About restitution and the believer in Christ

Believers, have you been wronged by others lately? Has someone stolen from you, cheated you or falsely accused you of wrongdoing? On the flip side, is it you who stole from or cheated others and are now plagued with condemnation and thoughts of judgment that will follow if you don't rectify your misdeeds? Then there's Good News for you!

Here's what the law of Moses (which has been fulfilled by Christ for all who believe) says about restitution and getting right with God in Leviticus 6:1-7:

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Suppose one of you sins against your associate and is unfaithful to the Lord. Suppose you cheat in a deal involving a security deposit, or you steal or commit fraud, 3 or you find lost property and lie about it, or you lie while swearing to tell the truth, or you commit any other such sin. 4 If you have sinned in any of these ways, you are guilty. You must give back whatever you stole, or the money you took by extortion, or the security deposit, or the lost property you found, 5 or anything obtained by swearing falsely. You must make restitution by paying the full price plus an additional 20 percent to the person you have harmed. On the same day you must present a guilt offering. 6 As a guilt offering to the Lord, you must bring to the priest your own ram with no defects, or you may buy one of equal value. 7 Through this process, the priest will purify you before the Lord, making you right with Him, and you will be forgiven for any of these sins you have committed.”

Also see Exodus 22:1- "If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep."

If I was among the children of Israel back then, I bet my constant wish would be for someone to steal from me so that I could become a gainer:) According to Leviticus 6 above, to be acquitted of sins, the the sinner who is under law has to do two things:

1. Restitution by giving back what he stole plus an additional 20% 

2. Present a ram with no defects as guilt offering to the Lord in order to regain right-standing with Him.

These are the conditions for the sinner's acquittal under the law of Moses. In Christ, we are no longer under law but under grace. In Him, we are freed from the penalty of our sins. Jesus Christ the Lamb of God is our guilt offering and our acquittal is based on our believing in Him according to Romans 3:21-27:

21 "But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.

27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

Still, some ask "What about the people who have been wronged? Those who have been cheated, persecuted, lied against and robbed? Who will cover their losses? And those who have wronged others? Do they get to be saved from the penalty of their sins too if they believe?" Well, the answer is yes. We think this is unfair because we sometimes forget that we too have wronged others at some point in our lives:) All have sinned.

See our Restoration (both as the injured party and as the injurer) in Psalm 69, a messianic Psalm prophesying the suffering of Christ for our sake. In Psalm 69, we find the verse "For zeal for Your house has consumed me," the scripture that Jesus disciples remembered as He cleansed the temple (drove out the marketers and their wares) in John 2. Psalm 69 is also where we find "And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink" which happened at the cross centuries after it was written.

In Psalm 69:4 is where we see Christ as the One who restores that which He did not steal:

"They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away."

Believers, Jesus is Restorer both to the injured and the injurer. He restores that which He did not take to the injured party. He restores that which He did not take on behalf of the injurer. By God's Grace, don't look to man to restore what they have stolen from you. And you who have betrayed others, don't look to yourself to correct your mistakes like Judas. Look to Jesus.

The law is whole. You have to keep all or pay the wages of sin: Death. Many believe that Christ is their guilt offering but don't see Him as the one who restores that which He took not away and so try to return what they stole in order to get right with God. Even the returning is usually not done in the exact manner demanded by the law, making it more pointless.

Doing restitution in order to get into God's good books and "make heaven" is to be under the law of Moses and Galatians 3:10 says "But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under His curse,"

Believers, let's not be found here. Christ is Saviour to the uttermost. His finished work is what wholly guarantees our acquittal from ALL the demands of the law of Moses (Acts 13:38-39,) not our puny attempts at restitution like Judas. Only believe. Remember Galatians 2:20-

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Live life free of guilt and conscious that Christ is the One doing, not you. How He restores what we lost or stole is not up to us; it's up to Him. Remember Zaccheus the tax collector? He was a thief that stole from his own people, the worst of the worst kind, but Jesus sought him out to dine with him in his sinner state. In church today, we'd be telling such people to go and return what they have stolen (do restitution) or else they cannot have fellowship with Jesus like Zacchaeus, or worse that God will punish them if they don't!

But look what happened to Zacchaeus the thieving tax collector after Christ came into his home without first asking him to return the money that he stole:

Luke 19:8 "But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

The "four times" is significant. Remember Exodus 22:1- "If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep."

According to the law of Moses, the one who stole one sheep had to return four sheep. Christ's visit to Zacchaeus caused him to do this and much more - give half of his possessions to the poor! What he could not do before. The Holy Spirit transformed him. Nobody had to tell him 'the right thing to do.' He DESIRED to give to the poor and return what he stole! He didn't have to 'try' to do the right thing to avoid judgment. HE WANTED TO because Jesus did not condemn him like the teachers of religious law in the church today. Zacchaeus worked out his salvation "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Philippians 2:13.

Believers, believe right. With Christ as our righteousness and our strength, no longer depending on our ability to obey the law to be made righteous and free but on His obedience, we get to live the life of moral excellence that the law demands while not under law. How? It is because "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."