The 10 Commandments Part 8&9 of 10
8/19 and 9/2 Exodus 20:15,16 “You shall not steal or bear false witness against your neighbor.” In Ephesians 4, Paul gives us some valuable insight into these time-filled commandments and into the how’s and why’s we are to still obey them. Paul tells us how we are now, new people in Jesus and part of the church He has established. And as part of that new body of Christ, we are learning Christ in ways that are far different from the lives of our past, that used to allow us to just blend into the cultural backdrop. It cannot be that way any longer. But we actually don’t even have to do anything crazy to stand out. No, we just need to, “lay aside falsehood, speak the truth, each one of you with his neighbor… and he who steals, must steal no longer but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (vv. 25, 28) What do you think are the usual motives behind lying? What do you think are the usual motives behind stealing?
In what ways do you think stealing and lying is ‘par-for-the-course’ in the world? How will what Paul is saying make us stand out as a light in the world? What else is significant about verse 28 in Ephesians 4? i.e. It isn’t just about ‘not stealing’… what is really behind the command to not steal?
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