Rev. David Holwick X
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
July 16, 1995
Exodus 20:15
DON'T RIP PEOPLE OFF
I. Locking the doors.
A. Do you remember when doors didn't need to be locked?
1) Gallop poll for Wall Street Journal contrasted faith and
personal ethics. Little connection.
2) Christians no different from others.
After the Los Angeles riots, Steve Futterman of CBC radio
broadcast an interview he had with one of the riot's
many looters.
The man had been one of a crowd of people who had looted a
record store.
When asked what he had stolen, the man replied,
"Gospel tapes. I love Jesus."
#2708
B. Who is a thief?
1) Tragic case of robbery and murder in Newark cemetery.
a) These men were definitely thieves and worse.
b) We would never do something like this.
2) It filters down to all of us.
a) Cheating on taxes, expense accounts not considered
stealing.
b) 74% of Americans will steal from someone who won't
miss it.
c) (Youth group kid in N.H. - shoplifting a game.)
On October 28, 1987, the rear door of a Metropolitan, Inc
Armored Car swung open on Interstate 71 in Columbus, Ohio.
Bags of cash were dumped on the highway.
Moments later, 200 people converged on the site.
One person had a video camera and taped the free-for-all.
Company officials and police refused to say how much money
was lost but sources indicated it was more than $1 million.
One man turned in nearly $57,000 that he said he found in
a single bag.
He was about the only one who turned in cash.
The mayor was so upset he put together a campaign to promote
honesty in Columbus.
He really raised eyebrows with the person he chose to head
the campaign:
Rev. Jeb Stuart Magruder, a Presbyterian minister.
Magruder had also spent 7 months in jail for crimes he
committed during the Watergate political scandal.
The campaign highlights citizens who act honestly.
It has also borne some fruit.
Two motel housekeepers returned a box containing $65,000;
a man returned a wallet with $1,200.
A personal example: this week Celeste left her wallet and
checkbook in the Netcong Shoprite.
The cashier called me and waited with her daughter until
I came to pick it up.
What would YOU do if you found a wallet? #613
C. We need to look at what the Bible says.
II. Violation of being robbed.
A. The essence of theft.
1) Stealing is a sin against God because it betrays our trust
in Him.
2) It is a sin against society because it denies love and
concern for others.
B. Theft is a violation of our sense of security more than the
taking of our stuff.
It was Christmas Eve.
Ginny Hybels was driving home from a late night service at her
church.
It was snowing and as she rounded a sloping curve, she noticed
a car stuck in a snowdrift at the bottom of the hill.
In her mind she thought about all those warnings about helping
strangers, but she pulled over and helped him anyway.
"I can't believe you stopped," said the man in the car.
"I was afraid I'd be stuck here all night.
"Maybe if you drive the car while I push it, we can get out."
Forty-five minutes later they managed to get the car out of
the drift.
The stranger came over to her car and said,
"Thank you very much. You've been a tremendous help to me."
He then reached into her car, grabbed her purse, which was
filled with money and credit cards, and said,
"Thanks again. This will do nicely."
He got in his car and drove away. #3237
1) Not because we worship our stuff, or derive our meaning
from it.
2) An attack on our property is an attack on us.
III. Is it valid to own things?
A. A French socialist once said, "Property is theft."
B. The Bible can seem to be against private property.
1) Year of Jubilee. Lev 25:8f
a) Property is really leased, not bought.
b) Every 50 years it is all returned.
c) But property still belongs to original owner.
2) Jesus' condemnation of excessive wealth.
a) Don't gain whole world and lose soul. Matt 16:26
1> Must have view of eternity. Luke 12:16-21
2> Don't neglect spiritual life.
b) Rich young ruler.
3) Communism of early church. Acts 2:44-45
C. Property affirmed in the Bible.
1) Old Testament teaches respect for private property.
a) God owns everything, but he entrusts it to us.
b) Don't let wealth make you selfish and isolated. Isa 5:8
2) Jesus affirms private property.
a) Parable of talents.
b) Rich people affirmed - Joseph of Arimathea, others.
3) Christian communalism was voluntary.
a) Ananias & Sapphira were free to do as they wished.
4) Work is upheld as a way to have surplus to help others.
IV. Stealing from people.
A. Old-fashioned theft. (Deprive)
1) Common in past and present.
2) Gray areas of modern life.
a) Ripping off company supplies.
Japanese car maker wanted to show trust for American
workers in their new U.S. factory.
So they took down the gates and kept things unlocked,
just as they do in Japan.
But in a matter of days the Americans had so much stuff
the owners they had to put the locks and gates back.
b) Everything belongs to someone.
1> Just as wrong to steal from General Motors as it is
to rip off Goldy Weller.
B. Differing weights. (Deceive)
1) The Bible is very interested in honest dealings in business.
2) Shady practices like skimping on what you sell are a form of
stealing.
3) Selling a used car through the paper - tell all the problems.
4) Christians should be open and honest.
C. Unrighteous withholdings. (Defraud)
1) We steal not just by taking, but by holding back what we owe.
a) Hit-and-run accidents. (church railing)
b) Insurance cheating costs us all billions.
2) Full day's work for full day's pay.
V. Stealing from God.
A. We owe him tithes and offerings. Mal 3:7-10
1) Malachi calls lack of tithing robbing God.
a) (Example Ohio church member whose wife obediently took
tithe out of his paycheck, but he hid it in his shoe
in the closet when he was mad at the church.)
2) Do you give of your best/first, or your last/crippled?
B. Deeper meaning of the tithe - honor God.
1) He owns everything. Ps 24:1; 115:16
2) Only God can give or take away.
VI. What stealing does to you. [optional?]
A. Leads to deception and lies.
You'd be hard pressed to find a thief who doesn't also lie.
When they are confronted, they will cover up.
When Stuart Briscoe had a job as a bank examiner, he became
very suspicious about one man who had not said or done
anything to make him think that way.
At the bank they reported the worker as one of their best
employees.
In fact, he never took a vacation.
This curious habit rang a bell with Briscoe.
They started to look carefully at the situation and found
the man wouldn't take a vacation because he wouldn't
trust anyone else with his responsibilities.
After a month of work on the case, they discovered why.
The bank worker had one set of books available for the
inspectors, when they came in, and another for the
customers, when they asked about their accounts.
In between those figures lay thousands and thousands of
embezzled dollars.
The man lied through his teeth for months, denying he had
done it, until they categorically proved his theft.
When he knew he could no longer get away with his lies,
he threw himself under a train.
#3238
B. Makes you distrustful of others.
A lady wrote into READER'S DIGEST sometime back to say that
a co-worker of hers had his car stolen from the
company's parking lot.
When the police finally located the vehicle, they found that
the thief had installed a burglar-alarm system in it.
#2202
C. Starts a vicious cycle.
1) Never provides enough.
2) Easier to do it again.
3) Turns you from reliance on regular work.
D. Hinders your Christian witness.
1) Nobody trusts a thief.
VII. Steal no longer. Eph 4:28
A. Restitution is an important Biblical principle.
1) Other ancient law codes invoked death penalty.
2) Bible does not - restitution is key.
a) People are more important than property.
b) Just as eager to see the victim compensated as that the
criminal is punished.
3) Restitution shows a repentant heart.
The experience of Rev. W. P. Nicholson in Belfast, Ireland,
at the turn of the century is needed today.
The old evangelist would preach to the dock workers
powerfully, causing conviction, and insisting on repentance.
Many men accepted Christ and started to bring back everything
they had stolen from the shipyards.
In the end the authorities had to make a public announcement:
"Will all those attending the meetings of Mr. W. P. Nicholson
please stop returning stolen goods.
"We have nowhere to store them."
#3239
B. Give appropriate amount to God.
1) Give him your first, not your last.
2) Put God in right place and everything else will balance.
C. Live within your means. (Be satisfied with what you have.)
British writer G. K. Chesterton:
"There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to
accumulate more; the other is to desire less."
#3234
Don't yearn for what you don't have.
D. Honesty is the best witness.
1) It impresses people.
2) Don't cut corners and they will trust you.
[for documentation of illustrations, download Holwick's Sermon Illustration
database at http://illust.holwick.com]
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Study Notes \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Briscoe, Ten Commandments
I. Our faith often doesn't affect our morality.
A. Gallop poll for Wall Street Journal.
B. Cheating on taxes, expense accounts not considered stealing.
C. Check out what Bible says.
II. Stealing from people.
A. Deprivation of property.
B. Deprivation of liberty.
C. Deprivation of dignity.
D. Deprivation of opportunity.
E. Rich and poor.
III. Stealing from God.
A. Contradictory behavior.
1) Preach one thing, practice the opposite.
B. Tithes and offerings. Mal 3:7-10
1) Malachi calls lack of tithing robbing God.
2) Deeper meaning of the tithe - honor God.
IV. Dangers and damages of stealing.
A. Get you into trouble with the law.
B. Ruin your relationships.
C. Leads to deception and lies.
1) (illustration of bank embezzler.)
D. Shrivels the one who does it.
E. Places extra burdens on others.
F. Hinders the work of God.
V. Steal no longer. Eph 4:28
A. Restitution is an important Biblical principle.
B. Experience of Rev. W.P. Nicholson in Belfast. Company orders
them to stop returning stolen goods because they are
swamped.
VI. The Blessing of work.
.....................................................................
Bill Hybels, Laws of the Heart
I. Violation of being robbed.
A. (illustration of his own grandmother helping a stranger.)
B. Not because we worship our stuff, or derive our meaning from it.
1) We want to protect our personal property rights.
C. Is it valid to own things?
II. Acceptable means of owning property.
A. Acquiring stuff by diligent labor. Eph 4:28
1) Earns us self-respect.
B. By trading, borrowing, investing. Matt 25:14-30
C. By faithful prayer.
III. A serious warning about property.
A. Don't gain whole world and lose soul. Matt 16:26
1) Must have view of eternity. Luke 12:16-21
2) Don't neglect spiritual life.
B. Don't abuse legitimate means of acquisition.
IV. Shades of seizure.
A. Old-fashioned theft.
1) Common in past and present.
2) Gray areas.
a) Company supplies.
b) Long-term borrowing from neighbors.
B. Differing weights. (deception)
C. Unrighteous withholdings. (defrauding)
1) Hit-and-run accidents.
2) Defrauding God. Mal 3:7-10
First Baptist Church; Ledgewood, New Jersey
This document last modified June 1, 1999