The Sanction of the Eighth Commandment – A Kingdom Catechism

The Sanction of the Eighth Commandment

A Kingdom Catechism

Breaking the eighth commandment invokes various forms of justice.

Q 117: What sanction does the Lord threaten in the eighth commandment?

A 117: The Lord threatens that those who disobey the eighth commandment shall be liable for restitution, restoration, retribution, and other judgments at the hands of those whom the Lord appoints. (Exod. 22:5-13, 21-24)

Biblical justice is a jewel of five facets. Obligatory justice is simply that which we owe to all men: love, truth, respect, and the like. Preventive justice shows us how to make sure our own actions do not become a means of harm or injustice to others. Watch open fires that you burn lest they catch someone’s property on fire. Restorative justice means that, when we do something to harm the property of another, we must make it right and set things back as they were. Retributive justice strikes at any malice aforethought and brings penalties or punishment as well as restoration against offenders. Distributive justice speaks to what we owe the poor, the needy, and so forth in the way of caring for them. Failing to keep the eighth commandment, whether willfully or by negligence, can invoke various forms of justice to set matters straight again.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.