The Eighth Commandment: Living Generously

This sermon was preached for Capital Pres Fairfax on Sunday, August 3, 2025, as a part of our sermon series “That You May Live: The Ten Commandments.” The Ten Commandments are foundational for loving God, loving our neighbors, and finding the freedom and life we long for. This Summer we will study the great blessing of God’s law as it reveals his perfect character and empowers us to live lives of freedom and integrity. This week we focused on the eighth commandment. A recording of this sermon will be available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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You may have noticed a pattern in our sermons through this series: all of them basically follow the same outline. Sure, we mix up the language or occasionally rearrange the flow, but for the most part, our sermons have featured the same three points. First we look at the grounding principle: what is the foundation for this commandment? How is it rooted in God’s character and his design for creation and humanity? Next we look at the good it calls us to: what does this commandment look like in practice? What does it require, what does it forbid? Finally we look at the God who keeps it. Every sermon we preach is about Jesus; this sermon series we’ve been looking at how Jesus perfectly fulfills the law, how he forgives us for the ways we’ve failed to keep it, and how he empowers us to follow him by the power of the Holy Spirit in joyful obedience. 

That’s exactly what we’re going to be doing today, we’ll look at those three points for the eighth commandment. Our Scripture reading comes from three different places—Exodus 20, Luke 3, and Ephesians 4. 

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery…You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:1-2, 15)

And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” (Luke 3:10-14)

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) 

The Grounding Principle

A few years ago, a couple in our church asked me to house sit for a week and watch after their pets while they went on a trip. At the time, I was a broke seminary student living in a cold, dingy basement with a bunch of roommates. Brian and Margaret lived in a beautiful home with a gorgeous backyard, and I loved their pets, so I was all about it. And they were really generous in their offer. 

They gave me a list of directions for taking care of their dog and cat, which were pretty straightforward. They set me up in a guest bedroom with its own bathroom and towels. They invited me to help myself to any food or drinks in the fridge. They let me invite Erin over so I could cook her a nice dinner (we had just started dating at the time). They let me use their TV to watch football. At the end of the week they even paid me for my trouble!

That was a great deal! But there was an understanding when Brian handed me those keys that I was only a steward, not an owner. I was given a guest bedroom—I didn’t sleep in their bed and wear Brian’s bathrobe. I didn’t help myself to the unopened bottles of fancy wine or bourbon. I didn’t invite over 60 of my closest friends to throw a huge party. I didn’t rearrange all the furniture to suit my own preferences. 

Imagine if I had done all of those things, and when Brian came back and demanded I return the keys to him, I said “No! This is my house now!” One, that’d make me a sociopath; Brian and Margaret would have every right to call the police and have me forcibly removed. But even more than that, it would have completely ruined our relationship—that would have been a huge violation of boundaries and a breach of trust, and really an insult to their great generosity. 

That helps give us a picture of the grounding principle beneath the eighth commandment: God is the owner of all creation, and we are his stewards. Just like the rest of the commandments, we see this rooted in the very first chapter of the Bible. God speaks the whole universe into existence, and as its Creator, he has rightful ownership of it. 

Scripture affirms this. Psalm 24:1 says “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” In Exodus 19 right before he gives the Ten Commandments God prefaces them by saying “all the earth is mine” (Ex 19:5). And again later in Deuteronomy he says “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it” (Dt 10:14). The famous Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper once put it this way: “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”

But Scripture is also clear what kind of owner God is—he’s a generous one who entrusts humanity with stewarding his creation. Psalm 115 puts it this way: “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man” (Ps 115:16). Again, the very first chapter of the Bible shows God giving humanity dominion over the earth and its creatures. So at the highest level, humanity at large has dominion over the earth, but this applies to the lowest level, as well. Everything you have and are—your whole person and all your possessions—rightfully belong to God, and out of his generosity, he’s entrusted you with all that you have. 

This grounding principle reorients our relationship with all the things we call “mine!” It’s easy for us to get really wrapped up in what is rightfully ours. Students argue “He took my pencil!” Siblings fight “She took my shirt!” Adults demand “It’s my money, I can spend it how I want!” 

Actually, according to Scripture, it’s God’s pencil, it’s God’s shirt, and yes, it’s God’s money. It’s made out of his molecules and atoms, held together by his energy, and in fact, it’s his breath that fills our lungs. So as stewards, just like when I house-sat for the Brian and Margaret, we need to ask ourselves “What does the owner want me to do with this?” 

The good it calls us to 

That brings us to the eighth commandment: you shall not steal. Just four words in English, only two words in Hebrew, the more you study the Bible, you realize this short commandment is like a rabbit hole to wonderland. God intends a whole world of blessing in the eighth commandment. So what does God want us to do with all the things he’s entrusted to us? 

Some of you might remember Hugh Whelchel, he was an elder at McLean Pres and the founder of the Fellows Initiative. Hugh summarized the eighth commandment with these three points: 1) God owns everything, 2) God entrusts some things to us, and other things to others, and 3) God expects faithfulness and fruitfulness. So let’s think through the eighth commandment in two ways: what does it forbid and what does it require? 

Most obviously, literal theft or robbery—deciding that someone else’s possessions really ought to be yours, and seizing them either by force or deceit. So if you’re looking for an easy application this morning: don’t go rob a bank. Amen, happy Sunday, go in peace! 

Not quite, though, because you know there’s a whole lot of ways to steal subtly. If you keep reading Old Testament law, you’ll see one of the main applications of this commandment is to forbid “false weights and measures.” In the ancient world, commerce depended on scales and standard weights. The fairness of a transaction depended entirely on the integrity of the tools used, and it was pretty easy to defraud people. Dishonest buyers could use heavier weights to get more product for less money. Sellers could use lighter weights to give less product for more money. God forbids any of these shenanigans. 

God also makes it clear that he forbids exploitation. Remember the first two verses we read, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery”? The Hebrew term for slavery is literally “man-stealing.” The Bible says that slavery robs a person of everything—their possessions, their labor, their own lives. It just as strongly forbids other forms of exploitation against vulnerable members of society. Here’s a few examples. Deuteronomy 24:14-15 forbids wage theft—unjustly withholding payment from an employee. Exodus 22:25-27 forbids predatory loans with unreasonable interest. Exodus 23:8 forbids bribing judges to bend the law in your favor. 

Again, this turns into a rabbit hole that leads us into big topics like financial regulation and the role of government in the economy. It’s worth noting: God places the highest pressure on those with the greatest power and wealth. We see that all through the Bible; the greater your position is, the greater the expectations placed on you. So you could imagine this commandment has a lot to say to governments and CEOs; it has far-reaching implications for how we ought to write our laws and run our companies. But this morning, God hasn’t called me to speak before congress; God hasn’t sent me to Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk. God hasn’t sent me to your boss, he’s sent me to you. So, friends, what would it mean for you to keep the eighth commandment? What does it forbid for you? 

Maybe if you work in government contracting, it looks like overcharging the government for goods and services. Maybe when it comes to tax season, it looks like disclosing your income from that side hustle. Maybe it’s small things, like printing personal documents at work or pirating movies or abusing Amazon’s return policy with used items. I remember my small group leader in high school calling me out for filling my water cup with soda at Chipotle. 

Of course, as with all the commandments, this doesn’t just speak to actions; it addresses our hearts. Two last things the eighth commandment forbids: greed and laziness. Both of these grow come from missing the plot on stewardship. Greed leads you to hoard wealth, to work at the expense of your health and your relationships, all to build your own kingdom. Laziness defrauds your employer by accepting payment for working below your ability. Both shift away from serving the Lord to serving ourselves. Both lead us away from what God requires of us. 

And what is it that God requires? In a word, it’s to be generous. Just as God is generous with us, he instructs us to be generous to others. The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way: “The eighth commandment requires the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others” (74). This is really what we see in the New Testament passage we read. 

In Luke 3, crowds are responding to John the Baptist’s preaching that the Messiah is coming to establish the kingdom of God. They ask him “What should we do to prepare for him?” Of all the things John could have told them, he goes here to the eighth commandment. The general rule John gives is: “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” In that day, tax collectors could tell people they owed more than they really did and then take the extra for themselves. Soldiers often supplemented their wages in the same way by threat of force. That doesn’t fly in God’s kingdom—God requires honesty and fairness. 

And Ephesians 4:28 is one of the most remarkable verses in all the Bible “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.” Think about that! This isn’t a call to pulling your own weight, to self-sufficiency. It’s a call to bear God’s image with our time, talent, and treasure. God wants us to reveal his great generosity by being generous ourselves. 

That’s the good the eighth commandment calls us to. One Christian author puts it this way. Phil Ryken notes: The thief says, “What’s yours is mine: I’ll take it!” The greedy person says, “What’s mine is mine. I’ll keep it.” The faithful steward says: “What’s mine is God’s. I’ll share it.” (Philip Graham Ryken. Exodus (ESV Edition): Saved for God’s Glory. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2014.) 

The God who keeps it

We’re eight commandments into our sermon series, and right now, if you’re anything like me, we’re 0-8. We haven’t been good stewards of the things God has given us, we’ve been thieves and greedy people with our actions and intentions. Just like if I had abused the Brian and Margaret’s kindness while house-sitting, God has every right to cast us away. Instead, God uses our sin to show us just how generous he is. 

The apostle Paul puts it this way: “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” (2 Cor 8:9). 

Christ left the halls of heaven to be born in a manger. He walked the earth not just as a steward, but as its true owner, and what did he do? He lived a life of service, generously helping and healing all the while having nowhere to lay his head. When Jesus was crucified, He was hung between two convicted criminals, one of his left and one on his right. And do you know what they had been convicted of? Robbery. Jesus was crucified between two thieves. But, as one person has pointed out, as far as justice goes, there were really three thieves on the cross that day. Two died for their own crimes. One died for ours. Jesus died with thieves for thieves (Ryken, Exodus, 182). Jesus extends to you the immeasurable riches of his grace at the cross. 

That’s the same grace he offers you at the table. The Lord’s Supper is tangible proof of God’s generosity to you. His body broken, his blood shed for you, and Jesus invites all who repent and believe to “come, take and eat.” This meal is a gift from the Lord to all those who put their faith in him. If you don’t believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins, let the bread and cup pass you by. But don’t pass on the one they point to. Take this chance to reflect on your need of grace, let your sin die with him on the cross, and find life in his resurrection. 

When the grace of Jesus sinks deep into your bones, it becomes a delight to be as generous as he is. Every time we join the Lord at his table, we highlight the deacon’s fund. This is just one of the many ways you can follow Jesus in keeping the eighth commandment. Our deacon’s fund is set apart to help meet the tangible needs of our community—it can cover the cost of a car repair, or a grocery bill, or a season of counseling sessions, or another unexpected burden. So if you’re looking for a sermon application this morning, here’s your challenge: either give or receive. 

You might be in a place where you’re doing well, the bills are paid, the savings account is growing, and you’re looking for ways to be generous. Here you go! You might be in a place where you’re doing well, you’re hitting your savings goals, but the thought of giving up some of that money is really scary. I’d encourage you to explore that. Ask yourself some questions, “What am I afraid of here? What is my attitude toward my money? What would happen if I loosened my grip just a bit and gave some away?” 

You might be in a place where you’re not doing well—the bills are piling up, the savings account is shrinking, the job hunt continues, and you’re starting to wonder how you’re going to make it. If that’s you, come and receive some tangible grace. It’d be our delight to help. If you’d like to give to the deacon’s fund, you can do so on our church’s website. If you’d like to ask for some help this morning, come and find me or Rob after the service and we’ll connect you with our deacons. Whether you give or receive, we can all rest in receiving the abundant grace of the Lord Jesus.