MAKING RESTITUTION
"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
Matthew 5:23-24
This is Jesus' instruction for handling a remembered wrong from your past. It cannot be ignored or treated like it is done and over with, never to affect the life of a believer. The natural man would like to bury our past wrongs and account them "vanished" because it is forgiven. But the heart of God would be not only for us to confess the transgression, but to make it right as much as possible, with interest.
Restitution - The act of returning or restoring to a person some thing or right of which he has been unjustly deprived; the act of making good, or of giving an equivalent for any loss, damage or injury; indemnification
In your heart and soul, you have been made a new creature. You have a quickened spirit, an open relationship with God, an advocate in Jesus Christ, and a peace the world cannot affect. You walk with this knowledge and assurance in your heart, and look for every opportunity to manifest it in the world. You are very diligent and careful to walk in a way as to not offend, but to reflect the light of God in brilliant purity. But imagine, a wronged person from the past meeting up with you at Wal-mart, or seeing you in your vehicle, or hearing your name mentioned, and the first word that comes to their mind is "thief", "harlot", "selfish", "liar", "pervert", "hothead", "drunkard", "thoughtless". The new inward reality in which you now live is, to this offended person, powerless and shallow, just as fake to them as the guy in the bar talking bible. While your new family in Christ knows you only as honest, loving Christian, the offended or wronged person from your pre-converted life can only see you as what they know you as. Your new spiritual reality and effort to show men God will mean nothing to the high school peer that you got in a fight with, the co-worker or employer you stole from, the family member you lied to, the sibling you belittled and tormented because you were older, or the boyfriend or girlfriend you were involved physically with, unless full restitution is made.
John 4:44 " For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country." I have, in the past, used this verse to justify why my parents or other people that knew me before I was converted did not take me seriously, instead of recognizing that it was actually offense I had caused in the past that had never been dealt with.
How to identify areas that call for restitution:
Is there anyone I would be ashamed to witness to, not because Iím nervous to witness, but because I know I would come off as a hypocrite?
Is there anyone from my past that I would try to "dodge" if I saw them in public because of an unresolved history?
Is there a specific offense that God would not let me "passover" in prayer?
Are you haunted by a wrong you have done to someone in your past, but when called to memory, you bury it?
As we come to the altar of corporate, family, or individual worship, we must lay our hearts open before God and allow him to shine his light on these areas. We must be willing to make immediate and full restitution with the offended person.
How to make full, biblical restitution:
Exodus 22:1 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.
2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
3 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.
4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
Leviticus 6:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;
3 Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:
4 Then it shall be, because 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,
5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.
6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:
7 And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.
The biblical pattern seems to show some definite steps for making right an offense:
Pay, with interest, in accordance with how the person wronged (if money was stolen, restore 4 or 5 fold, if an object was not returned, return it with usury, etc)
If a lie was told, confess that you lied and tell the truth
In line with this direction, if you were forward in your dealings with someone, apologize and confess
Receive, by faith, complete forgiveness from God through our eternal sacrifice and perfect priest, the Lord Jesus.
"Revival may not be wanted because it involves humility, awareness of our unworthiness, confession of sin, repentance, restitution, seeking and offering forgiveness, and following Christ wholeheartedly. It then impacts society with conviction, godliness, justice, peace and righteousness. This is not always welcome."
Roy Hession (1973:11,23) noted that "the outward forms of revivals do, of course, differ considerably, but the inward and permanent content of them is always the same: a new experience of conviction of sin among the saints; a new vision of the Cross and of Jesus and of redemption; a new willingness on man's part for brokenness, repentance, confession, and restitution; a joyful experience of the power of the blood of Jesus to cleanse fully from sin and restore and heal all that sin has lost and broken; a new entering into the fullness of the Holy Spirit and of His power to do His own work through His people; and a new gathering in of the lost ones to Jesus. ... Revival is just the life of the Lord Jesus poured into human hearts."
canada 1971 - "Young people featured prominently. Almost half those converted were young. They gave testimonies of lives that had been cleaned up by God and how relationships with their families were restored. The atmosphere in schools and colleges changed from rebellion and cheating to cooperation with many Bible study and prayer groups forming in the schools and universities.
Criminals were also confessing their sins and giving themselves up to the police. Restitution was common. People payed long overdue bills. Some businesses opened new accounts to account for the conscience money being paid to them. Those who cheated at restaurants or hotels returned to pay their full bill. Stolen goods were returned."
Oswald smith, 1925
- Now my friend, I don't know what your sin is. You know and God knows. But I want you to think about it, for you may as well stop praying and rise from your knees until you have dealt with it, and put it away. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Let God search your heart and reveal the hindrance. Sin must be confessed and put away.
It may be you will have to forsake some cherished idol. It may be you will have to make restitution. Perhaps you are withholding from God, robbing Him of His own. But this is your affair, not mine. It lies between you and God.
This has been the history of revival work all down the centuries. Night after night sermons have been preached and no results obtained, until some elder or deacon bursts out in an agony of confession and going to the one whom he has wronged craves forgiveness. Or some woman who is a prominent worker breaks down and in tears confesses publicly that she has been gossiping about some other sister or is not on speaking terms with the person across the aisle. Then when confession and restitution have been made, the fallow ground broken up, sin uncovered and acknowledged, then and not until then, the Spirit of God comes upon the audience and a Revival sweeps over the community.
Generally there is but one sin, one hindering thing. It was an Achan in the camp of Israel. And God will put His finger directly on the spot. Nor will He take it off until that one obstacle has been dealt with.
Acts 24:16 "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men."
Start in this body, in your home with your wife and children, then spread to believers outside this body, the family, past aquaintances. Let's get totally clear with God. We have a time of testimony available for the next few months so that we may edify one another through God's dealings with us.