Although all of us fear legal repercussions of software piracy, the majority of us are don’t bother about the spiritual repercussions. In this episode, I want to mention a few.
The risk of losing my Salvation
I explained previously that software piracy is the equivalent of stealing. I also said possessing pirated software is like possessing stolen goods. The Bible condemns thieves and thievery. (1 Corinthians 6:10) Then it actually makes sense to say that we risk our precious soul when we use pirated software.
Produce the fruit of Repentance
If you are guilty of using pirated software, remember that there’s no sin God wont forgive if we repent. Repenting alone isn’t sufficient however. It must be followed by the fruit of repentance. What is the fruit of repentance? The answer is in Acts 19:19.
Large numbers of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them up in the presence of everyone. When the value of the books was added up, it was found to total fifty thousand silver coins.
You can’t repent and continue to use pirated software. Instead you must uninstall any pirated software from your computer and also destroy any copies you may have stored elsewhere. Your act of repentance will be incomplete otherwise.
Alternatives for Pirated Software
Here are few suggestions if you find genuine software products to be expensive and difficult to afford.
(A) Open source and Freeware
Open source doesn’t necessarily mean free but you can find so many free open source and freeware alternatives.
(B) End of development software
Sometimes commercial software vendors give away their software products that are marked to have reached the end of development cycle for free. (ex: Adobe Creative Suite 2)
(C) Cheaper software editions
Some software vendors offer license for stripped down versions of their software suites that are much affordable than the complete software suite (ex: Microsoft Office Home & Student).
(D) Purchasing used software
eBay is a good place to purchase used legitimate software. Transferring the license may not be allowed for some software however. When in doubt, check the end user license.
(E) Discounted nonprofit licensing
Software vendors like Microsoft and Adobe offer special discounts for churches and certified nonprofits. Check with your local software store for details.
(F) Pray for your software needs
Last but not least, we can always pray to God. If we can trust God to provide our other needs why not trust him to provide our software needs also.
(If this post was helpful to you please consider leaving your feedback in the comments section at the bottom. It would be a great encouragement to me personally.)
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I’m appalled at a lot of commentators on this topic. I mean what’s hard with differentiating black from white? I’m afraid most of us are not aware of the severity of God’s judgement against sin. Just take a look at the cross on which Christ died and let the reality and seriousness of God’s hatred for sin sink into your mind and heart. Yes that cross signifies God’s judgement on sin including stealing, which “Piracy” is. The word Piracy has a negative meaning and its association is with people who were not of noble character and, who by God’s standards… Continue »
Sorry guys, if it costs money to obtain legally, then it’s stealing if you don’t pay for it. Why does it need to be spelled out in black and white for you to stop justifying it? Obviously, the Bible will not specifically deal with software piracy. It hadn’t been invented yet. It also doesn’t say anything about splicing into your neighbor’s cable either, but that is stealing too and against the law. God is love and He is always willing to forgive a repentant heart, but He cannot forgive you for sins you refuse to acknowledge. God is love (forgiving),… Continue »
This is an interesting topic and I agree that it is a sin to use pirated software. But this article does not point to piracy itself but theft. #3 is wrong. You cannot loose your salvation by sinning again, rather you learn from your mistakes, with repentance and again thanking God for His grace, appreciating it more and more. God gives us warnings and unlimited chances to repent. That is the purpose of the verse. “Thieves shall not inherit the kingdom of God” We are all these thieves. And because we are thieves, we can’t go to heaven, but because… Continue »
Philippians 2:12-13 (NIV)
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, [13] for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
What Philippians 2:12-13 actually says that God is the one who works in you. So in effect you are still not the one working for your salvation.
Well I guess I just practically lost my talent for music production 🙁
What you’ve posted is really true. But there’s something missing. I’m currently using Linux. I have Debian in the big computer and Ubuntu in the small one. They both work perfectly and I don’t have to pay a cent for them, neither for the programs associated with these Linux distributions. The thing is I’'m also an Engineering student and my school uses really expensive (talking about thousands of dollars) technical software, so if I can’t get this software, then I’'m in a very disadvantageous position. Maybe someone may say that I should get open source, but open source technical programs… Continue »
Really? “Christianity is not a religion but a way of life?” People get so caught up in that by doing works they will save themselves from hell. Actually that’s not how it works at all. We are in the grace administration. We were so unworthy of God’s gift to sacrifice his only begotten son. But yet he loved us dearly. In the Old Testament the Levite laws only applied before the birth of Christianity. In the New Testament all those born again are saved by grace alone. From there on you can never loose your admission to heaven from any… Continue »
I agree with everything the Bible says, but will somebody please help me to understand how it is possible to steal something that has “Zero Mass”. How much does a computer program weigh? I believe your computer’s mass does not change when you install a new piece of software! I might be wrong about this in which case I will have some serious repenting to do!
I am also disappointed in this article because it does not confront piracy it confronts theft. This also goes in with those who claim piracy is theft which I can understand. What I want to know is if the bible considers intellectual property or ideas as actual property? I skip over the having to follow the law of the land because it often conflicts with biblical teachings and itself. Thank you and please reply with your thoughts or scripture. Thank you!
You failed to take into account that when the software created by the developer is sold to the punter, the punter owns a copy. That’s what he paid money for. If he doesn’t own the software there needs to be a serious rethinking about what it means to sell something. Obviously since the punter legitimately owns a copy of the software, it’s his information to do what he wants with. It’s because of people copying the Bible that the word of God is spread. If someone came along and said, well you have to purchase this Bible for $99.99, even… Continue »
I wish people will remember that no matter what, Jesus, the King of kings, will be the one to decide who goes to heaven and who does not. We can talk, praise that “so and so” will go to heaven and condemn “so and so” will go to hell. None of it matters, because Jesus is the one with the power to grant a person life or death. He sure as hell isn’t going to base the entire fate of a person based on what any Tom, Dick or Sally says. And to me, the “creative” industry are equal thieves… Continue »
I think that this is a good article. One thing I strongly disagree. “Whether you are aware or not you take a risk of losing your salvation each time you purchase, use or distribute pirated software.” This can be a very dangerous statement because once you are saved, you are always saved and stealing software will not cause you to lose what Jesus did for us on the cross. We may lose rewards but not our salvation. I pray that you would be very careful when you are dealing with doctrine that you don’t condemn people for their sins. We… Continue »
I don’t want to quarrel with you on the issue of software piracy. The problem is in point 3, where you suggest that one risks losing their salvation. In Ephesians 2:8-9, we see that we are saved by grace and not by works. If you truly believe that continuing to perform good works (or abstain from bad ones) is the way to salvation then software piracy is the least of your concerns.
Regarding copyright law (Romans 13:1), sharing is hardly a sin. You must examine these issues much more deeply than you did in this article to come to any reasonable conclusion. I encourage you to educate yourself on the history and purpose of copyright law. More importantly study the effects technology innovations have on the application of law and understand that natural rights are unaffected by technology innovations.
Thanks Jim. Thank you for appreciating our little effort to confront the Church of this sinful world-wide issue.
Thanks for bringing this issue to the attention of others. I represent ‘BibleWorks’ software and we have had to spend thousands and thousands of dollars in program development and administrative effort to combat piracy. Sad to say that many (way too many) people worldwide feel it is not a sin to steal our (intellectual) property. I know I am not without sin, but our company does all it can to keep our software prices as low as possible so that Missionaries, Pastors, Students and Academics worldwide can afford it. Every time someone ‘steals’ our software, it makes it harder to… Continue »