Overview

The eighth commandment guards our neighbor’s property and the right ordering of possessions. This section gives the commandment (Q140), the duties it requires — truth, faithfulness, and justice in all dealings, and the lawful furthering of everyone’s outward estate (Q141), and the sins it forbids — theft, fraud, and all unjust gain (Q142). The Larger Catechism’s lists are remarkably detailed and practical about economic justice.

The Questions & Answers

Q140. Which is the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“You shall not steal.” (Exod. 20:15, ESV)

Q141. What are the duties required in the eighth commandment? A. The duties required in the eighth commandment are, truth, faithfulness, and justice in contracts and commerce between man and man; rendering to every one his due; restitution of goods unlawfully detained from the right owners thereof; giving and lending freely, according to our abilities, and the necessities of others; moderation of our judgments, wills, and affections concerning worldly goods; a provident care and study to get, keep, use, and dispose these things which are necessary and convenient for the sustentation of our nature, and suitable to our condition; a lawful calling, and diligence in it; frugality; avoiding unnecessary lawsuits, and suretiship, or other like engagements; and an endeavour, by all just and lawful means, to procure, preserve, and further the wealth and outward estate of others, as well as our own.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“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.” (Eph. 4:28, ESV)

“…rendering… to all what is owed to them.” (Rom. 13:7–8, ESV)

Further proofs: Lev. 25:35; Luke 6:30, 38; Prov. 27:23; 1 Tim. 6:6–9; Ps. 15:2, 4.

Q142 — the sins forbidden (summarized): The sins forbidden in the eighth commandment, besides the neglect of the duties required, are, theft, robbery, man-stealing, and receiving anything stolen; fraudulent dealing, false weights and measures, removing landmarks, injustice and unfaithfulness in contracts or trust; oppression, extortion, usury, bribery, vexatious lawsuits, unjust enclosures and depopulations; engrossing commodities to enhance the price; unlawful callings, and all other unjust or sinful ways of taking or withholding from our neighbour what belongs to him, or of enriching ourselves; covetousness; inordinate prizing and affecting worldly goods; distrustful and distracting cares; envying the prosperity of others; idleness, prodigality, wasteful gaming, and all other ways whereby we do unduly prejudice our own outward estate, and defrauding ourselves of the due use and comfort of that estate which God hath given us.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

“The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives.” (Ps. 37:21, ESV)

“…nor thieves, nor the greedy… will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor. 6:10; cf. Eph. 4:28, ESV)

Further proofs: Prov. 11:1; 21:6; Amos 8:5; 1 Thess. 4:6; Luke 16:10–12; James 5:4.

Exposition: The commandment assumes the legitimacy of private property and forbids theft in all forms — but the Larger Catechism’s reach is striking. Positively (Q141), it requires “truth, faithfulness, and justice in contracts and commerce,” “rendering to every one his due,” restitution of what is wrongly held, free “giving and lending,” diligent work in “a lawful calling,” “frugality,” and — notably — endeavoring “to procure, preserve, and further the wealth and outward estate of others, as well as our own.” Negatively (Q142), it names a whole catalog of economic sins, from outright theft and “man-stealing” (kidnapping/slave-trading) to “false weights and measures,” “oppression, extortion, usury, bribery,” exploitative business (“engrossing commodities to enhance the price”), and even sins against ourselves — “idleness, prodigality, wasteful gaming,” and failing to enjoy “the due use and comfort” of what God has given. Underlying it all is the heart sin of “covetousness” and “inordinate prizing… [of] worldly goods.”

Connections

• WSC Q73–75 — the eighth commandment, its duties and sins.
• WCF 26.3 (private property is not abolished by the communion of saints) and WCF 16 (good works, including generosity).
• Loci: The eighth commandment; stewardship; work and vocation; economic justice; contentment.

Pastoral & Practical Significance

The eighth commandment shapes the whole of our economic life — how we earn, spend, save, give, and even enjoy. The Larger Catechism’s thoroughness exposes the “respectable” dishonesties decent people excuse: padding an invoice, false advertising, exploiting the desperate, withholding fair wages, sharp business that “engrosses commodities to enhance the price.” But its positive thrust is just as searching: we are to actively further our neighbor’s material good (Q141), not merely refrain from harming it — making generosity, fair dealing, honest work, and care for the poor part of obeying this command. Strikingly, it also forbids sins against ourselves: idleness, wastefulness, reckless gambling, and a miserly refusal to enjoy God’s good gifts. The root issue, named in Q142, is the heart — covetousness, distrustful anxiety, and “inordinate prizing” of possessions. The gospel reorders all of this: knowing that in Christ we have an inheritance that cannot be stolen (1 Pet. 1:4), we are freed from the grasping fear that drives theft and greed, and freed for open-handed generosity that imitates a God who gave His own Son. The redeemed thief of Ephesians 4:28 is everyone’s pattern: work honestly — and give freely.

For Memory & Reflection

• Memorize Q140 and the heart of Q141; anchor verse: Ephesians 4:28. Study Q142 to search your dealings.
• Q141 requires me to further my neighbor’s good and make restitution for wrongs. Is there anything I owe or have wrongly withheld?
• Q142 forbids both greed and a miserly refusal to enjoy God’s gifts. Which error is more mine — grasping, or failing to give and enjoy with thanks?