What does the Bible command instead of defrauding others?
Scripture commands not to defraud or take advantage of anyone, but instead to love one another. The one who loves another has fulfilled the Law. This is not license; grace does not permit defrauding, and love operating in daily experience is what fulfills the Law's requirement.
Les explains that the better translation of the passage is 'do not defraud anyone.' He notes that borrowing money to buy a home or other necessary things is not wrong; that is not what Scripture is saying. Instead, it says do not defraud or take advantage of someone, but love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the Law. Les emphasizes that all it takes to fulfill the Law is to have love operating in daily experience. He also points back to Romans 6:14, where Paul writes that sin (the old Adam) shall not have dominion over you because you are not under Law but under Grace. We are not under the ritual and stipulations of the Law of Israel or the demands of Judaism; those have been set aside, and we are now under Grace. Yet Les stresses that grace is not license—it does not permit defrauding.
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
More Questions
Does the Bible say it is wrong to borrow money to buy a house?
There is nothing wrong with borrowing money from a bank to buy a home or for other necessary things; Scripture does not forbid it.
Is it a sin for a Christian to take out a bank loan to buy a house?
There is nothing wrong with going to the bank and borrowing money to buy a home or for other necessary things, because that is not what the Scripture is saying.