Coveting

The fact that coveting is idolatry (Col 3:5) brings us full circle with the 10 Commandments. Breaking the last commandment is also breaking the first commandment.

"Does my bum look big in this?"

"Does my bum look big in this?"

How should one answer?

I think it depends what the person is really asking.

They are unlikely to what a precise analysis of the proportions of their posterior, although I suppose just perhaps they might want some friendly fashion advice.

If what they want is a bit of appreciation and encouragement, then I don’t think it’s a wicked sin to affirm that they look lovely, even if their bum is big, and it's not your duty to tell them that last bit!

Godly deceit

Prof John Frame gives 16 examples of Bible passages in which someone decieves an enemy without incurring any condemnation, and sometimes even being commended:

Ex 1:15-21
Joshua 2:4-6; 6:17, 25; Heb 11:31; James 2:25
Joshua 8:3-8
Judges 4:18-21; 5:24-27
1 Samuel 16:1-5
1 Samuel 19:12-17
1 Samuel 20:6
1 Samuel 21:13
1 Samuel 27:10
2 Samuel 5:22-25
2 Samuel 15:34
2 Samuel 17:19-20
1 Kings 22:19-23
2 Kings 6:14-20
Jeremiah 38:24-28
2 Thess 2:11

The Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R) p836

Frame adds: “It does appear that the Bible passages listed above, which justify deception in certain cases, all have to do with the promotion of justice against the wicked, especially when they seek innocent life.” (p839)

Presumption of theological innocence

Speaking of the 9th Commandment, Professor John Frame says:

We have the responsibility to put the best construction on other people's words and behavior, unless there is cogent witness to the contrary, what the Bible calls "two or three witnesses." That means we are to give one another the benefit of the doubt, on the principle of "innocent until proved guilty." I suspect that adherence to this principle would substantially reduce the amount of theological controversy.

Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R), p832

10 Commandments Resources

One day I might get around to posting a list of some useful things on the 10 Commandments, which I'm preaching through. For now, I wanted to remember the existence of this:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2009/09/23/mohler-on-the-10-commandments/

Thanks, Dan Green.

Me on "Do not steal"

With due acknowledgments to those mentioned in previous blog posts, here are some jottings on the 8th commandment which might have been on a handout had I provided one.

An audio recording of the sermon I preached this morning should appear on our church website in due course.

10 commandments: duties to God then duties to others

Respect others’ lives (6^th commandment), marriages (7^th), property (8^th)

Stealing – taking what belongs to someone else without right or permission

Stealing often born of coveting (10^th commandment) and virtually impossible without lying (9^th)

8^th commandment: actions; 9^th: words; 10^th: thoughts

Stealing widespread, serious, costly

God is the ultimate ruler and owner of all thing by creation (Ex 19:5; Ps 24:1; 50:10)

Christians belong to God by redemption (1 Cor 6:19f)

All stealing is a sin against God (Eden)

Stealing God’s honour and glory

Making a god / idol of money or possessions (Lk 16:13)

God has assigned property rights (Gen 1:28-30

Ps 115:16) – wise loving dominion under God

All “ownership” is really stewardship, a trust

Types of stealing:

At work (Col 3:22), expenses, tax return (Mt 22:17-22; Rm 13:6-7)

Dishonest selling or services – a stealing mentality, take if I can

Piracy of music / videos / illegal file sharing

Delayed payment or unpaid debt (Rm 13:8)

Permanent “borrowing”

Idleness, waste or avoidable dependency (2 Thess 3:10)

Cheating in an exam – stealing marks

Stealing someone’s spouse, reputation, dignity

Failure to give to God’s work (Mal 3:8)

Antidotes / positive counterparts to stealing:

Honest hard work (Eph 4:28; 1 Thess 4:11-12)

Living within our means and saving (Prov 13:22)

Trust in God who is a wise, able, generous giver (Mt 6)

Family (1 Tim 5:8) and church family (Gal 6:10)

Generous cheerful proportionate giving & sharing (also of time, effort, hospitality) (2 Cor 9:7-8)

Restitution – make amends (Ex 22:1; Num 5:7; Lk 19:8)

Salvation for the thief (Lk 19:9; 23:39-43)

Brian Edwards on "Do not steal"

Some jottings from Brian H Edwards, The Ten Commandments for Today (Day One, 1996, revised edition 2002):

“The Home Office estimates that more than 8% of the people visiting a large store are likely to be stealing.” (p218)

“Agur, the wise man of Proverbs, appears to have been well acquainted with the Ten Commandments, for in one powerful poem he includes the substance of at least seven of them. Here is the way he refers to four of the Commandments: ‘Keep falsehood and lies far from me (9^th); give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the LORD?” (3^rd). Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God (8^th). Do not slander a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will pay for it (9^th). There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers…’ (5^th). (Proverbs 30:8-11).” (p218)

“In the United Kingdom half a million shoplifters cost the nation over 10 million pounds every day. In 1994 Marks and Spencer alone spent 20 million pounds in security costs and still lost 30 million in stolen goods.” (p224)

“Within a two-and-a-half hour period on one January day, British Rail Transport Police detained one hundred people on Victoria Station in London travelling without a ticket.” (p226)

“Pay as you would be paid” (p227)

“According to the UK Christian Handbook for 1996/7, British churchgoers give around 1.8 billion pounds each year to Christian organisations. That doesn’t sound too bad until we realise that it is approximately 2% of their average income!” (p228)

J John on "Do not steal"

Some jottings from J John's, Ten:Living the Ten Commandments in the 21st Century (Kingsway, 2000):

8^th commandment: actions; 9^th: words; 10^th: thoughts

1999 newspaper article headline, “Britain a nation of cheats and thieves” – ¾ of all Britons steal from their employers (p73)

“Consumer affairs programmes like Watchdog are full of stories of mail order firms that never delivered, investments that were spurious, workers who never worked, special offers that weren’t special, price reductions that weren’t reductions and dream holidays that were nightmares.” (p74)

Inland Revenue Officials estimate that tax evasion in the UK amounts to 7 to 15 billion pounds a year (p75)

Stealing (8^th commandment) arises from coveting (10^th) and is practically impossible without lying (9^th)

The epidemic of stealing in our society may be because we look to wealth and possessions for satisfaction and security rather than to the living God

When we steal we insult God’s generosity, denying his love and care for us, claiming that we know better than him, that we can provide for ourselves better than God has

“The Inland Revenue once received an anonymous letter: ‘I am having trouble sleeping because of my conscience. Please find enclosed £100. If this doesn’t cure my insomnia I will send you the rest.’” (p86)

John 10:10 – stealing satanic

“The French novelist Anatole France quipped, ‘Never lend books, for no one ever returns them. The only books I have in my library are books other people lent me.’” (p88f)

Pink on "Do not steal"

Jottings from Arthur W. Pink Ten Commandments (Sovereign Grace Publishers, 2003) on the 8th Commandment:

The first sin
The 1^st human sin was a theft: Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit
The 1^st sin in the promised land was a theft as Achan stole from among the spoils (Josh 7:21)
The 1^st sin in the primitive church was a theft as Ananias and Sapphira kept back part of the price (Acts 5:2) (p47) [though their crime is more the lie than the theft?]

The crime of Arminianism!

“God is robbed when we withhold from Him the glory which is His due, and we are spiritual thieves when we arrogate to ourselves the honor and praise which belong to Him alone. Arminians are great offenders here, by ascribing to free will what is produced by free grace.” (p47)

Idleness, extravagance and waste can be types of theft

Robbing God of the Sabbath

Lying adverts are a breach of this command

Packer on "Do not steal"

Some jottings from J. I. Packer, Keeping the 10 Commandments (Crossway) previously Growing in Christ / I Want to Be a Christian on the 8th Commandment "Stop, Thief!":

Love to your neighbour requires you to respect not only his life (commandment 6) and his marriage (commandment 7) but also his property (commandment 8) (p89)

Ownership is stewardship - I am God’s trustee – all I have is leant to me on a temporary basis to be used for his purposes - One day I shall be asked to give an account of what I have done with all that God has given me

Theft by doing a shoddy job (e.g. as a tradesman)

Leaving debts unpaid a kind of theft – Rm 13:8

Stealing someone’s reputation - Shakespeare: “Who steals my purse, steals trash … but he that filches from me my good name … makes me poor indeed.”

In the Belfast revival of 1922-1923, converted shipyard workers brought back tools and equipment that they had “knocked off” in such quantities that in one place an additional storage shed had to be provided to hold them.” (p93)

More Frame on "Do not steal"

Here are some further jottings from Frame's chapters on the 8th commandment headed "Respecting Property" and "Wealth and Poverty" (The Doctrine of the Christian Life, P&R):

Ultimately all property belongs to God (Ex 19:5; Ps 24:1; 50:10)

God has given men the right of private property & dominion over the earth – Gen 1:28-30; Ps 8:6; 115:16 - The land of Canaan given to Israel and certain portions of the land given to each tribe - The land is given to Israel (Ex 33:1-3) but it is ultimately the LORD’s (Hos 9:3)

Scripture often affirms the property rights of human beings - 1 K 21:3-6; Acts 4:37; 5:4

“Scripture endorses the concept of private property, always with the proviso that God is the ultimate owner of creation and the one who has the ultimate authority over it. The eight commandment assumes this concept. Stealing would have no meaning, unless there were a clear distinction between what belongs to me and what belongs to someone else.” (p798)

Work ethic - Cf. 4 commandment – work 6 days, rest & worship 1

1 Thess 4:11-12; 2 Thess 3:10

“To keep the eighth commandment is both to give everyone his due and, beyond that, to sacrifice our own goods in love for others, as Jesus gave his life for us. The eighth commandment mandates both justice and mercy.” (p799)

“If theft includes robbing God of his due, then we can understand how, in a sense, all sin is theft. So the eight commandment is a broad mandate upholding God’s whole law.” (p799)

Even hunger is not an excuse for stealing even if its more understandable (Prov 6:30-31)

Malachi 3:8 - "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, `How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings.” - Failure to tithe (under Old Covenant) is robbing God

Tithe was not on wealth or income but agricultural produce - Other offerings also given to priests

Tithe to Melchizedek (Gen 14:20; Heb 7:4-10) - not just an Israel in the land thing

2 Cor 9:7-8 – giving to be voluntary, cheerful and generous - Acts 4:34-37 ; Lk 21:1-4

10% a good beginning of financial discipleship for the Christian believer

Firstfruits – Ex 23:16; Dt 26:2

Paying taxes: Mt 22:17-22; Rm 13:6-7

“… the eight commandment mandates responsible use of the funds God has entrusted to us…. we have responsibilities to our families (1 Tim 5:8), to the church (2 Cor 8-9), to the state (Mt 22:17-22), and to ourselves (2 Thess 3:10). These responsiblities, in turn, require a seriousness about the use of money.” (p806)

“… Scripture does not condemn the expenditure of money for relaxation, for entertainment, or even for the consumption of luxuries. But these must be balanced by a conern for others and for one’s future well-being.” (p806)

“On the whole, Scripture has a favourable attitude toward wealth. Wealth is a covenant blessing, the prosperity promised to those who obey God (Dt 8:18; 29:9; Josh 1:7-8; 1 Kings 2:2-3; 2 Chron 26:5; 31:21; Ps 1:3; 112:1-3; Mk 10:29-30).” (p808)

Abraham, Job & David wealthy. Lk 8:3; 1 Cor 1:26.

“… it is not sinful as such to be wealthy. Nor is it sinful to desire to enjoy God’s material blessings. God commanded Israel to feat before him (Dt 12:6-7, 17-19; 14:22-23; cf. Job 1:1-5). Jesus attended a wedding feast and supplied additional wine (John 2:1-11). He also ate with wealthy people (Lk 7:36-50; 11:37; 14:1, 12). He praised Mary’s extravagant homage to him, despite Judas’ insincere argument that her gift should have been sold for the poor instead (John 12:4-8). Indeed, as Paul says, in the context of a warning to the wealthy, God “richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Tim 6:17).” (p809)

“It is wrong to say that justice requires an equal distribution of resources as such. It does not. But when the rich oppress the poor, to defend the poor against them is simple justice.” (p815)

"The family was then [in biblical provision], and today remains, the first and most solid defense against poverty. In Israel, it was understood that parents would provide for their children, that children would provide for parents in their old age, and that parents would leave an inheritance for their children…. In Israel, this pattern was not compromised by income or estate taxes. In modern society, the breakdown of the family through illegitimacy and divorce is one of the major causes of poverty. Nothing can do more to alleviate the problem than the restoration if a biblical family structure.” (p816)

Hebrew slavery “was in fact a kind of household apprenticeship, where offenders, for a period not exceeding six years, learned habits of discipline and ways of making a living…. a family virtually adopted the servant for a time…” (p818)

Hospitality – Rm 12:13; 1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:8; 1 Pet 4:9

This commandment rules out Marxism / Communism that is opposed to private property. It is idolatry to make the State the ultimate controller and owner of all things. (p826)

Gambling is not necessarily a sin

I've argued before that gambling is not necessarily a sin. If (1) we are not addicted, (2) we are doing useful work, (3) the money is not needed for our other duties to family, church, government or self, (4) we have the time to gamble and (5) we are not coveting riches or (6) making an idol of the Lottery, it is quite possible to gamble without sin. I'm glad to see that Revd Prof John Frame agrees with me! [Despite the potential dangers of gambling etc.] "This is not to say, however, that it is always wrong for an individual to gamble.” Entering the office football pool “can be a harmless bit of fun, strengthening personal relationships.” (The Doctrine of the Christian Life, P&R, p807)

Intellectual Theft?

I suspect this wont make it into my sermon on "You Shall Not Steal" but here's

John Frame, "The Other Shoe: Copyright and the reasonable use of technology" - calling for more liberal copyright laws, especially for church music

Vern Poythress, "Copyrights and Copying: Why the Laws Should be Changed"

Ways of Stealing

Have I mentioned how rewarding I'm finding John Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life (P&R), which I've been using to prepare sermons on The 10 Commandments?

Here he is on types of stealing according to the Bible (from p799) - no plagiarism here!:

In the narrow sense, Scripture notes the following forms of theft:

1. Property theft, normally requiring double restitution (Ex 22:4, 7)

2. Kidnapping or manstealing, a capital crime (Ex 21:16; Dt 24:7; 1 Tim 1:10)

3. Swindling (Jer 22:13-17; Amos 8:4-6; Hab 2:9-12)

4. Stealing from widows and orphans, which is especially heinous (Matt 23:14)

5. Defrauding employees (James 5:4)

6. Land theft (Isa 5:8)

7. Unjust weights (Lev 19:35-36; Dt 25:15)

8. Misleading someone for economic gain (Prov 20:14)

In the broader sense, Scripture speaks of theft in metaphorical, but important ways:

1. Stealing affections (2 Sam 15:6)

2. False prophets, who steal God’s word from the people and proclaim their own words as God’s (Jer 23:30)

3. False religious leaders as thieves and robbers (John 10:1)

4. Merchandising in the temple (Matt 21:13)

5. Robbing God of tithes and offerings (Mal 3:8; cf. Josh 7:11)

Random Marriage Tips

From my sermon on You Shall Not Commit Adultery.

Cultivating a good marriage is part of the antidote to adultery
If you’ve got fillet steak at home, you’re much less likely to go out for a burger!

So here are some random tips on how to affair proof your marriage.
A basic guide to a successful marriage:

Work hard at your marriage
You’re stuck with it, after all.
Its in everyone’s best interests, including your own, that you make your marriage work.
A happy husband is a happy wife, and a happy wife is a happy husband!
How to make your wife treat you like a king: treat her like a queen.

So, married couples, love one another.
Pray for one another and with one another regularly.
Give thanks for your husband or wife.

Don’t make an idol of your husband or wife.
Remember this commandment is given in the context of the 1st commandment, to have no other gods beside the true God.
Don’t have unreasonable expectations of your partner: they’ll make a rubbish God.
Don’t pin all your hopes of happiness on them.

Maintain other friendships.
Intellectual arguments about theology.
Go down the pub with the other curates not bother Mrs Lloyd over breakfast with infralapsarianism.
That’s not her idea of a good time!

A good marriage requires good communication
Spend time together
Talk!
Open up your hearts and minds to one another
Share your joys, sorrows, concerns
Listen, make time
If there’s a problem, discuss it.

Be on one another’s side! You’re a team.
Never criticise or belittle one another in front of anyone else.
Encourage one another.
Sympathise, don’t always criticise or carp.
Lots of little digs can soon burry a marriage.

Remember why you married that person in the first place.
Have fun together.
Go on a date.
Buy her flowers or chocolates or whatever – there doesn’t need to be a special occasion.
Let’s have a little romance in marriage, even though you’ve bagged your wife!
If there were more courtship in marriage, there’d be fewer marriages in court.
Tell her how nice she looks.
Tell one another how much you love one another and why.
When she’s a mother, make sure she remains your lover.

Remember to say sorry, thank you and please.
Don’t let things fester.
Better to let it go or get it out in the open and over with quickly than nurse a grudge.

Don’t take one another for granted.
Show appreciation.
Celebrate what the other person does that you couldn’t do.

Remember that you’ve got your fair share of weaknesses and foibles and sins and failures too.
Be as forgiving and understanding of your husband or wife as you tend to be of yourself – or more so.

Delight in married sexual love
The Bible can be quite direct and graphic about it.
Proverbs 5 well worth reading.
Prov 5:18-20: “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, 19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated1 always in her love. 20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?”
Did you know that the Bible commands you to delight in your wife’s breasts?
There’s an application for Sunday afternoon!

When a couple have sex they “make love” – that’s a good euphemism for sex.
When a couple make love they celebrate and deepen their love.
Sex is profoundly relational, not just recreational.
Husband and wife are to be treated as persons, not play-things.
Serve one another in the bedroom
Seek to please your husband or wife, not simply to grasp after your own gratification
Don’t have selfish sex
Enjoy one another
There is nothing wrong, or grubby, or shameful or dirty about sex within marriage
God invented sex!
God is for sex and sex is for marriage.
Sex the kind of thing one can talk about in sermons without the slightest unseemliness!
Sex is a good gift from God to be enjoyed within marriage
Sex is a celebration of married love, mutual self-giving, abandonment

Married couples are to make love often.
1 Cor 7:3-5:
“The husband should fulfil his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

The Wicked Bible

An edition of the Authorised Version of the Bible published in 1631 earned the printer the significant fine of £300, imposed by Archbishop Laud, for the error of omitting the word 'not' in the seventh commandment; that edition became known as 'The Wicked Bible'.

Brian H. Edwards, The Ten Commandments for Today (Day One, 2nd ed 2002), p198

Ugly Sex

Rev'd Prof J. I. Packer says:

… sexual activity is often out of place – when, for instance, it is directed by such motives as the quest for kicks, or for relief from mental or physical tension, or loneliness or boredom, or the desire to control of humiliate, or mere animal reaction to someone’s sex appeal. Such motives cheapen sex, making it (despite the short-term excitement) trivial and ugly, and leaving behind, once the thrill is over, more disgust than delight. (p84)

...

In casual sex a man does not strictly love a woman, but uses and so abuses her (however willing she may be). Nor can solitary masturbation fulfill God’s ideal; sex is for relationship, not ego trips.

Keeping the 10 Commandments (Crossway, 2007) - previously Growing in ChristI Want To Be A Christian, p85 (1994), originally, I Want to Be A Christian

Abortion & Euthanasia etc. resources

On Sunday I made some comments about abortion and euthanasia (amongst other things) from the 6th Commandment, "You Shall Not Murder". You may find some interesting stuff on these subjects on The Christian Institute website (link on the right). The Institute is a kind of public policy lobbying think tank resource type thing. I also linked to The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child yesterday.

I would also highly recommend Rev'd Dr David Field's ethics notes which cover subjects such as abortion, euthanasia, just war and a whole lot more, as well as quite a bit of stuff on how to think (ethically), meta-ethics.

On our church website sermons page, you can find (evangelistic) talks by my predecessor as curate, Rev'd Jeremy Hobson (who is a medical doctor) on abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research and other topics besides.

As ever, John Frame's The Christian Life (P&R Lordship Series) would be a great place to go to think more about the Commandment and the issues it raises, though arising out of and more oriented towards a US context than a UK one. Get that book - its impressively fat but pretty readable!

No apology

After a couple of drafts and one or two challenges and suggestions from friends, here's how I began my sermon on "You shall not murder" today:

(The real thing may have differed a bit from these notes. The whole sermon should appear on our church website this week d.v.)

I'm going to say some difficult and controversial things today.

I know that.

I don't mean to be nasty or to over simplify or generalise or exaggerate.

You might not agree with everything I say.

You may not always understand quite where I’m coming from or what I'm getting at sometimes.

That's okay.

I'm just trying to say what I reckon the Bible says or implies about some very important and very topical subjects.

Please do feel free to come and put me right at the end.

Or ask me any question.

And if you're a guest or a visitor, it’s not quite like this every week.

Why not come back another time and give us another go?!

So, my text today is this:

The 6^th of the 10 Commandments:

God said: "You shall not murder."

This is a very short command: “No murder” with very deep and wide ranging implications.

If there’s were time, I'd deal with war, capital punishment, abortion, suicide, euthanasia, assisted-suicide, self-harm, character assassinations, keep-fit, food, drink, drugs, health and safety and the environment and a few other things beside.

Many of us will have been personally affected by these things.

Perhaps you’re struggling with one of them at the moment.

I’m not trying to make your grief or trauma worse but to bring God’s loving, holy word to bare on some of the darkest places of life today.

If you’d like to talk or pray with someone about any of the issues raised today, we can arrange that: come and have a word with me, or the vicar, or our pastoral worker.

Why I am a legalist!

I said, "Pah! Lutherans! "Oh, how I hate your law", eh? Antinomians!"

Revd Glen Scrivner said (oh, I paraphrase a little bit, maybe): "Huh! If they are antinomian law-haters, are you willing to be called a legalist who thinks the law is the end of Christ?!"

I said (smiling): "Okay then, you bet! Why not?! Yeah. Bring it on. As long as I'm allowed to distinguish and ask "in what sense?""

So why I am a legalist:

Of course we are not saved by good works of the law. What a stupid blasphemous idea. How impossible.

The law is holy, righteous and good.

Some rules are good and happy: e.g. do not get drunk on much wine, do not have sex with people you are not married to.

Laws are not antithetical to relationship. They can express and shape and grow out of relationship.

Lots of the Bible is law.

Law is one of the main ways God relates to us.

Law (torah) is best understood as God's loving fatherly wisdom to his redeemed, saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone etc., children. We imagine ourselves sat on Daddy's knee as we read Ex 20.

And the law is the end of Christ. Yes. He did not come to abolish it: he fulfills it, he brings us a renewed, glorified law. The law leads us to Christ and Christ leads us back to the crucified and risen law. We keep the royal law of Christ, the law of love. We are saved for good works of the law-keeping. Sin is lawlessness.