Catechisma

Lord’s Day 42

Q110. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment?

He forbids not only stealing and robbery that the law punishes, but in God's sight, theft also includes cheating people with tricks that seem fair, such as lying about sizes and weights, selling dishonestly, using fake money, or charging too much interest. He also forbids all greed and wasting the good things he gives us.

Scripture Proofs — King James Version

1

Exodus 22:1

If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

1 Corinthians 5:9–10

I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

2

Luke 3:14

And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse falsely; and be content with your wages.

1 Thessalonians 4:6

That no go beyond and defraud his brother in matter: because that the Lord the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

3

Deuteronomy 25:13–16

Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. For all that do such things, all that do unrighteously, an abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Psalm 15:5

putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these shall never be moved.

Proverbs 11:1

A false balance abomination to the LORD: but a just weight his delight.

Proverbs 12:22

Lying lips abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly his delight.

Ezekiel 45:9–12

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD. Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath. The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of an homer, and the ephah the tenth part of an homer: the measure thereof shall be after the homer. And the shekel twenty gerahs: twenty shekels, five and twenty shekels, fifteen shekels, shall be your maneh.

Luke 6:35

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and the evil.

4

Luke 12:15

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Ephesians 5:5

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

5

Proverbs 21:20

treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

Proverbs 23:20–21

Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe with rags.

Luke 16:10–13

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true ? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Parent Guide

Discuss this question together

Discussion Questions

  1. 1

    What are some examples of stealing that go beyond just taking something that is not yours?

  2. 2

    Why does God forbid greed along with stealing?

  3. 3

    Have you ever been tempted to take more than your share of something?

Illustration

If two kids split a candy bar and one secretly broke off a bigger piece, that is a kind of theft even though both got some candy. Cheating on sizes, lying about what something is worth, or wasting what God has given are all ways of taking what does not belong to us.

Application

This week, practice being generous and fair with your belongings. If you are sharing a snack or dividing something with a sibling, give the other person the bigger portion. Because God forbids greed, training yourself in generosity pushes greed out of your heart.