No forgiveness without restitution

Many Christians believe that saying a prayer is enough for forgiveness or removal of any curses they may have. They completely ignore that our LORD is a God of recompense and restitution is required. In this post, we will explore the requirement for restitution for true repentance.

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Requirement of Restitution

“I will send out [the curse,]” says the LORD of hosts; “It shall enter the house of the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house And consume it, with its timber and stones.”

Zech 5:4

Can a thief steal the money from others and ask forgiveness to God without restoring what he stole? Can his descendent prosper from a stolen inheritance while there is a curse from God to consume his house?

Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the LORD, and that person is guilty, then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give [it] to the one he has wronged. But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong [must go] to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him’.

Num 5:6-8

While Christ became an atonement by giving His own life instead of the ram in the law, it is our responsibility of making restitution to the one we wronged when we confess our sins.

Requirement of reconciliation

If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Matt 5:23-26

Jesus taught us not to give any gifts to God if a brother has something against us. He always wants us to agree (or settle as in the gospel of Luke 12:58-59) with our adversary. It is important to note that the adversary here is someone we owe money to. This can be either money we borrowed, stole from, or pledged. This is why Jesus taught us we will be thrown in prison until we have paid the last penny. If Jesus taught us to agree or settle with our adversary to whom we owe money, can we ask forgiveness to God but refuse to obey Him i.e, to settle and agree with our adversary?

And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.”

Luke 11:4

While restitution is required for us to pay back for true repentance, we must not extract it from those who owe us but to forgive them. If we don’t forgive, God will not forgive our sins.

Restitutive Justice

PropertyRestitution
Stolen ox and slaughtered or sold or killed (Exod 22:1)Restore 5 times
Stolen sheep and slaughtered or sold or killed (Exod 22:1)Restore 4 times
Stolen livestock found alive (Exod 22:4)Restore double
Livestock feeds in another man’s field (Exod 22:5)Restitution from best of his own
Loss by kindled fire (Exod 22:6)Restitution
Stealing money or articles or clothing or ox or sheep or donkey (Exod 22:7-9)Restore double

Long story short, God wants us to restore double for all stolen things. He also wants us to restore the loss of others because of our wrong doing but necessarily stolen.

Conclusion

True repentance involves not just confession of sins but restitution to those we wronged. Restitution is double for all stolen items. If someone had any loses because of our wrongdoing, we must restore it to them. While restitution is required for us to pay back for true repentance, we must not extract it from those who owe us but to forgive them. If we don’t forgive, God will not forgive our sins.

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Modupe Adewusi.
3 years ago

What if I can’t locate the owner again , and how do I make up for the stolen goods or can I throw them away pls help.

Annie
3 years ago

What if I am unable to work due to disability, living at poverty level, and though it is my desire to make restitution, I do not have the money to do so?

Annie
3 years ago
Reply to  Felix Immanuel

Thank you, Felix, for the reminder of our LORD’s mercy, and the parable of the unforgiving servant. I will earnestly purpose to show pity and compassion towards others, as I would want God to show towards me. The words, “There is no forgiveness without restitution” still weigh heavily upon me. Is there anything I can do out of my sorrow (for this sin that I cannot make restitution for) and desire to “make things right”? Some kind of act of penance, atonement?

Annie
3 years ago
Reply to  Felix Immanuel

Thank you and God bless you.

Nicholas McDonald
2 years ago
Reply to  Annie

My situation is similar and I’ve learned to accept Gods mercy and grace but if you have some extra funds look out for a homeless person and lend out some money and forgive debt if they can’t pay back or before they offer if your heart says so and try not to do it again I have messed up a couple times after being saved but I’m going to pay restitution this time

Mary jo Smith
2 years ago

I am a Christian who has sinned and stolen a lot and now know I need to seek forgiveness my paying restitution before I am totally forgiven. My problem is I am 73 and running out of time. The grievances go back years and many people have died and business out of service.

How do I repay what I stole on a retired funds?

I am just so sad for being such a sinner and now I am closer to death that I want
I will gladly pay all I have. But I
May not be able to repay All of it.

Could you tell me how I can seek forgiveness?
I want to see Heaven. And don’t deserve the suffering Jesus did for me by my actions!

Naveen
1 year ago

Do we need to restitute for telling lies?I mean we have lied many lies since childhood,do we need to confess every lie we told to everyone?Or confession to God is enough in this case?

Naveen
1 year ago
Reply to  Felix Immanuel

Do I need to confess every lie I lied to whomever I lied even though the lie didn’t cause any harm or damage to them?please answer

Naveen
1 year ago
Reply to  Felix Immanuel

If I told lie about my marks,if I added up some marks than I got,to many people.And now I am convicted of that lie.Do I need to confess to whomever I lied about that marks or as it didn’t cause any damage to the persons I lied,I need to confess to God alone?

Isaac
10 months ago

In time past I worked for someone and due to wrong calculation, I charged the buyer lesser than the actual amount it supposed to be, so as a result there was a bit of shortage, I wanted paying back for the loss before my boss knows, because I’m scared of his reaction, I discovered I wasn’t with money at that moment to pay..and now I’ve left the workplace, some years back..please do I necessarily need to go back to him and explain the mistake i made In the past?

Ndumiso
8 months ago

I’ve found and stole neglected good and other mislead goods and I do want restitute fixed the pain I could have cause but I’ve relocated and I have not know the owners. I only know the owner of the phone which was lost and I kept the phone and sold it. I did this at a university

Please help how do I Restitute from my situation

John
2 months ago

Nearly 30 years ago, I cheated on an exam in school. I did the same thing a few years afterward. I am so ashamed for disappointing God. He has given me indications, such as answered prayers, that I am good with him and forgiven. But I still feel awful at times and think I need to go back to the school and tell them what I did. Any thoughts are welcomed.