Christian Living

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What hinders a Christian in their walk with God and how can they address these issues for their spiritual betterment? #

CHAPTER 5

HOW DO I ADDRESS THOSE PAST DECISIONS WHERE I HAVE HURT OTHERS?

Before we were saved we were ruled by our sin nature with its affections [innate forces resident in the evil nature; propensities (a natural inclination or tendency33)] and lusts (forces reaching out to find expression in the gratification of these desires; to the goings forth of the soul towards objects which it is wrong to pursue34). Along the journey of our life our associations have impacted us, some in a good way and others in a bad way. Our upbringing might have been with strict boundaries, boundaries with borders, or no borders at all.
All of us have hurt others in one way, shape, or form. Sometimes people make false accusations against another for personal recognition or financial gain. Others have made claims to get-rich schemes defrauding people out of their lifelong savings. Infidelity has broken up many families, along with in some cases the primary bread winner being not willing to provide financial support for their former spouse and children. Some have committed horrendous sexual acts upon others. And there are those that have taken other people’s lives away from them for reasons in many cases that didn’t warrant such action.
Being a Christian doesn’t mean that we are not susceptible to engage in any of these actions. However, as we grow in the Lord by putting on the mind of Christ, our new actions will be reflective of these new thoughts. Self-centeredness will be replaced by God-centeredness. The sin nature will be under subjection to the power of the Holy Spirit. The affections and lusts of the flesh will be replaced by the spiritual qualities of the Holy Spirit.

As we begin to appear as new persons with new habits what is our responsibility in relation to addressing those past decisions where we have hurt others whether we were an unbeliever or a believer at the time?

Let’s take a look at a person, who not only went out of his way to see Jesus, but who Jesus went out of his way to see him.

I Restore Him Fourfold
Suggested Reading: Luke 19:1-10
As Jesus was passing through Jericho being compassed about by crowds of people, a man named Zacchaeus, who was the head of the tax collections in the region, sought to see him. Being short in height he climbed up a Sycomore tree so that he could get a better view. When Jesus came to where he was, he looked up at him and told him to come down so that he could accompany him to his house where he would lodge overnight.

It’s interesting to note that when the crowd realized that Jesus was heading to his house they complained saying that he was going to stay at the house of a man who was considered by them to be disgraceful and scandalous.

Why did they think of him in such a manner?

In a small town or village everyone knows everything about everyone else.
Zacchaeus pronouncement that he would give half of his fair gains (profits) to the poor along with giving back four-fold restitution to those whom he had falsely accused (cheated; overcharged; forced to pay greater taxes) indicated clearly as to why he was thought of in such a disrespectful manner by those in Jericho. The context conveys the idea that these practices had been going on for a long time and involved a lot of people.

This pronouncement by Zacchaeus was made in front of others to the Lord and clearly indicated that a change of heart had occurred in his life.

8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

Can you imagine the shock of the towns people hearing from someone, who they had despised, announce that anyone who was hurt by him would not only receive back what they were overcharged, but would receive it back four times as much.

When a person has an encounter with God they are given a new nature. Over time as they grow their outlook about themselves and others begins to change. Wrong is no longer right.

Do you believe that the example of Zacchaeus is an application for the New Testament saint in that in like manner they should address those past decisions where they have hurt others?

Back in the early eighties I had just finished Bible College and was heading to a branch ministry to work in their Christian Day school. When my wife and I along with our two children arrived we were shown the apartment which was ours to move into. After settling in we were introduced to the various families that were occupying different parts of the facility. The facility used to be a Motel with three separate buildings. These buildings were now used for various purposes: a chapel, a Christian Day school, offices, a cafeteria, and housing.
One of the families that I was introduced to took me by surprise. In my younger years, when I was an unbeliever, my dad used to own a Spa & Grille in my hometown. During my high school days I would work for him periodically. Sometimes I would come in to work for a couple of hours after school and at other times I would come in and relieve him for a considerable amount of time over the weekend. There was a young couple that would come in and order this or that. The boyfriend loved to work on cars. His girlfriend was very friendly. I didn’t know anything more about her. My dad owned the business for about five years and all throughout this time they would come in together. When my dad sold his business we lost touch.
I made it a purpose to visit this married couple over a short period of time, because it came to my attention they were moving back in with their in-laws. What I had found out in my brief conversation with them was that the husband been accused of rape years earlier, when he was an unbeliever, a charge of which he was acquitted of. Years later, after having become a Christian, he realized that he had to make restitution for not telling the truth about this incident. Apparently, he got a hold of the proper authorities and confessed to them that he did in fact commit this rape. Understanding that he would be sent to prison to serve out whatever time he was going to receive they decided that it would be best to live with family until the day of reckoning. After they left, this was the last time we were in contact.

How was the idea of restitution handled in the Old Testament, during the time when the Jews were under the tenets of the Mosaic Law?

Please go to Nu. 15.

Restitution under the Law
Suggested Reading: Nu. 15:1-41
Moses is being instructed by God and is told to convey this information to the children of Israel, so that when they along with Caleb and Joshua entered the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, they were to offer various kinds of offerings (e.g. meat, drink, burnt, free-will, and slain) unto Him for not obeying His commands. Under the institution of the Mosaic Law there was given to Moses not only the 10 commandments, but more than 100 additional.
If disobedience to God’s commands occurred, because what was done was out of ignorance (not to realize one’s failure), then the congregation would bring forth the appropriate offering, and atonement would be made by the priest, which would result in the offense being forgiven (no penalty incurred).

And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the Lord hath spoken unto Moses, Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the Lord, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. Nu 15:22,24

If disobedience to God’s commands occurred, because what was done was done willfully (intentionally; to disobey God's law deliberately and arrogantly, knowing full well the danger involved35), then the congregation would not bring an offering to the priest, and thus no atonement would be made. The punishment for the offense committed would be exacted.

30 But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

The premise was that no one would get away with anything. If a Jew sinned unintentionally, then the entire congregation would come together and atone for their sin. If they sinned purposely, then they would receive the punishment for their sin, which in some cases carried with it the penalty of death.
Restitution was made in either case.

Are there any verses in the Book of Acts, the Epistles, or the Book of Revelation that talks about a Christian making restitution concerning addressing a wrong where they have hurt others?

There appears to be one section of verses that many commentators use that they claim have to do with restitution.

Let’s go to Ja. 4.

To Him That Knoweth To Do Good
Suggested Reading: James 4:13-17
The practice to which the apostle here alludes is very common in the East to this day, among a very respectable and intelligent class of merchants. They convey the products of one place to some distant city, where they remain until they have disposed of their own goods and have purchased others suitable for another distant market; and thus the operation is repeated, until, after a number of years, the trader is enabled to return prosperously to his home36. I’m sure that for many of those who had become Christians this was their type of livelihood.
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

James reminds them that if they were to live their life this way, then they won’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. Another word life is uncertain; it is like a vapor that is seen ascending from a stream37, but which disappears by the rising sun.

14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Instead of saying that we will go into such a city, we ought rather to recognize our absolute dependence on God, and feel that life and success are subject to his will38. Another word in the midst of your endeavors make sure that you are getting to know the Lord. Don’t continue on in your life the way you used to.
Seek God’s will. Go to where there are teachings that convey his truths. Go to where his presence is evident. Go to where you are learning about who you have become made anew in Christ.

15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
James recognized that some of them continued to glory in reliance on their own skill. Their perspective of their future was filled with confidence of success, and not in a confidence in God. He concluded that all such boasting is evil because it evidences a spirit of forgetfulness of dependence on God.

16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

After providing them with this instruction he now says that they have no longer any excuse in regards to addressing their occupational lifestyle.
If we know what God’s perspective is on whatever it is that is brought before us and we don’t obey it, then it is sin (the sin of omission; in failing to do what we know to be the right thing to do39).

It is true that the word or idea of restitution is not mentioned in these verses. However, what is being conveyed here is to do what we know is right according to God’s word.

17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Would providing restitution to those whom we have hurt be reflective of the spiritual qualities of the Holy Spirit?

With this in mind I will leave you with a quote from the Bible Knowledge Commentary.
To attain spiritual maturity a believer must do the good he now knows. He must be what God wants him to be, do what God wants him to do, speak as God wants him to speak, and sense what God wants him to sense40.

I want to leave you with a few more thoughts concerning addressing those past decisions where I have hurt others?

After I came up with the title for this chapter I began to be made aware by the Holy Spirit concerning two people in particular that I needed to talk to concering issues in the past of which I had caused them hurt.

The first one had to do with a fellow believer who used to drive taxi for me about four years ago. He was a very good driver, honest, hard-working, etc. During the last year of his employment when the taxi season was winding down he asked me if he could drive on Sunday morning for a couple of hours while I was attending church service. My comment was basically that he could as long as he got enough sleep the night before. He usually worked late on Saturday nights and I wasn’t comfortable with him only getting a couple of hours sleep and then getting back into the cab on the following day. On this particular morning he called me to come pick him up. After picking him up I drove to the worship center while leaving him with the taxi. After service a fellow believer gave me a ride home.
About an hour later he called and told me the bad news. On his way back from the west side of the island while he was backing up he hit a large hidden rock which dented in the passenger side front door. I asked him to bring the vehicle home so that I could take a look at it. After looking at the damage it was evident that the cost for repair would be around $1500.00 to $2000.00. I told him that I had a $1000.00 deductible and expected that he would pay half. His initial response was that he would provide restitution as he was able. I said something like, we will figure it out.
I got back in the taxi and finished the day shift. He took over and completed the night shift. In the morning when I got up to start the day shift he asked for a ride to the ferry. I noticed that his bags were packed so it became pretty obvious to me that he had decided to quit. As we were on our way to the ferry he said that he had reconsidered paying part of the deductible. According to him he was not only unaware of this deductible, but there was no prior agreement relating to his employment that if an accident had occurred he would have to pay half of the deductible. He was technically right, but I thought that being a Christian he would want to split the cost. He got out of the taxi, went on the boat and I haven’t seen him since.
When I began to write this particular chapter his name came to my mind. I knew that it was the Holy Spirit prompting me to call him. I found his phone number out of an old phone book and called him. When he answered I responded by telling him who I was and that I wanted to apologize for being overbearing in regards to this incident. I didn’t expect an apology from him, and I didn’t get one. He said that he had put the incident aside. We talked for a little while and then the conversation came to a close. I did what I believe I was directed to do.
One more thing, believe it or not another name came into my mind besides his. This one was quite surprising because I hadn’t thought about this person in about forty years. The name came into my mind as clear as a bell. This person was someone who I had dated in my younger years before I was saved. One thing led to another and before I knew it we were intimate. On a particular day I received a phone call from one of her friends informing me that she was pregnant. I went to see her about the possibility of getting married. She was more ready than I was. I wasn’t ready to commit. There was no doubt that my decision to not get married right away brought about animosity between us. Discussions ensued about my necessity for providing financial support when the baby would be delivered. Eventually, I received a phone call informing me that she had a miscarriage and that there was no longer any need for us to keep in contact.
So now that I had her first and last name I did an online search and found five people with the same first and last name. Being close to the same age as her along with being aware that she had a brother and a couple of sisters I found two names that fit the bill. Before I called each of them I tried to remember the name of the young woman who had arranged for our first date. The reason why I wanted this name was so that when I called the two names I could say on the phone that I was looking for the name of a woman named so and so who was a friend of so and so. If this person responded by saying that she knew so and so, then I knew I had made contact with the right person. I prayed to God asking him to bring this other woman’s name to my remembrance. Nothing came to my mind, so I thought that the search was over. As I was engaged in some other activity all of a sudden this person’s name came into my mind in the form of what I would call a still small voice. I called the phone number of each person, and no one answered. I left a message hoping to receive a response back. At the time of the closing of this chapter I have received no response.
Is there another approach that I could use in order to contact this person? I don’t know. I will continue to pursue God’s leading and we’ll see where it all winds up.

I believe that when we have become born again everything about us has changed. Becoming aware of these changes only occurs as we hear the pronouncement about them according to God’s word.

Do you believe that we as Christians should make restitution toward those who we have hurt in the past no matter whether they were unbelievers or believers at the time?

Do you believe that we as Christians should make restitution toward those who we have hurt in the past when we were an unbeliever at this time?

In the next chapter we are going to take a look at those areas that can influence and hence corrupt our mind.

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