Whereas the previous section of laws taught us how to apply the 6th commandment, this section expands upon the 8th commandment, you shall not steal. The book of Micah calls theft a kind of social cannibalism. When you steal its like biting and eating your neighbor. Lots of Christians try to kill the desire to steal by saying that the desire for stuff is bad, as though poverty were somehow holier than having money. But all that does is make you want to steal even more. The law has no power to kill sin, in fact it enflames sin.

The only way to kill your desire to steal is to look at God. What kind of God do you worship? Do you worship a limited God who doesn't like to give? Then you'd better fatten up your nest egg and fill your doomsday bunker with canned beans. This kind of attitude leads to stealing, but it also leads to hoarding, pilfering, grabbing, saying, "mine, mine, mine", and demanding that others share with you.

But that's not who God is. God is not grabby, God does not hoard up for Himself, God does not say "mine, mine, mine", and we know this about Him because He gave the thing most precious to Him, He gave His only begotten Son.

Justice and vengeance can look very similar because both require bloodshed. "Without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins" says Hebrews. But here's the difference between justice and accusatory vengeance; the purpose of accusation is control, the purpose of justice is reconciliation. Justice restores the peace that was broken by sin, and is thus the antithesis to accusation. "An eye for an eye" is the cornerstone of restorative justice, and this principle is the foundation of our salvation and of our life together in Christian community.

Text: Exodus 21:12-17

Preacher: Rev. Isaac Baugh

Death is inescapable, but not because death is this mysterious unstoppable force in the universe. Death is inescapable because God has assigned the number of your days to you. So, you could give yourself over to death, or you could run from it, or you could lean into the inescapable kindness of God and enjoy every day that He gives to you.