Stealing From Stores.

John,
Maybe. My point is that in the passage about Zaccheus, the restitution is voluntary.

 

Yes, I agree. The restitution is voluntary in that case. I also think that restitution is, though not necesserily required, a most noble action of taking responsibility.

 

Take a closer look at ole Zackey boy there in the New Testament--his restitiution was not voluntary but mandatory for the Jew--Zack is giving us a picture of being a "doer" of the word and not a "hearer" only--He had heard the law and now he was going to obey the law! He had heard the word and now he was going to obey the word! He had heard Jesus and now he was going to obey Jesus!

I got to looking at this OT Jewish laws of restitution--by golly--if the USA would go by this code--there'd be a lot less stealin' goin' on and a whole lot less pilferin' and carousin' and evil going on!

Your friend,
Blackbird

 

Well, I'll be! I red it again with your words in mind, and you're right. He WAS giving restitution because that's what was correct thing to do.

 

What the Spirit lays on your heart to do is what you should do.

 

Why? </font>[/QUOTE]I'll answer yours when you answer mine in the music forums.

 

If the word says it, the Holy Spirit has already spoken. We need not wait for some magical touch to do what is right.

"Getting saved" does not negate our past, it only restores our redemptive rights in the kingdom. We become new creatures in Christ and hence new desires to do what is right.

Take this theft thing one step further. Think about all the people who "borrow" pens from the office and "forget" to reurn them. You say it is only a pen. Well, it is theft none the less, and shouldn't we account for that? What if a clerk gives you too much change? Or, charges the wrong price? Then, what if we find a dollar in the streets?

Cheers,

Jim

 

I was both a thief and a liar before I met the Lord.
Shoplifting was a sport. I loved it, I was good at
it, and I never got caught.

But after I was saved, I used a lot of stamps,
checks, and stationery writing to those stores,
admitting what I had done and paying them for
the merchandise, the tax, and a bit more, to those
stores in the three states I had stolen from.

In the state I lived in, I took a day and went about,
making payment to managers, face-to-face. It
was absolutely thrilling--exciting. I did not know
if they would have me put away or not, but I did
it. And each time, I would tell them that our Lord
had made a difference in my life, giving my
testimony. In my case, they did not contact the
authorities.

I remember, after completing all of the restitutions,
sitting in my car in the parking lot of the last store,
thrilled at the opportunity I had been given to talk
to all those people about my God and the change
He had made in my life. What a wonderful thing--
that our God could take my sin and turn it into an
opportunity like that! I sat there, disappointed
but smiling, because I could not think of another
store to make restitution in.