“. . . ‘Love Your Neighbor’. . .”
(Matthew 22:34-40)
I. Introduction.
A. In a very few words, Jesus summarizes all “. . .the Law and
the Prophets,” and give us a complete description of what
constitutes “religion.”
1. First, religion is love for God. Jesus quotes
Deuteronomy 6:5, part of the Hebrew SHEMA –
the basic and essential creed of Judaism, and the
basis for worship, and love, for God: “Hear, O
Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
(verses 4-5)
a. Here is the first text every Jewish
child committed to memory.
b. To God, we must give total love – love
that dominates our emotions, love that
dominates our thoughts, love that motivates
our actions. Religion starts with
commitment to God.
2. The second “great commandment” is quoted from
Leviticus 19:18: “. . . you shall love your neighbor
as yourself:. . .” Love for God finds an expression
in love for people. How we conduct ourselves with
people is the only, true, way to prove our love
for God.
B. The second command also represents a fundamental
principle of biblical ethics. And from this general
statement comes other, specific, commands – those which
show respect for others, as people made in the “image of
God.”
-2-
1. We’ve already looked at some of these specific
commands: showing respect for parents
(Exodus 20:12), showing respect for life (Exodus
20:13), and showing respect for purity and what is
exclusively that of another woman’s husband or
another man’s wife (Exodus 20:14).
2. Now we come to respect for another person’s
property: “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).
3. Stealing is a breach of the obligation to love others,
and to treat them as we would want to be treated
(Matthew 7:12).
a. Stealing is an encroachment on someone
else’s rights and property.
b. It’s taking something under someone
else’s authority and in someone else’s
possession.
c. It’s depriving someone of what’s rightfully
theirs.
C. When you look at the early history of the Lord’s church,
you encounter what some have viewed as an attitude
contrary to our capitalist principles.
1. Acts 4 (verses 32-35) tells how the first Christians
“. . . had all things in common” (verse 32), and how
they met the needs of members of the church by
selling their possessions and using the proceeds
“. . .as anyone had need.” (verse 35).
2. But, this was not a compelled redistribution of
wealth. It was only a voluntary sharing of goods
with the poorer, needy saints.
3. Just as capitalism’s foundation is the private
-3-
ownership of property, so, in the New Testament,
common ownership of possessions is not taught.
What is taught are the ideals of work, acquisition,
and proper use of what we possess. (Ephesians
4:28: “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.”).
D. God’s people are to be of upright character, realizing that
their ability to acquire possessions comes from God, and
feeling a strong sense of responsibility to use what is
gained for God’s service rather than for oneself.
E. Because some people, in every generation, are corrupt,
selfish, and greedy, there is always the threat of theft, or
a potential for dishonesty. By using what we possess
properly, as good stewards, we do what Jesus told His
disciples: “. . . lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do
not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:20).
F. Stealing is always wrong and it’s wrong for everyone.
That’s what the eighth commandment makes clear.
II. The Bible’s View Of Property.
A. The biblical view of the possession of any kind of wealth
or property is to see it as a matter of stewardship.
1. In the “Parable of the Talents” (Matt. 25:14-30) you
have a man who commits his property to servants,
who, in turn, are responsible for managing it for
him. On his return, he required an accounting from
each servant.
a. The five-talent and two-talent servants had
doubled their master’s property. The
servant given one talent only gave back one,
-4-
with no profit to show for his time of
possession. The two productive servants
were rewarded; the one-talent man was
called “. . . wicked and lazy.”
(Matthew 25:26).
b. The point of the parable is obvious. Our
Master has gone away for a time. In His
absence, various things have been entrusted
to our care. And, we, as individuals, have
differing abilities and degrees of abilities.
There are also obvious differences in wealth,
education, influence and other variables.
We are obligated to use what we have, and
what we’ve been given, to honor the Master
and to promote His interests. And, when He
returns, we will answer to Him as stewards –
either good or bad.
2. Everything under our authority is God’s property.
As Paul told Timothy: “. . . we brought nothing into
this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing
out.” (I Timothy 6:7).
3. We are going to have our possessions – God’s
property – only for a short while. So, we must use
them to gain the greatest long-term effect:
(I Timothy 6:17-19 READ).
B. How should Christians use their resources? What
constitutes good stewardship?
1. We should use what we’ve been given to support
the work of the church. The Word of God still
needs to be taught around the world. That cannot
happen, here or elsewhere, without the support,
financially, of God’s people.
2. Second, we should use what we’ve been given to
-5-
support ourselves and our families. (I Timothy 5:8:
“. . . if anyone does not provide for his own, and
especially for those of his household, he has denied
the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” God
does not want people to neglect their family and its
needs.
3. Third, we should use what we’ve been given to
relieve human suffering. The love of God can only
be directly expressed through His people.
(Galatians 6:10: “Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those
of the household of faith.”).
4. Fourth, we should use what we’ve been given to
share the cost of government. (Matthew 22:21:
“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are
Caesar’s,. . .”). And: Romans 13:7: “Render
therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are
due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear,
honor to whom honor.”
C. The tendency – and the temptation – is to view our
possessions as ends themselves – or as a means of
self-gratification. (I Timothy 6:9: “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.”).
III. Violating Commandment Eight.
A. How do we – or can we – violate the eighth
commandment?
B. We can violate the commandment by taking property or
money, that is not rightfully ours. Theft, fraud, and other
types of similar activities are certainly condemned by the
eighth commandment. This is the most direct application
of the command not to steal. To us, it’s the most obvious
-6-
application.
C. But, if we fail to give full value for money, we violate the
commandment as well.
1. Cheating someone in a business deal is stealing.
Overpricing goods or services; misrepresenting a
product – these are stealing because we take money
under false pretenses.
2. In ancient times, people had to be wary of
merchants with two sets of weights. They would
buy with the use of a heavy set of weights, and then
sell with the light ones, thus greatly increasing their
margin of profit when they dealt with wheat or
some other product.
3. An employer may steal from the people who work
for him by not paying them a fair, living wage. But
an employee may steal from the employer by not
giving him a full day of honest labor.
D. We can also violate the commandment by stealing things
less tangible than money or goods.
1. Denying someone their rights robs them of a very
precious commodity. We could deny education, or
jobs, or other opportunities, based upon our
individual prejudices.
2. A student cheating on a test is stealing information
someone else has and representing it as his or
her own.
3. We could also steal another person’s good name
through slander or gossip.
E. And, failing to give “. . .as [we] may prosper. . .”
(I Corinthians 16:2) violates the eighth commandment.
-7-
God looks upon this as robbery: “Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me! But you say ‘In what way have
we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings.” (Malachi 3:8).
IV. Conclusion.
A. The eighth commandment is very relevant to us, today.
B. Love for people around us, and love for God, both require
us to respect property rights and recognize our
responsibility of stewardship.
C. There is even a way we can “rob” ourselves – by
negligence, disobedience, or apathy, we can steal
from ourselves the promise of heaven.