Is it wrong to take something that does not belong to you? If man came from the animals, then what is the nucleus for the idea that stealing is wrong? Where in the animal world does one find an animal regretting his decision? Since such things do not exist, how then does man assert that we came from the animals? All civilized societies have rules of one kind or another about taking something that does not belong to you. The punishment may vary but I know of no society that would argue that it is alright to steal.
God gave His law to the Hebrew people from the top of Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses. One part of His law declared that His people should not steal (Exodus 20:15). The end result of these laws would cause the world to know that the Hebrew people were a wise and understanding people (Deut. 4:6). The purpose then of the law from Mount Sinai was to regulate the lives of the Hebrew nation but it also had the effect of showing to the world the wisdom that came from God.
The laws that God gave for Moses had a limited view. The ultimate aim of these laws was to bring men to Christ (Gal. 3:24). Jesus dying on the cross took away the authority of the law of Moses (Col. 2:14). It would be some time for all the people to accept the truth of that action but God clearly meant the law would be removed as a source of authority. Under Jesus the Christ, the law we live by guides our lives, establishes our hopes and builds our faith. It is called by different names to be sure. It is the law of the Spirit (Rom. 8:2), the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2) and the law of liberty (James 1:25).
The removal of the law of Moses leaves us with the law of Christ. God is the absolute and only standard. When God decrees something, man has no right to enter into that domain in an effort to change what God said. The punishment for such efforts is that such person will be accursed from God (Gal. 1:8). It is serious business to tamper with what God has revealed (Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:18,19). In matters of judgment God allows men’s faith to grow as they discover ways to increase their faith. In matters of faith, defined and stated by God, man has no right to intrude into such an area.
The Bible is composed of some 66 volumes of recorded history between God and man. One thing is consistent in all that time, God, Himself does not change (Mal.3:6). God required Noah to build an ark but we do not. The principle of God making every effort to save those of Noah’s day is seen by Noah building an ark. God required the Hebrew people to offer sacrifices, but we do not. The principle of doing what God requires is true through the whole of scripture. Moses wrote it like this. Fear God, walk in His ways, love Him and serve Him (Deut. 10:12). God does not change when one looks at the nature of God and His desire for men to serve Him.
God, through Moses, spoke about a man marrying a woman and finding some uncleanness in her (Deut. 24:1). Adultery was punishable by death, so the uncleanness was not under consideration here. Note the language. A man takes a wife and marries her. This pushes us back to Genesis 2:24 when God declared that the formation of a new home was a man and a woman. Let us look back one chapter earlier in Deuteronomy. Two things that God would not allow among His people were women engaged in sexual sins and sodomites or homosexuals (Deut. 23:17). Chapter 24 opens with this verse as part of a remote context. The woman in Deuteronomy 24 had to be someone who could marry. The man who married her would know he could not marry another man (Deut. 23:17).
Through all 66 volumes, this principle of a man and a woman forming a home has not changed because God has not changed. God is the standard, not man. Our President in his last address spoke in favor of same sex marriage. He was wrong because he aligned himself against God. Governments, cities, individuals should never intrude into God’s business of making laws. God is the standard and men are liars (Rom. 3:4).