Westminster Larger Catechism
Q.140. Which is the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal [i].
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q. 75. What is forbidden in the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbour’s wealth or outward estate [l].
[l] Proverbs 21:17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man; he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
Proverbs 23:20 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: Ver.21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
Proverbs 28:19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Westminster Larger Catechism
Q.142. What are the sins forbidden in the eighth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the eighth commandment, besides the neglect of the duties required [y], are, theft [z], robbery [a], man-stealing [b], and receiving any thing that is stolen [c]; fraudulent dealing [d], false weights and measures [e], removing landmarks [f], injustice and unfaithfulness in contracts between man and man [g], or in matters of trust [h]; oppression [i], extortion [k], usury [l], bribery [m], vexatious lawsuits [n],
unjust inclosures and depopulations [o];
[o] Isaiah 5:8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
Micah 2:2 And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
For Further Study:
- Ranch-coveting officials settle for killing owner
- Man killed as sheriffs seek "asset forfeiture" of man's ranch Report of the District Attorney
ingrossing commodities to enhance the price [p];
[p] Proverbs 11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
For Further Study:
- Thomas Boston (1676-1732)
- Dept. of Agriculture (1932-2010) pays farmers to not grow crops, in order to keep the price high.
- The Farm Program Fiasco
unlawful callings [q],
[q] Acts 19:19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. Ver.24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; Ver.25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.For Further Study:
- Ask 100 people on a busy city street in socialist Amerika what they "do for a living." Then ask 100 of America's Founding Fathers what they think about the morality of those vocations. (Consider the previous "sins forbidden in the eighth commandment": working for the Dept. of Agriculture; seizing land and then charging rent on it; being an attorney like John Edwards, or working for him, or hiring him; selling toxic mortgage derivatives for Bear Stearns, or getting tax bailouts for AIG's insuring of these derivatives; being a tax collector or working for another intrusive department of government, just because the pay and benefits are good; etc.)
- The Church is a body with many members. There are many fields of specialization that a Christian can pursue that will benefit others under a division of labor.
and all other unjust or sinful ways of taking or withholding from our neighbour what belongs to him, or of enriching ourselves [r];
[r] Job 20:19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
James 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the LORD of sabaoth.
Proverbs 21:6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
covetousness [s];
[s] 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.
inordinate prizing and affecting worldly goods [t];
[t] 1 Timothy 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.
Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Proverbs 23:5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Psalm 62:10 Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.
distrustful and distracting cares and studies in getting, keeping, and using them [v];
[v] Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Ver.31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? Ver.34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Ecclesiastes 5:12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
envying at the prosperity of others [w];
[w] Psalm 73:3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
Psalm 37:1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. Ver.7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
For Further Study:
as likewise idleness [x],
[x] 2 Thessalonians 3:11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
Proverbs 18:9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
For Further Study:
- Government welfare policies reward lack of employment.
prodigality, wasteful gaming; and all other ways whereby we do unduly prejudice our own outward estate [y],
[y] Proverbs 21:17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
Proverbs 23:20-21 Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: Ver.21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
Proverbs 28:19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
For Further Study:
- With one hand the government makes gambling illegal, and with the other it conducts lotteries which target the poorest neighborhoods.
and defrauding ourselves of the due use and comfort of that estate which God hath given us [z].
[z] Ecclesiastes 4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
Ecclesiastes 6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
End of Lesson, Day 134
More "For Further Study"
- "Abraham was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold" (Genesis 13:2). Abraham: Model of Virtue
- Why We Need Rich People » The American Vision
- The Pursuit of Limitless Wealth
- The Eighth Commandment: A Politician's Moral Inventory
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