GDLC Audio

God desires us to live in an honest and content way as our hearts are at rest within His own. To steal is to take from others what does not belong to us and reveals a heart that is not at rest. We have received tremendous physical and spiritual gifts from God and have been commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. Stealing can happen in many ways and even includes when we withhold things from being used by God that are rightfully His. Our time, talents, finances, possessions; even our very lives, when we refuse to allow God to use them is in effect stealing from Him. Stealing reveals a heart not at rest in God’s and that really is the Heart of the Matter. 

God desires us to live in an honest and content way as our hearts are at rest within His own. To steal is to take from others what does not belong to us and reveals a heart that is not at rest. We have received tremendous physical and spiritual gifts from God and have been commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. Stealing can happen in many ways and even includes when we withhold things from being used by God that are rightfully His. Our time, talents, finances, possessions; even our very lives, when we refuse to allow God to use them is in effect stealing from Him. Stealing reveals a heart not at rest in God’s and that really is the Heart of the Matter. 

The second reason for this command is that God’s people are to reflect His heart and character. They are to be a holy people, set-apart for God’s purposes, and this includes our sexual purity. God does not want His people to just emulate what they see happening in the world. We live in a hyper-sexualized culture that often reduces a person's body to a mere sex object. We are not only to honor, care for, and respect our own bodies we are also to honor, care for, and respect the bodies of all people. The way we view and treat others directly relates to our relationship with God and that is the Heart of the Matter.  

God’s reason for giving this command is because of how important marriage is in the heart of God. God created marriage between one man and one woman and was the building block of His creation and of society. Even after the fall marriage is a sacred union in the way the man and woman complement one another and bring new life into the world through their marriage. With such a premium placed on marriage, it is no wonder that God would seek to protect this union from being defiled which is what adultery is and that is really the Heart of the Matter.  

God’s reason for giving this command is because of how important marriage is in the heart of God. God created marriage between one man and one woman and was the building block of His creation and of society. Even after the fall marriage is a sacred union in the way the man and woman complement one another and bring new life into the world through their marriage. With such a premium placed on marriage, it is no wonder that God would seek to protect this union from being defiled which is what adultery is and that is really the Heart of the Matter.  

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus doesn’t negate the command from Deuteronomy but pulls the teaching even deeper into a matter of the heart for all people. Jesus, in essence, is saying that God sees our hearts and if we have hatred in our hearts we are just as guilty of murder in the eyes of God. It isn’t just about our external practice or religion but it is about our purity of heart before the One who examines the heart and that is really the Heart of the Matter. 

God is all about life and the things that lead to greater amounts of quality and flourishing of life. At its core the commandment says we are not to take matters of death into our own hands but also leads us to desiring greater amounts of quality and flourishing for all people. As we look around the world, we see the devastations that many people face that rob them of the quality and flourishing that our God desires. The way we honor our God is to honor, seek after, sacrifice for and give generously to all things that pertain to life and that really is the Heart of the Matter.