Have you ever wondered if restitution is important? Especially if the
event happened before you got born again. As Christians we often
hear about other Christians that have taken the bold step to make
right what was wrong in the past and different questions rises within
us yearning for the appropriate response. Restitution is a sensitive
topic that many Christians find difficult to discuss. By the help of the
Holy Spirit, we will be answering questions about restitution in this
post and bringing light to grey areas.
First, what is Restitution? Restitution can be defined as the act of
restoring to the rightful owner something that has been taken away,
lost, or surrendered. Restitution can also be defined as the act of
making good or compensating for loss, damage, or injury;
indemnification. Also, it means returning to or restoration of a
previous state or position. I believe the answers to the questions
below will bring clarity to our minds and light unto our paths.


Question 1: Is restitution a prerequisite for God’s forgiveness? In
other words, is it truly necessary for us to restitute before we are
certain of our salvation?

We believe restitution is never a hindrance to the work of Grace; it is
simply an “instrument” God uses to pull down strong hold in the
heart of men and to test their level of surrender to the Lordship of
Christ through the Holy Spirit. Restitution is supposed to be initiated
and instructed by the Holy Spirit who will consequently state to the
believer what to restitute for, when he should and how he should.
However restitution doesn’t affect an individual’s salvation. A
biblical example to follow this is the event that happened during the
crucifixion of Jesus, where the thief on the cross had so many
things to restitute but he didn’t have the opportunity to do so. This in
no way affected his entering into paradise with Jesus.
Restitution can be a step to salvation for many, however it cannot be
described as a yardstick for salvation. In other words, there are
some possession we have/had that are/were stronghold against us
encountering Christ because a man cannot serve two masters, and
until these things are restituted physically or ”maybe spiritually”,
Salvation may not be possible. Likewise, one of the most important
steps to salvation is repentance and restitution is a variable of
repentance.
Restitution is one of the Christian virtues that can be seen both in
the New Testament and in the Old Testament, although we have
more biblical references before the dispensation of grace. However,
it is important to understand that the gospel of Grace is not a call to
laziness or to be care free rather it is a call to the abundant life
Christ bought for us. The Holy Spirit carries out both the work of
Grace and the work of restitution. Since we have learnt that
salvation is both instantaneous and experiential, for the instant
salvation we don’t need restitution but for the experiential salvation,
restitution MIGHT be needed.


Question 2 : Is there a conflict between restitution and justification?

Justification means the record of the sins are wiped off; to be
discharged and acquainted. On the other hand, restitution is about
paying back. And we know that what we have in Christ is not
forgiveness but Justification (Just like we never committed any sin
in the past).
Having established these, we believe that there is no conflict
because restitution is making right. This example will help explain
the answer better. The founder of a particular ministry in Nigeria
lived a life to the glory of God and went to be with the Lord. On
getting to heaven, he was denied and was allowed to come back to
the earth by the mercy of the Lord. He had to make right and restore
his relationship with someone because he printed tracks without the
copyright permission of that individual (the owner). In 2 Corinthians
6:3, the bible tells us that “We put no obstruction in anybody’s way
[we give no offense in anything], so that no fault may be found and
[our] ministry blamed and discredited.”-the Amplified Bible


Question 3 : Looking at the question about justification by grace and
the example given above, are we to restitute what we acquire wrongly before we met Christ or after we do?

It might be necessary for us to make restitution of some things that
we did before we became born again. This is because some past
deeds may stand as strongholds and may need to be cleared. It not
as if one has not been forgiven, but the restitution is done because
of the person that was offended. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit, who
knows the situation of things and the effect of such evil action on
the person that was offended and also knows the current state of
the heart of the person that was hurt might instruct the one who
offended the other to make restitution.
I will like to share a personal story of how I restituted. I once lived
with an uncle who gives me a lot of things and I could take things
without telling him. I once took a sock without his permission and
returned to school afterwards. I used the sock for a long time and
one day the Holy Spirit minister to me about the sock and the need
to give it back. Friends, I had to return it.
It is important for us to understand that each individual’s dealings
with the HOLY SPIRIT is “customized”. In Zacchaeus’ encounter
with Jesus, Jesus didn’t ask him to restitute in order to receive
anything. We can observe there that Jesus declared salvation on
him even when he had no right to receive it (he didn’t even ask
Jesus for salvation) but his heart was right. He received salvation in
his house before he made d restitution.
Restitution is not you paying for your sins, you do not have to pay
because Christ has paid it all, but restitution is about you
responding to whatever the Holy Spirit, your teacher, tells you to do,
for the greater good of all involved.


Question 4 : Is there anything like spiritual restitution?

No, unless we want to restitute to the Holy Spirit because whatever
we have in the spirit is given by God the father of light. Restitution is
not just done religiously without direction especially when it is
capable of making unpleasant situations worse. We must note that
the Holy Spirit leads us to take the step of restitution, and as ‘Spirit
controlled’ persons, we must obey. He knows the deep things of our
heart and He knows some possessions with us that demands
restitution.
Restitution is good practice but it doesn’taffect a man’s salvation.
This means when we don’t restitute we only deny ourselves of some
right that pertains to us. But either we restitute or not we are saved
by grace through faith and not by works.