Apr 21
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Baptist Catechism 78-79
Q. 78. Which is the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment is, “Thou shalt not steal.” (Exodus 20:15)
Q. 79. What is required in the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others. (Prov. 27:23; Lev. 25:35; Deut. 15:10; 22:14)
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:25–32
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25–32, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
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Some time ago I was considering the question, is it right to earn a living by gambling? This is probably a bigger issue than we realize. The internet has made it possible for men and women to gamble from the privacy of their own homes, and many in our society do devote substantial time to this. Some even seek to earn a living through gambling, be it online or in person. And so the question is, is it right to earn a living by gambling?
Most arguments that I have heard against gambling are based on the premise that gambling is not good for the gambler or his family. And that argument may have power against the gambler who is reckless, who gambles away his retirement or the family’s grocery money. But what about the gambler who is careful? What are we to say about the successful gambler — the one who prospers through gambling? Is it right to gamble so long as the gambler is careful, that is, not impulsive or reckless?
And to be clear, when I say “gamble” I am not using the word as a synonym for “risk”. Life always involves taking risks. Every businessman takes risks. Starting this church ten years ago involved risk. When I speak of “gambling” I am referring to the risk of money in playing games of chance and or skill with the hopes of taking money from others in the process. Is that activity right? Is it right for anyone? And even more specifically, is it right for Christians? Is it right to seek to earn a living by gambling?
It is true, the Bible does not explicitly forbid gambling. And that is why when biblicists (that is, those who believe that in order for something to be “biblical” a verse has to be found which explicitly says it (how biblicists maintain their belief in the Trinity, I do not know) argue against gambling the best they can do is to present that passage wherein the soldiers gambled for Jesus’ clothes after he was crucified. See, gambling is bad!, they say. But we are not biblicists. We understand that the Bible communities truth, not only by explicitly stating this or that, but also through necessary consequence. In other words, some things must be regarded as true because what is explicitly stated in scripture demands that we come to such and such a conclusion. For example, the scriptures teach that there is only one God. And yet, the Father, Son, and Spirit are called “God”. Therefore, God must be Triune. The Bible never says, “God is Triune”. But what the Bible says about God demands that we believe that God is Triune.
And so it is with gambling. The Bible never says, “thou shalt not gamble”, but it does have other things to say about how we are to go about procuring wealth, and how we are to respect, and even promote, the wealth of others. When these clear and explicit teachings are considered, it becomes clear that gambling – especially gambling for a living — is a sin. It is not the right way for us to increase our wealth.
Two passages are particularly helpful.
One, Ephesians 4:28 says, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4:28, ESV). This is the standard for the Christian. In fact, it is the standard for all people, but particularly the Christian.
How are we to go about increasing our wealth? We are to labor. We are to work. We are to use the gifts that God has given to us — physical gifts, and mental gifts — to earn a living. We are to toil.
And in fact, the text does not only say that we are to work, but that we are to do “honest work”. So we must admit that not all work is honest work. Let that sink in for a moment. I’m sure you realize that there are some very skilled and hard-working people in the world who make lots and lots of money doing dishonest things. God’s standard for procuring wealth is not only that we “work”, but that we do “honest work”.
And what is “honest work”? Well, though more could be said, let me say two things. Most obviously, it is work that is not inherently sinful. There are some who work very, very hard, at extorting others, for example. This is not honest work, for the work itself is a violation of God’s law. And secondly, honest work is work that not only takes but gives. Think of that for a moment. The scriptures teach that “The laborer deserves his wages” (1 Timothy 5:18, ESV). And this is the nature of honest work. Honest service is rendered, and a fair and honest wage is given in return. Yes, there are many different kinds of work, and there are many different kinds of wages, but when work is honest, the one who pays the wage walks away happy and satisfied, and not sad.
The gambler may work very hard at his gambling. He may even have the skill to prosper in it. But that does not change the fact that his work is not honest, for when he gambles his objective is only to take, but never to give. And this is why when gamblers stand up to walk away from the table, most walk away disappointed.
Paul says, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4:28, ESV). So you see that Paul’s positive instructions concerning the procurement of wealth through “honest work” are rooted in the eighth of the ten commandments. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4:28, ESV).
So gambling for a living is forbidden in the scriptures because it falls short of the standard of procuring wealth through “honest work”, and it is also a violation of the eighth commandment which says, “Thou shalt not steal.” Though the gambler may exert a great deal of effort in his gambling, gambling is not work, properly speaking, for it does not provide a service, it only takes. Properly speaking, gambling is theft. It is consensual theft. When gamblers sit down around a table, either physically or virtually, they are agreeing to do their very best to steal from one another. The objective is to take, but never to give. And that is what thieves do. They wish to take, but never give.
So why have I camped on the subject of gambling? Well, to give you an example of how these ten commandments that we are studying are to be applied in the realm of ethics.
“Thou shalt not steal.” Clearly, this forbids things like putting a piece of candy in your pocket and walking out of the store without paying for it. But the law of God is to be applied more deeply than this, as the passage from Ephesians 4 illustrates. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Ephesians 4:28, ESV).
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Baptist Catechism 79
Let us briefly consider Baptist Catechism 79.
Q: What is required in the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others. Notice three things:
One, The word lawful is significant. It means that we are to procure (or obtain) wealth in lawful ways. We must not break the laws of the land, nor the laws of God, to get wealth.
Two, our catechism teaches that the eighth commandment requires us to procure and further our own wealth and outward estate. This might sound strange to you, but it is true. Yes, the scriptures do warn against the love of money. And yes, they also warn against trusting in riches instead of in the Lord. But they do also command us to use our treasures for the good of others and the glory of God. You should work hard, brothers and sisters, if you are able. And you should seek to advance your outward estate. Be on guard against covetousness. Be on guard against discontentment. But also be on guard against complacency. You must know that the Lord can use your wealth for the furtherance of his kingdom. Do not be like that wicked servant in the parable who took the talent (a talent was a sum of money) that the Lord had given to him and buried it out of fear of losing it. No, be like the ones who were given 5 and 2 talents. They invested them and made an increase for their master (Matthew 25:14ff.). I think the meaning is this — we are to live fruitful lives to the glory of God. And this applies even to the realm of finances. If we are able to advance our wealth and outward estate through good and honest work, or wise investments, then we should.
Three, our catechism is right to say that the eighth commandment requires us to seek the procuring and furthering of the wealth of others too. And this is what will happen in societies where men and women are left free to exchange goods and services and are honest in their dealings with one another. Everyone’s wealth will tend to increase. But where there is injustice, favoritism, greed, and dishonesty, the powerful, rich, and well connected will tend to prosper, whereas the weak and marginalized will tend to languish.
It is a grave mistake to assume that economics is a zero-sum game. In other words, it is a mistake to assume that when one person increases in wealth that others must decrease, as if there always must be winners and losers. Or to state it yet another way, it is wrong to think that for a person to increase in wealth it will require him to take from others and to oppress them. Yes, that is how things go with gambling and thievery. But in fact, it is possible to pursue and increase in your own wealth and to simultaneously seek the increase of the wealth of others too.
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Conclusion
As I move now toward the conclusion, let me ask, how might the Christain apply the eighth commandment? Here are some suggestions:
Employers, are you compensating your workers fairly?
Businessmen and women, are you providing quality goods and services to your customers so that they are getting what they paid for?
Employees, are you giving your employers an honest day’s work?
Citizens, are you paying taxes to whom taxes are owed?
Friends, do you return things that you borrow in a timely manner? Herman Bavinck mentions this is his book on ethics, and adds “(for instance, books)”.
Brothers and sisters, are you working hard and managing your money well, to the glory of God?
Little children, do you take things that don’t belong to you?
You know, this is the most basic application of the eighth commandment: don’t take what isn’t rightfully yours. We should learn that lesson when we are young. It is a sin to get into the teacher’s candy jar when she isn’t looking, or to steal from the grocery store. And it is this same principle that is applied to the whole of life. Let us be sure to keep the eighth commandment maturely as adults.
And finally, if I were to ask you, have you kept this law perfectly?, we would have to say, no we have violated this law in thought, word, and deed.
Thanks be to God for Christ Jesus who lived and died and rose again so that our sins might be forgiven.
Q. 79. What is required in the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others. (Prov. 27:23; Lev. 25:35; Deut. 15:10; 22:14)
