and Sapphira literally dropped dead and breathed their last. Theft is a common and universal problem.

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What began in the Garden of Eden continues to this day and it begins at a very young age.

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You don't have to teach your children to steal. If you were to observe a group of toddlers, it wouldn't take very long to see one of them steal a toy or a snack from another toddler and if the theft was discovered, the result would be the most violent of tantrums because even little children understand the grave injustice of theft.

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The eighth commandment cannot be any more clear. You shall not steal.

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John Calvin remarked at the clarity of this commandment. He, referring to God, could have easily put it in other ways.

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He could have said, be careful lest you take any of your neighbor's goods from him. Look out that you don't gain your profit at your fellow man's expense.

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Beware not to engage in any violence but in one word he said, don't steal and why?

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In order that we might regard fraudulent activity, robbery, graft and all wrong with the greatest abhorrence and be ashamed of cheating anyone and be horrified seeing that we are guilty of stealing before God.

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The eighth commandment prohibits theft and robbery but in actuality, the commandment goes far beyond theft and robbery.

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There are many different types and many different ways that we can violate this command.

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For example, extortion, stealing by the use of force or by threats, embezzlement, taking something fraudulently, graft, appropriating something by deception and trickery, bribery, looting, false weights and measures, incurring debts, not paying debts, dishonest bankruptcies, dishonesty in commerce, cheating on your taxes, cheating the welfare system,

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Medicare fraud and these are just a sampling of the many vices covered by the eighth commandment.

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The Westminster larger catechism question 142 asks and exhaustively answers, what are the sins forbidden in the eighth commandment?

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The sins forbidden in the eighth commandment besides the neglect of the duties required are theft, robbery, man stealing, kidnapping and forced slavery and receiving anything that is stolen, fraudulent dealing, false weights and measures, removing landmarks, injustice and unfaithfulness and contracts between man and man or in matters of trust, oppression, extortion, usury, bribery, vexatious lawsuits, unjust enclosures and depredation and grossing commodities to enhance the price, unlawful callings and all other unjust or sinful ways of taking or withholding from our neighbor what belongs to him or of enriching ourselves, covetousness, inordinate prizing and affecting worldly goods, distrustful and distracting cares and studies in getting, keeping and using them, envying at the prosperity of others and likewise idleness, prodigality, wasteful gaming and all other ways whereby we unduly prejudice our own outward estate and defraud ourselves of the due use and comfort of that estate which

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God hath given us. The shorter catechism answers in a much more succinct manner.

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The eighth commandment forbids whatsoever does or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbor's wealth or outward estate.

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Anything that sinfully takes away or hinders our own or our neighbor's wealth and their outward estate is a violation of the eighth commandment.

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The fact that this commandment forbids theft necessarily supposes certain things, that there are distinct rights among men that cannot be encroached upon.

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In other words, implicit in this command is the right to own property. The eighth commandment is also a condemnation of Marxism and other collective ideologies which seek to relegate all ownership to the state.

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This is a violation of the eighth commandment. You must not take from others what the

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Lord God has given to them. But on the flip side, the greedy culmination of wealth and self -centered materialism are also just as much a violation of the eighth commandment as the forced redistribution of wealth.

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Remember, not only does this commandment state what we are not to do, the negative, it also states what we are to do, the positive.

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If the negative is you shall not steal, then what is the positive? Again, the

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Westminster Larger Catechism asks, what are the duties required in the eighth commandment?

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The duties required in the eighth commandment are truth, faithfulness, and justice in contracts and commerce between man and man, rendering to everyone his due, restitution of goods unlawfully detained from the right owners thereof, giving and lending freely according to our abilities and of the necessities of others, moderation of our judgments, wills, and affections concerning worldly goods, a provident care and study to get, keep, use, and dispose of these things which are necessary and convenient for the sustenance of our nature and suitable to our condition, a lawful calling and diligence in it, frugality, avoiding unnecessary lawsuits, and surety ship, or other like engagements, 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.

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Again, the shorter catechism answers in a much more succinct manner. The Eighth Commandment requires the lawful procuring and furthering of the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others.

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The Eighth Commandment requires that we give attention to and attempt to get, maintain, and further the wealth and well -being not only of ourselves but of others.

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Our pursuit for wealth must not be self -focused but others -focused.

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It is not wrong to pursue wealth so long as you use that wealth to further the estate and well -being of others.

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In short, this commandment requires that we love and care for others as we would love and care for ourselves.

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Theft is a contradiction of the greatest commandment as well as the second greatest commandment,

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Matthew 22, 35. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.

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Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? And he said to him, you shall love the

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Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.

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And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and prophets.

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As Christians, we should be looking out for and striving to meet the needs of others.

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As Christians, we should be aware of the needs of others and labor to meet the needs of others, even if that means forgoing our own comforts and conveniences.

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Beloved, we must show love, care, and concern for our neighbor. Isn't this the example set by the

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Lord Jesus Christ? Philippians 2, 3. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves.

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Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

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Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. Second Corinthians 8, 9.

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For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

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The priority of the thief is himself. The thief is primarily concerned with himself.

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I am first and I will do what I need to do to attain what

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I desire to attain. The thief is self -centered. The thief is self -seeking.

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The thief is self -serving. The thief sits on his own throne. The priority of the

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Christian should be the Lord God, and it should be his will. The Christian should be primarily concerned with loving

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God and loving others. Christians are to be others -centered, others -seeking, and others -serving.

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The Christian should forego his ease and enjoyment to generously provide and give to others, because it is not the

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Christian who is enthroned, but the Lord Jesus Christ who is enthroned. Beloved, the

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Lord God is a God who gives, and he has given to us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

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He has given to us all things pertaining to life and godliness. The Lord God is a superabundant giver.

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As his children, our cups overflow and runneth over. Thus, in a similar manner, the children of the

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Lord God must also give. We must die to ourselves, live for the

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Lord God and others. The essence of Christianity is giving. The essence of thievery is getting.

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Well, why do we steal? Why are we tempted to steal?

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Why do we seek to take that which belongs to others? Why do we seek to profit and succeed at the expense of others?

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If theft is the fruit, then what is the root? Well, theft, like a host of other sins, proceeds from the heart.

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Matthew 15, 17. Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes through into the stomach as an expelled?

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But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

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For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

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These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.

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The root of theft is an unbelieving heart. The root of theft is failure to trust in the provision of the

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Lord God. It is a denial that the Lord God is able to provide for all of our needs.

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It's a denial of his goodness. It's a denial of his faithfulness. It's a denial of the providence of God.

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The root of theft is a discontent, self -absorbed, and unbelieving heart.

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The thief is not content with what the Lord God has provided for him. The thief does not believe that his share in this life is enough.

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He has been stiffed. He has been slighted. He has been sinned against.

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So, he acts. He needs to take whatever is necessary to take since his goal is to please himself.

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And nothing, not the law nor decorum, will stand in his way. The remedy for a discontent and unbelieving heart is a high view of God.

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The remedy for a discontent and unbelieving heart is a content and believing heart. It's important to recognize that the heart can only have one king.

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The heart can only have one Lord. The heart can only have one master.

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Matthew 6, 24. No one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise another.

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You cannot serve God and money. Beloved, you cannot serve

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God and self. You cannot serve God and man. You cannot serve

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God and money. You can only serve one master. Therefore, every man must decide, who will

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I serve? Will I serve myself? Will I live for myself in my glory?

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Will I serve money? Will I lay up for myself treasures in earth? Will I fix my eyes on the temporal?

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Will I live and breathe for the blessings of this temporal world? Or will

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I serve the Lord God? Will I live for him in his glory? Will I lay up for myself treasures in heaven?

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Will I fix my eyes on the eternal? Will I live and breathe for the blessings of the world to come?

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Beloved, a decision must be made. What or who are you going to serve?

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All of these choices are ultimately a choice between two masters. It's a choice between the

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Lord God or self. It's a choice between the creator himself or anything belonging to his creation.

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No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve the Lord God and something else.

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And do you know why? Do you know why you cannot serve two masters? Do you know why you cannot serve the

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Lord God and self, the Lord God and others, the Lord God and money? Because it is simply not possible to serve two masters simultaneously.

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In order to better understand this statement, it helps to understand the words as they're used in the original language.

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The Greek term translated masters is kurios, which is often translated as Lord.

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And this term refers to one who is sovereign, one who is supreme, one who is in authority.

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In this context, the term refers to a slave owner, he to whom a person or thing belongs, he who has the power of deciding, he who has ultimate ownership and uncontested authority and power.

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A slave owner had absolute and total authority over his slave. A slave was not viewed as a man, but as a living tool, as an extension of the slave owner.

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In the ancient world, slaves had no control over their lives. Not even their time was their own.

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John MacArthur remarked, for a slave, there's no such thing as partial or part -time obligation to his master.

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A slave owes full -time service to a full -time master. He is owned and totally controlled by and obligated to his master.

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He has nothing left for anyone else. He has nothing left for himself. For a slave to give anything to anyone else would make his master less than a master.

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In this context, it simply was not simply difficult, but absolutely impossible to serve two masters and to fully and faithfully be obedient to each one.

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If two masters were to go along together in one direction, a servant may then be able to follow them both.

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But what happens when the masters part ways? Then a decision must be made, and you will immediately see to which master the slave truly belongs.

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A slave cannot love, observe, and cleave to both masters. If to one, then not to the other, and if to the other, then not to the one.

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Throughout the New Testament, over and over again, the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of as our master, and we are his servants.

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Beloved, we are his doulos. We are his slaves. Before salvation, we served a different Lord.

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We served a different master. Sin was our sovereign. Sin was our Lord. Sin was our master.

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Sin ferociously ruled over us with supreme and uncontested authority. But upon receiving the

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Lord Jesus Christ, upon trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, alone for our salvation, our bondage to sin was broken.

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The power that sin held over us was broken, and hence we became slaves of a new master, the

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Lord God, and we became slaves of his righteousness. Romans 620, when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

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But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death.

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But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification, and it's end eternal life.

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Beloved, you cannot claim the Lord Jesus Christ as your master if your allegiance is to anything or anyone else, including yourself.

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To know the Lord God's commandments, to know his will, but to resist following it and obeying it demonstrates that your loyalty does not belong to the

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Lord God, but to someone else, to something else. John Calvin remarked, where riches hold the dominion of the heart,

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God has lost his authority. The thief does not submit to the authority of the

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Lord God. The thief does not serve the Lord God. The thief serves a different master.

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It may be himself, it may be money, or it may be another God of his own making.

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Beloved, do not deceive yourselves. Just as you cannot travel in two different directions, you cannot serve two masters.

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For either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other.

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Your treasure is either going to be in heaven or it is here on earth. Your spiritual life is either going to be full of light or it will be full of darkness.

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Your heart will be content and satisfied with the Lord God and his provision, or it will be discontent with the

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Lord God and his provision. Your master and Lord will either be the

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Lord God or it will be something else, but it cannot be both. A decision must be made.

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The Lord God is robbed when we choose to serve any other master.

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The Lord God is robbed when we put other gods before his face, commandment number one.

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The Lord God is robbed of exaltation when we bow down and worship man -made images and idols, commandment number two.

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The Lord God is robbed of reverence when we take his name in vain, commandment number three. The Lord God is robbed of honor when we fail to remember his

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Sabbath day and keep it holy, commandment number four. The Lord God is robbed of his authority when we dishonor our parents, commandment number five.

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The Lord God is robbed of life when we commit murder, commandment number six. The Lord God is robbed of purity when we commit adultery, commandment seven.

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The Lord God is robbed of truth when we bear false witness, commandment nine. The Lord God is robbed of his provision when we covet, commandment number 10.

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The Lord God is also robbed when we fail to give back to him our tithes and our offerings,

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Malachi 3 .8. Will man rob God? You are robbing me, but you say, how have we robbed you in your tithes and contributions?

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You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. There's another very common and somewhat socially acceptable way in which we frequently rob the

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Lord God, and it has to do with how we spend our time. Arthur Pink remarks, another way in which we rob

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God is by the unfaithful discharge of our stewardship. That which

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God has entrusted to us may be just as really outraged by our management as if we interfered with another's trust or plundered our neighbor's goods.

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This commandment then requires from us that we administer our worldly estate, be it large or small, with such industry as to provide for ourselves and those dependent upon us.

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Idleness is a species of theft. Far too many

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Christians waste and squander their time. Far too many Christians waste and squander the precious opportunities that the

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Lord God has provided for them. The purpose of your life is to please the

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Lord God. The purpose of your life is to glorify the Lord God.

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It is to accomplish his will for your life. Ephesians 2, eight through 10 says, for by grace you have been saved through faith.

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And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of work so that no one may boast.

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For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which

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God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. As a believer, we are his workmanship.

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And we have been created in Christ Jesus for a specific purpose. And that purpose is good works.

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In an eternity past, the Lord God decreed certain works for you to fulfill on his behalf.

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Are you fulfilling those works? Every single one of us is given a certain amount of time.

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And every single one of us is accountable to the Lord God for how we use our time. Are you a good steward of your time?

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Will you be a good steward of your time? Or will you rob the Lord God, steal your time and live your life to your own advantage?

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In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul warned the church of this danger. Ephesians 5, 15.

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Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise.

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Making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the

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Lord is. Beloved, do not be foolish. Understand the will of the

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Lord. Wise people make the most of their time. Wise people make the best use of their time.

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The phrase making the best is a Greek verb ex agaradzo. And the meaning of this term is out of the marketplace.

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And the phrase means to buy back or to redeem. Now, why does our time need to be redeemed?

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Because the days are evil. The present age in which we live is exceedingly evil.

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The present age in which we live lies under the control of the prince of the power of the air, who opposes the

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Lord Jesus Christ, who opposes his purpose, who opposes his church. This is why in Ephesians 6, 13, we are commanded to take up the whole armor of God so that we might be able to withstand in the evil day.

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And having done all, stand firm. Galatians 1, 3 through 5.

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Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our

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God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. The age in which we live is evil.

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The age in which we live is exceedingly evil. And thus Paul was making an appeal for us to ransom time back from its evil bondage.

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Christians are to buy back the time. We are to redeem it. We are to use it for the

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Lord God, for his kingdom. We are to redeem the time and use it for the glory of the

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Lord God. Beloved, time is quickly passing by.

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And the older I get, the more I realize this to be true. So we must use our time to the fullest possible advantage.

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Every fleeting opportunity must be seized and redeemed for the

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Lord God. For once time has passed, it cannot be recovered.

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Listen to the following verses. Each verse says something similar in regards to the use of our time.

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First Peter 1, 17. And if you call on him as father, who judges impartially according to each one deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.

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Acts 20, 24. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself.

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If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I have received from the

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Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Hebrews 12, 1.

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Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

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Beloved, the time of our exile is fixed. The course set by the

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Lord God is fixed. The race that is set before us has already started.

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The Lord God has set boundaries for our lives and our opportunity for service exists only within these

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God -given boundaries. The Lord God knows the beginning and the end of our time here on earth.

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Thus, we must run and finish the race strong. This truth should produce in each one of us a great sense of urgency.

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Your time is limited. My time is limited. Your time is fleeting.

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My time is fleeting. The time of our sojourn here is but a vapor, a puff of smoke, the blink of an eye.

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So do not steal the time that the Lord God has allotted to you for his service.

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James 4 .13. Come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.

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Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

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Instead, you ought to say if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your arrogance.

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All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

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J .C. Ryle in one of my favorite books, Thoughts for Young Men, which is an excellent book if you're a young man or a young woman or an older man or an older woman.

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It's just a great book and it's short. He writes this, tomorrow is the devil's day.

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Today is God's. Satan cares not how spiritual your intentions may be or how holy your resolutions, if only they are fixed on tomorrow.

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Oh, give not a place for the devil in this matter. Today is the day to walk in a manner worthy of your calling.

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Today is the day to live your life for the Lord God. Today is the day to obey and to run with endurance the race that is set before you.

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Beloved, your goals may be worthy and sincere in your intentions.

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And you may demonstrate great willpower and discipline. But if these things are intent on starting tomorrow, then the adversary has already won.

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He doesn't need to bring the battle to us. He just has to tempt us to delay our actions one more day.

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Oftentimes, we look to our good intentions and we look to our godly strategies and schemes as evidence that we're doing okay, that we're all right.

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After all, these plans are proof that we mean well and that we're spiritually strong. Beloved, the

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Lord God is calling us to action, not tomorrow, but today. Tomorrow is the devil's day.

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Today is the Lord's. So do not hesitate, do not dawdle, do not delay.

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Maximize that the time that you have been given. You must make the best use of the time.

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Life is uncertain. And the only time we can be sure of having is what we have right now at this moment.

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So make the most of this moment. Over the years, I've thought a lot about the time that I have stolen from the

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Lord God. I've wasted so much of the precious time and opportunities that the Lord God has given to me.

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At different seasons of my life, I have been a very poor steward. And I would guess that many of you fall in that same category.

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So what are we to do? How do we correct this failure? How do we become good stewards of our remaining time?

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Well, thankfully, the answer is quite simple. Look to the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Look carefully how you walk. Self -examination.

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And do not walk as the unwise walk, but as the wise. Make the very best use of the time because the days are evil.

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Look to the Lord God and remember His nature, His character, and His attributes.

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Our God is good. Our God is very good. In the book of Joel, the prophet used an invasion of locusts as an illustration of the

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Lord God's judgment. Joel 2 .25, he says, I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts have eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which

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I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your

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God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

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You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.

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And my people shall never again be put to shame. In His promise to restore the years lost to the locusts, the

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Lord God is pledging to restore His repentant people to a place of blessing after judgment.

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If you have stolen time from the Lord God and live for self, repent and turn away from your theft.

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Turn to the Lord God and rest in His grace. Beloved, now is the time to live for the

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Lord God. Now is the time to serve your master. Now is the time to seize the moment.

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Don't let any opportunity pass you by. Take every advantage of the moments that the

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Lord God has so graciously provided you. Our lives have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.

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And now we must redeem the time and make the most of every opportunity so that the name of the

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Lord God will shine brightly throughout the earth. The eighth commandment is clear.

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You shall not steal. Don't rob your neighbor. Don't rob the

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Lord God. But work hard and labor diligently. Use your time, your talents, your treasure to further your own wealth and estate.

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And the estate and wealth of your neighbor. In doing so, you will not only fulfill the eighth commandment, but you will fulfill the foremost and greatest commandment, which is to love the

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Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it.

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You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Beloved, the days are evil.

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And we need to be good stewards of the time that the Lord God has given us.

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So take some time this week. Spend time in self -examination and evaluate, how am

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I spending the time that God has given? Am I a faithful servant or am

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I an unfaithful servant? And resolve today to be faithful. Resolve today to use your time for the

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Lord God and for his kingdom. Let's pray. Our Father, we confess to you that we waste time.

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We live in a society that is filled with time wasters. And Lord, these are alluring and they trap us and we get caught in them.

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But Lord, we just pray that we would see through them. We pray that we would look to you, that we would look to Christ and his example.

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We thank you, Lord, that he perfectly fulfilled your will. Throughout his days, he obeyed you completely.

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He never wasted one moment of time, but it was all devoted to you. Lord, I pray that we would walk in those same steps, that we would consider others more significant than ourselves, that we would be content with our lot in life, that we would look to you for our provision and that we wouldn't be envious of those who have greater things and greater material possessions and greater wealth.

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Lord, help us to be content with what we have. And Lord, if we need something,

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I pray that we would look to you to provide it. Lord, we thank you that you are a giving God.

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Throughout the scriptures, Lord, we see you give and give and give. We pray, Lord, that in our own lives, we would mimic that, that we would be the most generous people, that we would look to the needs of others and that we would generously give, give our time, give our talents, and we'd give our treasure.