Lesson 5 is on commandments 7-10. Once again, I will split this lesson in 3. Commandments 9 & 10 will be grouped together in part 3.

Lesson 5 (Part 1): The Seventh Commandment

The Seventh Commandment is "you shall not steal". This means we should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

What is God's Greatest Gift? The answer can be found in Ephesians 2:8. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-not by works, so that no one can boast". Let's also look at Acts 2:38-39. "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call". As evidenced in these verses, the greatest gift we can get from God is His forgiveness and His Holy Spirit, which we receive by faith and baptism. Faith is the greatest gift from God because it's the only way to receive Christ's blessings. Faith without Christ is absolutely worthless.

Why does God give us earthly gifts? There are five reasons God does this. The first reason is that earthly gifts point to Christ. This is evidenced in James 1:17-18. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created".

The second reason is to provide for our family. 1 Timothy 5:8 declares "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever". This is a serious warning. Even unbelievers provide for others. Therefore, nor should we withhold our giving to others.

The third reason is to give to others. In Matthew 5:42 Jesus commands "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you". We should extend our generosity to our brothers and also to people in need that you might see as you go about your business.

The fourth reason is to give to the government. Governments are put in place by God to take care of us. No matter how corrupt that government may be, we still give to the government by paying our taxes. Romans 13:6-7 reads "This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

The fifth reason is to give to God. Let's read a story in Mark 12:41-43. "Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.". How can this be? In the old testament, the Jewish people were commanded to give 10% of what they have. Many churches still do this today. The widow on the other hand, by giving all she had to God, gave 100%.

Regardless of what we have, we should be content with it. 1 Timothy 6:6-7 commands "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.". Why should we be content? Because we have everything in Christ!

We are to view all blessings through Christ. We give our firstfruits to the Lord by tithing. But it is not always sinful to give less or more than 10%. If you are poor and cannot give much, you still give more than those who are rich. Why do we work hard? Will working hard allow us to achieve anything we want to do? No, since not everyone can be a professional athlete for example. We work to be faithful to God and to what he's given to us. Always be generous with what you have, by giving to your friends, to your family, to the government, and ultimately to God!