Overview

The eighth commandment guards our neighbor’s property and the right ordering of possessions. This section (Q73–75) gives the command, what it requires (lawfully securing and advancing the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others), and what it forbids (whatever wrongfully hinders the same).

The Questions & Answers

Q73. 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)

Q74. 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.

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)

Further proofs: Prov. 27:23; Lev. 25:35; Phil. 2:4; Rom. 12:17; 1 Tim. 5:8.

Q75. What is forbidden in the eighth commandment? A. The eighth commandment forbiddeth whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder our own or our neighbour’s wealth or outward estate.

Scripture Proofs (ESV):

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

Further proofs: Prov. 21:6; 28:19; 1 Thess. 4:6; James 5:4; Eph. 4:28; Amos 8:5.

Exposition: The commandment assumes the legitimacy of private property (cf. WCF 26.3) and forbids theft in all its forms. But its scope is broad. Q74 frames it positively: we are to lawfully procure and further the material good of ourselves and others — through honest work, diligence, faithful stewardship, fair dealing, and generosity. Ephesians 4:28 captures the movement: the former thief is not merely to stop stealing but to work honestly so that he may share with the needy — from theft, to honest labor, to generosity. Q75’s “whatsoever doth or may unjustly hinder” reaches well beyond burglary to fraud, dishonest business, withholding wages, idleness that lives off others, gambling away what should support a family, oppression of the poor, and even careless waste. Stealing is, at bottom, a failure of love that takes from a neighbor what is rightfully his.

Connections

• WLC Q140–142 — the eighth commandment; the duties required (truth, faithfulness, and justice in contracts and dealings; honest labor; charity); the sins forbidden (theft, fraud, oppression, idleness, wastefulness).
• WCF 26.3 (the communion of saints does not abolish private property) and WCF 16 (good works, including generosity).
• Loci: The eighth commandment; stewardship; work and vocation; justice and generosity.

Pastoral & Practical Significance

The eighth commandment shapes the whole of our economic life — how we earn, spend, save, and give. It dignifies honest work as a God-given means of providing for ourselves and others, and it condemns not only obvious theft but the subtler dishonesties that respectable people excuse: padding an expense report, shoddy work for full pay, sharp business practices, exploiting the vulnerable, or living idly off the labor of others. Its positive thrust (Q74) is striking: we are to actively further our neighbor’s material good, not merely refrain from harming it — which makes generosity, fair wages, honest trade, and care for the poor part of obeying this command. The gospel reorders our relationship to possessions: 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 the 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 Q74 and Q75; anchor verse: Ephesians 4:28. Note the movement from stealing, to honest work, to generosity.
• Where might I be tolerating “respectable” dishonesty — in work, money, or dealings — that this commandment forbids?
• Q74 requires me to further my neighbor’s good, not just avoid harming it. How generous and fair am I with what God has given?