Eighth Commandment
“You shall not steal” (Ex. 20:15; Deut. 5:19).
Heidelberg Catechism
Heidelberg Catechism Question 110. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment? He forbids not only the theft and robbery which civil authorities punish, but God also labels as theft all wicked tricks and schemes by which we seek to get for ourselves our neighbor’s goods, whether by force or under the pretext of right, such as false weights and measures, deceptive advertising or merchandising, counterfeit money, exorbitant interest, or any other means forbidden by God. He also forbids all greed and misuse and waste of his gifts.
Heidelberg Catechism Question 111. But what does God require of you in this commandment? That I work for the good of my neighbor wherever I can and may, deal with him as I would have others deal with me, and do my work well so that I may be able to help the poor in their need.
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Shorter Catechism Question 74. What is required in the Eighth Commandment? The Eighth Commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others.
- 2 Thess. 3:10-12 “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”
- Rom. 12:17 “Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.”
- Prov. 27:23 “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds.”
- Lev. 25:35 “If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens.”
- Phil. 2:4 “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”
- Prov. 13:4 “The appetite of the lazy craves, and gets nothing, while the appetite of the diligent is richly supplied.”
- Prov. 20:4 “The lazy person does not plow in season; harvest comes, and there is nothing to be found.”
- Prov. 24:30-34 “I passed by the field of one who was lazy, by the vineyard of a stupid person; and see, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.”
Shorter Catechism Question 75. What is forbidden in the Eighth Commandment? The Eighth Commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth, or may, unjustly hinder our own, or our neighbor’s, wealth or outward estate.
- 1 Tim. 5:8 “And whoever does not provide for relatives, and especially for family members, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
- Eph. 4:28 “Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.”
- Prov. 21:16 “Whoever wanders from the way of understanding will rest in the assembly of the dead.”
- 2 Thess. 3:7-10 “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.”
Study Catechism
Study Catechism Question 112. What do you learn from this commandment? God forbids all theft and robbery, including schemes, tricks or systems that unjustly take what belongs to someone else. God requires me not to be driven by greed, not to misuse or waste the gifts I have been given, and not to distrust the promise that God will supply my needs.
- Job 20:19-20 “For they have crushed and abandoned the poor, they have seized a house that they did not build. They knew no quiet in their bellies; in their greed they let nothing escape.”
- Jer. 22:13 “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbors work for nothing, and does not give them their wages.”
- Prov. 18.9 “One who is slack in work is close kin to a vandal.”
- 1 Tim. 6:9-10 “But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
- 1 John 3:17 “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?”
- Luke 12:15 “And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’”
- Phil. 4:19 “And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
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