Bible Restitution

Posted by: Robert J. Pruitt on 2008-04-25

Bible Restitution

Robert J. Pruitt: Former General Overseer of The Church of God

John the Baptist introduced the kingdom of God to men by the preaching of repentance. This was a new doctrine that was quite revolutionary to the Judaism of his time.

Repentance was a religion of the heart and not of the letter only. It exacted some qualities of life from those who truly repented that idealistic Judaism did not require. John would not accept the testimony of those who responded to his preaching of repentance until their lives bore out the fact that they had experienced a change of heart. He told them to bring forth fruit meet for repentance. In other words, he required them to demonstrate by their activities, deeds, and words that they had truly repented of their sins, turned from them, and were living a new life of godliness.

That message which John the Baptist preached did not fade away with the early Church era. It has not dissipated with time. It is still valid today.

When a person is saved, he is a new creature in Christ. The things of the old life are passed away and all things are become new. This newness of life is indicated in many way; one of which is the subject of this sermon today, and that is the spirit and act of restitution. Restitution is very definitely a Bible doctrine. It appears in both the Old and New Testaments. It is a quality of spiritual life that God has required from the time of man's original transgression in the Garden of Eden. Restitution falls into two general categories; one is the act of restoring to the owner anything which has been wrongfully taken, and the other is making amends or otherwise giving satisfaction to a person who has been injured, misused or otherwise wrongly treated. This is one of the fruits which John the Baptist required of his converts, but it goes back much further that that, even to the original transgression. God has never turned His head from those who misused others. He has always required some form of reparation on behalf of the offended.

Under the law, it was stated very specifically. In Exodus, chapter 22, beginning in verse 1, is this reading, "If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall be no blood shed for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft."  This and other passages found in the 21st and 22nd chapters of Exodus show the severity of God's judgement upon the trespasses of one person against another. Theft is an act which has always been condemned by Him, and under the Law provision was made that restitution be paid on very severe terms. The Law was very specific about both the offense and the restitution to the one offended.

Another reference to the matter of restitution unde the Law is recorded in the book of Leviticus, chapter 6, and verses 1-5. This has to do with an intentional trespass. It is recorded in these words, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship[or trust], or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath decieved his neighbor; Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these things that a man doeth, sinning therein: Then it shall be, becaused he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifith part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering."

Again here is seen the exactness by which God required restitution to be made under the Law. It dealt not only with things wrongly taken, but also with the deceit and falsehood which went along with the act.

Since God's standard of righteousness for man does not change, nor does human nature change, then the act of restitution is still a requirement of the newness of life into which one becomes at his conversion to Christ. The requirements of this act were perfected in Christ, and one does not return to the Law to fulfill the requirement, but under the Law of love and grace in Christ one is expected to do whatever he can to make right the wrongs he did to others while he was living in sin.

There are numerous New Testament examples of restitution and it's importance as an evidence of a life that has been changed from sin to righteousness. One example is found in the book of Philemon, and concerns the matter between Onesimus, a household servant, and Philemon, his master. It seems that Onesimus had stolen something from his master Philemon and run away to Rome. In Rome, he probably committed some other crime and ended up in the same prison where the Apostle Paul was being kept. Paul won Onesimus to the Lord and persuaded him the return to Philemon, when he was released from prison. With him, he sent these words to Philemon, "If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it..." (Philemon 1:17-19). Paul here recognized the nesessity of Onesimus making restitution to his master whom he had wronged. He was willing to pay it himself, if need be, so that these two could be reconciled. There would have been no evident fruits of the change that came about when he was converted there in the  Roman prison with Paul if Onesimus had tried to get back into the good graces of Philemon without attempting to make restitution for the wrongs he had done. This was the sort of thing to which John the Baptist referred in "...fruits meet for repentance..." It was an act which indicated the change that hd taken place in the heart of the truly converted.

The Apostle Paul seems to have considered it a condition necessary for fellowship among the brethren. In 2 Corinthians 7:2, he seeks the acceptance and fellowship of the Corinthian saints by writing to them, "Recieve us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man." Paul infers here that if there had been an infraction in any of these things, which would have inhibited their fellowship, it should have been straightened out before he could have expected them to accept him in true Christian fellowship. It could have been resolved only by proper restitution.

Probably the most well known and classic example of restitution in the New Testament after conversion is that of Zaccahaeus, found in the 19th chapter of Luke. As you remember, Zaccahaeus was the man of small stature who climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus when He passed by on a visit through Jericho.

Zaccahaeus ws a tax collector for the Romans, and was among those very much disliked by their Jewish brethren in the flesh. He probably was not as conniving and dishonest as some want to make him. When he had the opportunity, he readily recieved Christ into his home and his heart. There seems to have been a readiness for the change that took place in him that day.

As evidence of that change, Zaccahaeus made the follwing statement found in Luke 19:8, "...Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by flase accusation, I restore him fourfold." It is improbable that Zaccahaeus was in the habit of regularly taking exorbitant amounts of illegal taxes from his fellow Jews; otherwise he could not have afforded to make such a generous offer. He was probably a morally honest man who in the process of his tax collecting inadvertantly charged more than was right, who when he was converted was willing to pay our times that amount to those whom he had defrauded, whether by mistake or by intent. If he had made a practice of fraud, he probably would not have had enough resources to pay back four times what he had taken.

Restitution is the natural result of salvation. When a person has truly been converted by the  regenerating power of the Holy Ghost, he is a new creature in Christ. It is this new heart and regenerated spirit which prompts the individual to make restitution for the wrongs he committed against others when he lived in sin. Those wrongs often caused sorrow, heartache, financial burden, and gried to innocent people.

If I were to steal your automobile as a sinner, it would be hard for you to accept me as a truly born again Christian if I continue to drive your vehicle which I had taken before I was converted. By the same token, it ould be hard for you to believe I have had a change of heart if I continued to live in luxury and comfort on the wealth I had gained by defrauding you before I was saved.

The same principle applies to acts of gossip and slander. Assasanation of character by malicious gossip is as damaging to it's victim as material fraud. That, too, is included in the necessity for restitution.

Love for others makes the regenerated heart want to make restitution where possible-when possible. That is all that God requires. If it is possible, it should by all means be done. If it is truly impossible, if the person whom the wrong as committed has died or is impossible to find, that is a different matter. God would no doubt recognize the desire and willingness of the converted one and release him from the impossible situation, but it should be an absolute case of impossibility before on gives up on it.

Love for others makes the regenerated person want to make restitution. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (Jn.13:35). Restitution is an expression of this love. To be in fellowship with God and man, it is necessary to make restitution where possible.

Dear one, there is no doubt that the spirit and fellowship of those both in and outside of Christ could be improved tremendously if the truly converted would make restitution for the trespasses and wrongs they have committed against others. It would be an act of credibility to the life changing power of true conversion. It would be a visible manifestation of the good works of which Jesus spoke, and that which glorifies the heavenly Father.

If you, whether a new convert, or believer of long standing, know of someone you have wronged intentionally or otherwise, let me urge you to go to that person and make proper restitution. You will experience a joyof freedom in you Christian experience you never dreamed of. Your act of obedience and demonstration of love will bless both you and the one to whom you give them.

(This article was originally published in the September 2004 issue of The Evening Light.)