Steal (2813) (klepto akin to kleptes = thief, English = kleptomaniac) to steal furtively or to take by stealth. Take something without the owner's permission. To commit a theft. To take something away secretly. TDNT adds that klepto means to means a. “to steal” (either objects or people), b. “to cheat” or “bewitch,” and c. “to conceal.” The present tense indicates this was the habitual practice of the Jewish readers who were not regenerate. Klepto is used 13 times in the NT - Mt 6:19, 20-see notes; Mt 19:18; 27:64; 28:13; Mk 10:19; Lk 18:20; Jn 10:10; Ro 2:21-note; Ro 13:9-note; Ep 4:28-note There are 31 uses of klepto in the non-apocryphal Septuagint - Gen. 30:33; 31:19, 30, 32; 40:15; 44:5, 8; Exod. 20:15; 21:16; 22:1, 7f, 12; Lev. 19:11; Deut. 5:19; 24:7; Jos. 7:11; 2 Sam. 19:41; 21:12; 2 Ki. 11:2; 2 Chr. 22:11; Job 17:3; Prov. 6:30; 30:9; Jer. 7:9; 23:30; Obad. 1:5; The Jew professed to act as God's herald or spokesperson so to speak, and yet committed the very acts which God condemned! (Ro 2:3 -note) Here is an illustration of what Paul is asking the religious, self-righteous Jews to do - When Sgt. Ray Baarz of the Midvale, Utah, police department opened his wallet, he noticed his driver’s license had expired. Embarrassed at having caught himself red-handed, he had no alternative. He calmly and deliberately pulled out his ticket book and wrote himself a citation. Then Baarz took the ticket to the city judge who fined him five dollars. Baarz confessed “How could I give a ticket to anyone else for an expired license in the future if I didn’t cite myself?” Note that Paul is using a series of questions designed to contrast the practice of most of the Jews with what they knew and taught (cf. Ps 50:16-20; Mt 23:3, 4; Jas 3:1). For example, despite the clear pronouncements of the Mosaic law against theft, it was very common in ancient Judaism. Isaiah rebuked those who “turned to their own way, each one to his unjust gain” (Isa. 56:11). In theological terms, their preaching reflected orthodoxy (right doctrine), but their living failed to follow through with orthopraxy (right practice). They were much like corrupt police officials or judges, whose lives are in direct contradiction of the laws they have sworn to uphold and enforce. And because of their greater responsibility, they bring upon themselves greater punishment when they break those laws. Illustration of preaching "one should not steal" - John was driving home late one night when he picked up a hitchhiker. As they rode along, he began to be suspicious of his passenger. John checked to see if his wallet was safe in the pocket of his coat that was on the seat between them, but it wasn't there! So he slammed on the brakes, ordered the hitchhiker out, and said, "Hand over the wallet immediately!" The frightened hitchhiker handed over a billfold, and John drove off. When he arrived home, he started to tell his wife about the experience, but she interrupted him, saying, "Before I forget, John, do you know that you left your wallet at home this morning?" Gotcha! (see notes on Jesus' warning on hypocritical judging - Mt 7:1, 2 - notes) ><>><>><> TALKING AND WALKING-A professor of ethics at a leading university was attending a convention. He and another teacher of philosophy had lunch at a restaurant and were discussing deep issues of truth and morality. Before they left the table, the professor slipped the silverware into his pocket. Noticing his colleague's puzzled look, he explained, "I just `teach' ethics. I need the spoons." By vocation that man was paid to instruct his students in the principles of right and wrong. But outside the classroom he failed to put those principles into practice. Profession without practice is hypocrisy, and hypocrisy is a sin. Jesus reminded the hypocrites of His day that God had declared through Isaiah, "These people ... honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me" (Isa 29:13). He could just as well have cited God's rebuke to Israel through Ezekiel, "They hear Your words, but they do not do them" (Ezek 33:32). The Christian life is like a coin. One side is belief; the other is behavior. If our behavior isn't consistent with our belief, we are hypocrites. By God's enabling grace, we need to bring practice and profession into alignment. We must walk our talk, then we can talk our walk. - V C Grounds (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) Unless my talk about my faith Is mirrored in my walk, The faith that glibly I profess Is merely empty talk. --Anon. How we behave reveals what we truly believe. ><>><>><> Practice What You Preach - A number of years ago a university was accused of plagiarism (which means, to take the writings of someone else and pass them off as one's own). What made it so unusual was that the school had plagiarized the section on plagiarism from another university's handbook. A news report stated, "A graduate student of one school, who was considering a teaching assistant's job at the other, was reading the school handbook when he noted that the section warning students against plagiarism was identical to the caution in the handbook of the other university." Another student said, "The thing that bothered me most was the hypocrisy." In Romans 2 the apostle Paul exposed the hypocrisy of self-righteous religionists. He said, "You who preach that man should not steal, do you steal?" (Ro 2:21). Paul warned that people who are quick to judge the sins of others are guilty of the very things they condemn. I think all of us can identify with this tendency. We see a sin in another person's life and we rise up in pride to correct that person. But if we are honest with ourselves, we can see similar faults in our own life. Be careful to examine yourself before pointing out the faults of others. Practice what you preach! R W De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) Consistency! How much we need To walk a measured pace, To live the life of which we speak, And show God's love and grace. - Anon You please God when your walk matches your talk. ><>><>><> Practice What You Preach (Read: Romans 2:17-24) - You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? —Romans 2:21 Mohandas Gandhi spearheaded India’s struggle for freedom from British rule. His Hindu religious practices and his political philosophy had a radical and revolutionary influence on millions of his countrymen. Earlier in his life, Gandhi had considered the possibility of becoming a follower of Jesus. Attracted by His life and teachings, Gandhi attended the services of a church in Pretoria, South Africa. He later wrote, “The congregation did not strike me as being particularly religious; they were not an assembly of devout souls, but appeared rather to be worldly-minded people going to church for recreation and in conformity to custom.” Christianity, he concluded, could not add anything of value to Hinduism. So he turned away from Jesus, to his own loss, and to the loss of the many who followed after him. Are we like those churchgoers in Pretoria? Is our adherence to Christianity merely a matter of custom, a nice way of enjoying social relationships? Would a stranger who is sincerely seeking a relationship with God be attracted or turned off by the quality of our worship and personal devotion to Christ? Do we live out the Christianity we profess? Do we practice what we preach? (Romans 2:21) (Ed: Or even worse do we blaspheme the Name of God by our behavior around those who think we are followers are Christ? Ro 2:24). — by Vernon C. Grounds I'd rather see a Christian Than to hear one merely talk, I'd rather see his actions And behold his daily walk. —Herrell What we practice is the best illustration of what we preach. Romans 2:22 You who say (PAPMSN) that one should not commit adultery (PAN), do you commit adultery (2SPAI)? You who abhor (PMPMSN) idols, do you rob temples (2SPAI)? (NASB: Lockman) Greek: o legon (PAPMSN) me moicheuein (PAN) moicheueis (2SPAI); o bdelussomenos (PMPMSN) ta eidola hierosuleis (2SPAI): Amplified: You who say not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery [are you unchaste in action or in thought]? You who abhor and loathe idols, do you rob temples [do you appropriate to your own use what is consecrated to God, thus robbing the sanctuary and doing sacrilege]? (Amplified Bible - Lockman) NLT: You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you do it? You condemn idolatry, but do you steal from pagan temples? (NLT - Tyndale House) Phillips: You denounce the practice of adultery, but are you sure of your own purity? You loathe idolatry, but How honest are you towards the property of heathen temples? (Phillips: Touchstone) Wuest: You who are constantly saying that a person should not be committing adultery, are you committing adultery? You who are turning away constantly from idolatry as from a stench, are you robbing temples? (Eerdmans) Young's Literal: thou who art preaching not to steal, dost thou steal? thou who art saying not to commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou who art abhorring the idols, dost thou rob temples? YOU WHO SAY THAT ONE SHOULD NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO YOU COMMIT ADULTERY:o legon (PAPMSN) me moicheuein (PAN) moicheueis (2SPAI): (Jer 5:7; 7:9,10; 9:2; Ezekiel 22:11; Mt 12:39; 16:4; Jas 4:4) Remember that all 5 rhetorical questions call for a resounding "yes." Yes, they committed adultery even though they preached against it. A similar indictment was made by Jeremiah... "Why should I pardon you? Your sons have forsaken Me And sworn by those who are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, They committed adultery And trooped to the harlot's house (eg During the reign of Manasseh, cult prostitution was practiced.).(Jeremiah 5:7) "Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known (Note that in this verse alone half of the Ten Commandments were being violated), then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!'-- that you may do all these abominations? (Jeremiah 7:9,10) O that I had in the desert a wayfarers' lodging place (a lonely and desolate dwelling, providing only a shelter from the elements.); that I might leave my people, and go from them! for all of them are adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men. (Jeremiah 9:2) Ezekiel's indictment was even more direct... And one has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife, and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. And another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter. (Ezekiel 22:11) James explained the abject evil inherent in spiritual adultery declaring... You adulteresses (those who have engaged in an affair with the "world" [that evil organized system under the rule of the devil which opposes God and His will] thus compromising with the present world-system as seen in much of modern Christianity, even evangelicalism!), do you not know that friendship (indicating a reciprocal relationship. Unfaithful people love the world, and the world loves them) with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/romans_220-23.htm#s