Stealing, Theft, Robbery, Swindling, and Defrauding

Stealing  means “to take (the property of another) without right or permission.”[1]  Theft is “the act or an instance of stealing.”[2] Rob means “to take property from (a person) illegally by using or threatening to use violence or force. . . . To take valuable or desired articles unlawfully from.”[3]  Defraud means “to take something from by fraud; swindle.”[4]  Swindle means “to cheat or defraud, as of money.”[5]

Some may think, “I’ve never robbed a bank or held up a man or woman.”  But theft also occurs in less dramatic ways.  Cheating on one’s income tax is a form of theft, in this case theft from the government.  Paul commands, “Render to all what is due them; tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor” (Romans 13:7).  When one earns an amount and doesn’t report it for tax purposes, this also is a form of dishonesty as well as theft.  It is common in those jobs where cash is exchanged (yard work, waiter and waitress work, repair jobs, and selling).  This plainly is a form of theft.

Some may remember their childhood when they took something from a father or mother without their permission.  Or maybe one has taken a possession from a friend or acquaintance.  Someone may drive down the street and steal a bicycle or other object from one’s yard. Just last night at the apartment courtyard, someone stole solar lights from a neighbor.  When we visited another country, there were many internet warnings that pick-pockets were a frequent problem for tourists, which is another form of stealing.  We can see that stealing is very common in our age!

Think of the theft of which you are familiar:

• An employee steals from his employer when he doesn’t work hours for eight hour’s pay.
• A shopper steals from a supermarket where he receives too much change from the cashier and doesn’t return the amount of the mistake.
• A shopper steals (shoplifts) when he takes an item from a store and walks away without paying for it.
• A student steals when he cheats on a test or an assignment and receives a grade he didn’t earn.
• A worker steals when he puts a pen or an office item into his pocket or into her purse.

Jesus refers to stealing (Greek, klepto) when he spoke of “thieves” who “break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20). He told the rich, young ruler that he should “keep the commandments,” and this would include, “You shall not steal” (Matthew 19:17-18; cf. Mark 10:11; Luke 18:20).  He was referring to the eighth commandment of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19).  The Lord said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John10:10).  As Paul is seeking to convicting his Jewish readers, he asks, “You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal?” (Romans 2:21).  The apostle also says that if you “love your neighbor as yourself,” “you shall not steal” (Romans 13:9).

 

Paul points out that stealing is serious and must be utterly renounced.  If we steal in order to get what belongs to another, we must do the very opposite to live a life of repentance.  He says, “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need” (Ephesians 4:28).

The one who has stealing as a besetting sin should pay special attention to Paul’s reasoning here.  “It is not enough to cease from sin; one must do good.  The former thief must now help those in need.”[6]  Swindling is serious and the Christian must avoid it. Those who persist in this sin are to be excluded from the fellowship of faithful Christians.  Believers are “not to associate with . . . a swindler” who was a Christian, even to the point of refusing to eat with him or her (1 Corinthians 5:11)

Paul clearly says that “thieves” and “swindlers” will not “inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  He went on to say that some of the Corinthians had been thieves and swindlers but they had been “washed” from this sin, they had been “sanctified” from the sin, and they had been “justified” or declared righteous (v. 11).

If someone has stolen property, it would be necessary to make restitution or reparations for the wrong.  He should return stolen property to the rightful owner.  In order for the repentant Zaccheus to show his change of heart, he told Jesus, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much” (Luke 19:8). We need to repent of all forms of stealing and come to Christ in repentance.  We also need to make restitution for anything we have stolen in the past (Luke 19:8-10).[7]

 

[1] The American Heritage College Dictionary.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] NASB Study Bible, note.

[7] See our tract, Have You Made Restitution?