Understanding The Important Of Restitution In The Life Of Christians
One of the most important issues in Christian doctrines is
restitution. it's what determines our eternity, what determines our
relationship with Jesus after we are saved. Restitution is so important
after Salvation that it has to be done immediately a person is genuinely
saved. Salvation without restitution is half freedom and unconfirmed salvation.
Leviticus 6:4, “then it shall be, because he has sinned and is
guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he
has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost
thing which he found” The center of restitution is confession to men as
the bible commands us to confess to one another, but in a larger and
clearer sense, restitution is restoring things wrongly acquired in old life of sin, returning what was wrongly taken or borrowed in the past.
Restitution is an act of revealing lies, faked, falsified,
fraudulent information and documents of past; reconciling with people we
offended by apologizing and people who offended us by forgiving them.
Lastly it is also repaying debts we owed in the past which we refused to
pay or forgot to pay. By reality, every child of God has at least one or two matter of restitution.
When you are truly saved and the Lord has forgiven and
cleansed you from all your sins; the Spirit of God enters into your
life, and immediately he begins to point to you what you need to amend
and restitute. The First and Greatest Teacher of restitution after
salvation is the HOLY SPIRIT, speaking to our mind, our conscience what
to restore, reveal, and return and who to reconcile with.
It’s spiritually natural after genuine salvation. If you
are truly saved and nothing is ministered to your spirit to correct or
confess to people, it means there is need for second touch to see
clearly or you are blocking the speaking of the Spirit into your heart. Everybody
of us was born a sinner, grew in sin to a particular level before we
become born again. Since nobody is sinless before salvation, everybody
has one or two restitution to do. Sin is offending God and man, when we
come to Jesus, confess our sins to Him and ask Him to forgive us, He
does just that. After God has forgiven and cleansed, then we reconcile
with fellow men.
ALSO READ; How A Backslider Can Reconciled Back To God.
The most and first important thing is to settle and reconcile
with God, every sinner is fighting with God, but when we come to God
through Jesus, when we repent from all our sins, confess them and accept
Jesus into our lives, we reconcile with God and that made us to be
children of God Almighty instead of His enemies. Paul said, “Men and
brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this
day.” Acts 23:1.
When we repent from our sins and confess them, we have good
conscience before God, and that is the beginning of everything in our
Christian lives. The salvation of our souls is the basic and foundation
of Christian living, Christians without genuine salvation are religious
Christians, not reckoned with God, and they are the majority in
Christianity.
After our genuine salvation that gives good conscience before
God, we move on to having same good conscience with men as a
confirmation and evidence people will see. Apostle Paul furthered in
Acts 24:16, “This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience
without offense toward God and men” If truly we have a conscience
without offense towards God, it will be also go towards men likewise. If
God knows, men also will know.
It is just like somebody saying “I love God” but he hates fellow men; how can he loves God he doesn’t see and at the same time hates fellow men he sees? Bible says such love is fake. The
same is applicable with confession, when you confess to God you find it
hard to confess to fellow men that you can see, how genuine is that
confession?
If you are afraid of what people will say or do if you confess, it means you fear men than God.
You were not afraid to confess to Almighty God, Awesome God, All
knowing God, who can kill and make alive; if you are not afraid to
confess to that God fearful in praises, then why are you afraid to
confess to fellow men? Here is what Jesus Christ says,
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the
soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.” Matthew 10:28. The worst men can do to you after restitution is
to kill your “temporal” body but only God has the power
to destroy that body and soul, only Him you should fear. Fear brings
snares; fear ensnares people, even after they are saved, not to claim
their total freedom in Christ through restitution. Why will you be afraid to confess the sin to creatures after you have confessed and settled with the CREATOR?
THE BLESSINGS OF RESTITUTION
Judges 17:1-2 “Now there was a man from the mountains of
Ephraim, whose name was Micah, And he said to his mother, “The eleven
hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put
a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took
it.” And his mother said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my son” There
are many blessings that follow after restitution is done, here are few
of them.
Peace With Men
In our past old life, we wronged God and men, when we are saved,
we make peace with God and so we must complete the process of peace by
making peace with people. People we fought, we offended, or harmed
before we were saved must be contacted and apologized to. People we had
bitterness, malice and hatred with must be settled with, even if we
think they wronged us, even if we have decided not to greet them again.
Yet, we must make peace with them for the sake of peace and to
remove the bitterness, malice and others so that we don’t give room to
the devil in our new lives in Christ. “If it is possible, as much as
depends on you, live peaceably with all men” Romans 12:18. People you
are living with, working with, schooling with; family members, friends
and neighbors, every one we had issues with, as much as we can, we
should settle peacefully with them.
When we make peace with all men, both right and wrong, it
confirms our peace with God, it gives us peace and it’s the only way to
see God, to enter heaven. “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness,
without which no one will see the Lord” Hebrews 12:14. When we settle
with people peacefully, it shows we are truly children of God, the King
of Peace; Jesus the Prince of Peace and we, the children of peace.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Matthew 5:9.
It Settles Old Accounts
Restitution is to settle our old accounts and close them. If you
are saved and you have not made some past wrongs right by restitution,
it simply means you keep your old account open which may stand against
you here on earth and eventually disallow you to enter heaven.
Undone restitution has the capacity to block God’s blessing in
your life here on earth and block you from entering Heaven. The old
records which stand against you can only be settled and closed by
restitution. “Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to
judgment, but those of some men follow later.” 1 Timothy 5:24.
It Confirms Your New Life In Jesus Christ
In different online and phone transaction, after you have sent
your desired transaction, you will be asked to confirm your transaction.
If you fail to “just” confirm, thinking since you have
filled all the forms, supplied all the needed information and it has
been sent and accepted, you think to confirm again is of no use, your
transaction will be invalid and will not be processed.
The same is in reality with restitution. After you have repented
and confessed your sin to God and he has forgiven, cleansed and
accepted you, you need to respond back to confirm your salvation by
restitution. Think about it, if I were your neighbor and I stole
your stuffs in past and using them. You knew and just kept quiet, then
later I got saved and come to preach to you and still using what I stole
from you, how will you feel? Restitution is a certainty for every regenerated child of God.
It Turns Curses To Blessings
Many curses in life are caused by wrong things that was done in
past, and many problems facing children of God after they have been
saved are not because the enemies are powerful over their lives in
Christ but because they allow the old curses to have access to their new
lives because of ignoring necessary restitution they need to do. Undone restitution allows the unsettled wrong of your past to haunt your present life even though you are now a child of God.
You give access to Satan, enemies, generational curses and many
attacks when you refuse to do needed restitution. This can also block
the free flow of God’s blessing, progress and God’s promises for your
life. Undone restitution gives Satan to accuse you and oppose you in the present of God. Most
of the problems making us to do fasting, special prayers, deliverance
and attend several programs and the problems remain the same; those
problems can be solved if we do simple acts of apologizing, forgiving or
any necessary restitution as the case may be.
That will end the mountainous problems, and that begins the
progress and prosperity in your life, marriage and ministry. “And he
said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were
taken from you, and on which you put a curse, even saying it in my
ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “May
you be blessed by the Lord, my son!” Judges 17:2. Obedience is better than sacrifice.
It Gives Blessed Assurance
When restitution is settled, you have peace, you have more
confidence in the Lord and you have assurance of heaven. Satan will not
have anything to hold against you and you will have that strong boldness
in your prayer. Here is what the Word of God says, “And by this we know
that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For
if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all
things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence
toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His
commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” 1
John 3:19-22. Therefore, it very important you enact all necessary
restitution you ought to make while the grace of life still abide
because tomorrow is never promised.