Lessons #67 and 68
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Worldliness hampers communication of God’s word (1 Cor 3:1-4)
1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
The central message or truth that is given in our passage is that a local church where there is no advance teaching of the word of God is one that is worldly. This message we indicated would be expounded using two major propositions. The first major proposition we considered in our last study is that the spiritual condition and status of a local church affect a pastor’s communication of the word of God. In effect, the spiritual life of the congregation affects the communication of God’s word by a pastor. So, we consider the second proposition.
A second major proposition related to the first is that a pastor can only communicate basic but not advanced doctrine when certain conditions are true of his congregation. The concept of a pastor being only able to communicate basic but not advanced doctrine to a congregation of believers is derived from the first sentence of Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:2 that literally reads I gave you milk to drink, not solid food.
Basic doctrine is introduced figuratively with the word “milk.” The word “milk” is used literally to refer to that of a woman or an animal that nourishes the body of either humans or animals as Apostle Paul used the word to describe a benefit that one who tends a flock should have in 1 Corinthians 9:7:
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk?
However, its usage in 1 Corinthians 3:2 is in a figurative sense. This is not difficult to recognize because the apostle stated in 1 Corinthians 3:2 I gave you milk to drink. A man does not produce milk to give it to anyone let alone adults. Of course, someone may say that it is possible that the apostle could have given the people milk that he purchased. But such understanding ignores the context of where the apostle is dealing with spiritual matters. We will say more about the word “drink” later. But for the moment we are concerned with the word “milk” the apostle mentioned in the passage we are considering.
Milk is used figuratively even in the OT times with honey to depict fertility or prosperity as it is used in describing the Promised Land in Exodus 3:8:
So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
In the NT, milk is used figuratively for elementary teachings of the Christian faith as we may gather from Hebrews 5:12:
In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
The phrase elementary truths of God’s word is described with the word “milk” in the last sentence of Hebrews 5:12 You need milk, not solid food. The human author of Hebrews continued to convey that milk is used figuratively for elementary teachings of the Christian faith in Hebrews 5:13:
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
The one who lives on milk is described as one not acquainted with teaching about righteousness. The implication is that milk refers to teaching that is given to those who are not matured in their Christian faith. The word “milk” may also be used figuratively as a reference to the totality of God’s word and everything that leads to spiritual growth of the believer in 1 Peter 2:2:
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:2, “milk” is used as a reference to basic teaching of the Christian faith Apostle Paul delivered to the Corinthians.
The apostle taught some elementary doctrines to the Corinthians because he said I gave you milk. The word “gave” is translated from a Greek verb (potizō) that may mean “to give drink” to someone as Apostle Paul used the Greek word in his quotation from Proverbs 25:21 given in Romans 12:20:
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
The word may be used in a figurative sense to convey the receiving of the Holy Spirit by believers in 1 Corinthians 12:13:
For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
The Greek word may figuratively be used in the sense of “to participate” in something, as it is used to indicate participation of nations in idolatry or immorality of Babylon in Revelation 14:8:
A second angel followed and said, “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:2, it has the sense of communicating or passing on basic truths to the Corinthians. This happened when the apostle first arrived in Corinth with the gospel message. We say this because when the apostle stated I gave, he used a Greek tense (aorist) that in our specific passage implies an action that took place in the past, presumably when the apostle first came to Corinth with the gospel message.
We are sure the apostle meant he communicated basic doctrines of the Christian faith because of the contrast in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 3:2 not solid food. The expression “solid food” is translated from a Greek word (brōma) that literally refers to “food” as in the instruction regarding how to deal with it in such a way as not to cause problem for another believer in Romans 14:20:
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
The word may mean “means of sustenance, food” in a sense that is beyond physical human experience as the word is used by the Lord Jesus to describe the means of His sustenance during His earthly ministry in John 4:34:
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
In using the phrase my food, Jesus meant that His sustenance is derived from doing the will of the Father who sent Him. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:2, because of the mention of “milk” in the first sentence of the verse the literal meaning of our word is “solid food” to ensure there is a contrast to milk that is a liquid. Nonetheless, the phrase solid food is used figuratively as a reference to advance teaching of the Christian faith in contrast to basic doctrines of the Christian faith.
The apostle stated in the passage of 1 Corinthians 3:2 I gave you milk, not solid food or literally I gave you milk to drink, not solid food. We have interpreted the sentence to mean that the apostle taught the Corinthians basic doctrines of the Christian faith instead of advanced doctrines, but he did not tell us what the basic doctrines were. However, we can deduce some of the basic doctrines the apostle taught based on what the Holy Spirit gave us through the human author of Hebrews, as stated in Hebrews 6:1–2:
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
This passage and the other epistles of Apostle Paul together with other parts of the NT Scripture help us to decipher some of the basic doctrines the apostle would have taught the Corinthians. We consider some of these at this point in our study beginning with repentance and faith. We are sure that the apostle would have taught on repentance not only because of the passage of Hebrews 6 but because he made several references that indicate he preached repentance as we read, for example, in Acts 20:21:
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
Since the apostle referenced repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus in his preaching of the gospel, we will, as we have indicated, consider repentance first and then faith.
Repentance
We should admit from the start that it is difficult to treat the subject of repentance as independent from faith relating to salvation as we will show later when we focus on faith. However, for managing our communication of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith we believe the apostle would have communicated to the Corinthians, when he first got to them, we will focus on repentance separate from faith.
The subject of repentance is one that is not emphasized among some Christian quarters in our day as related to salvation. I once heard a pastor try to prove that the subject of repentance should not be discussed when salvation is the issue but that the focus should be on faith only. This pastor argued that the word “repent” does not appear anywhere in the gospel of John where it is clearly stated that believing in Christ is the way to salvation. There is no equivocation that believing in Christ is how one obtains salvation, but it is doing violence to the Scripture to imply that repentance should not be an important issue when dealing with salvation. I think that part of ignoring the concept of repentance in preaching salvation is in part due to the implication that salvation in the NT is different from salvation in the OT but that is not true. Salvation is the same both in the OT and NT and involves faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, granting that in the OT, He was revealed only as the LORD. If we recognize that salvation is the same both in OT and NT, then it would be wrong to think that repentance is not involved in salvation. For we know that repentance is joined with faith in the subject of salvation in Isaiah 30:15:
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.
Here “repentance” is joined with “rest” as that associated with salvation. The word “rest” is translated from a Hebrew word (nǎḥǎṯ) that may mean “calmness, quietness.” But it also means “rest” in the sense of freedom from an activity, implying faith in another that will deliver or make safe. Thus, the prophet in a sense implies that repentance and faith in the Lord are joined in the matter of salvation, that is, in the context, deliverance from physical harm. The concept of salvation here applies also to eternal deliverance. The point is that the prophet linked repentance and faith using the word “rest” in the matter of salvation. This being the case, it is doing violence to the Scripture to think that repentance is in no way related to salvation. Of course, we should not forget that Apostle Peter linked repentance to salvation in his sermon on the day of Pentecost, as we read in Acts 2:38:
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Another reason I believe that causes some to think that repentance is not associated in any way with salvation is an incomplete or even lack of understanding of what repentance is. The implication of this misunderstanding is to take repentance as a kind of work. It is this that makes some preachers vehemently opposed to any mention of repentance regarding salvation. But truly, repentance associated with salvation is not works because it is not something that a person can attain on his/her own. The Scripture is clear that repentance comes from God or is granted by Him. This truth was declared by all the apostles who appeared before the Sanhedrin, as we read in Acts 5:31:
God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
Later, the entire church that heard Apostle Peter’s explanation for going to preach to Gentile audience in unison declared this truth in Acts 11:18:
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.
Apostle Paul also asserted the same truth in 2 Tim 2:25:
Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth
The point we seek to emphasize is that repentance that leads to eternal salvation is given by God and the unbeliever merely responds to the work of the Holy Spirit.
Anyway, what is repentance in the NT usage? A simple answer is that it is a change of mind leading to a change of action. This simple definition needs to be elaborated to encompass the teaching of the Scripture regarding the subject. Repentance as indicated in the Scripture is that which involves turning away from sin to turning to God.
Turning away from sin as part of repentance that is associated with salvation is in and of itself a complex concept that involves several elements necessary to complete it. Turning away from sin would normally begin with consciousness of one’s guilt. This fact was evident in the first sermon Apostle Peter preached. He kept hammering on the Jews present on the day of Pentecost that they rejected Jesus as the Messiah. He presented various arguments to prove that Jesus is the Messiah and he capped his argument with the declaration that Jesus is the Messiah whom they have rejected, as recorded in Acts 2:36:
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
The apostle’s message caused the audience to become conscious of their guilt of rejecting Jesus as the Christ. It is because of their consciousness of guilt that they asked the question of how to deal with their rejection of Jesus Christ, as indicated in Acts 2:37:
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
The people who asked this question, as we have indicated, had the conviction of their guilt otherwise they would not have asked the question. It is based on their question that the apostle invited them to repent about their sin of rejection of Jesus Christ. The preaching of today quite often lacks the element of bringing strong conviction on unbelievers. Unbelievers must be put in a position to recognize their sinfulness otherwise they would not see their need for a Savior. Conviction of guilt is not a matter of one shoe fits all. The Holy Spirit produces it differently in people. Take for example, Paul came to the conviction of his rejection of Jesus Christ in a different way than those who heard Peter’s sermon. His conviction came once the Lord Jesus confronted him on the way to Damascus. There was no explicit statement of either conviction of guilt or of repentance or of exercise of faith on the part of Paul. But each of these was present in Paul’s conversion. He was convinced he persecuted Jesus Christ through his persecution of the church. He repented in that He changed his mind about Jesus Christ and so believed in Him. The salvation of the Philippian jailer was similar to that of the apostle in that there was no direct assertion of his repentance but that is implied. For unless there was a change in mind about what he was or how he perceived himself before the incident in the jail where Apostle Paul was, he would not have trembled and asked the question given in Acts 16:29–30:
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The jailer was convicted he was not right with God or that he was guilty before God as a sinner, for unless this was the case he would not have asked of how to be saved. The point is that conviction is really the beginning point of repentance. The next event that follows turning away from sin is turning to God that involves believing in Christ. It is for this reason Apostle Paul indicated that his preaching involved telling people to turn to God in repentance and to believe in the Lord Jesus in the passage we cited previously, that is, in Acts 20:21:
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
Therefore, regarding the issue of salvation, the one convicted would change his/her mind and believe in Jesus Christ. If we bear in mind that salvation is the work of God, then we should recognize that repentance and belief occur about the same time that the unbeliever hears the gospel message since the good news an unbeliever hears includes the fact that Jesus Christ died for the person’s sins. We are saying that it is difficult to say that repentance occurs without faith following it for salvation or that faith in Christ occurs without repentance but logically repentance occurs before faith in Christ. We will say more about the relationship between repentance and faith in salvation later when we discuss the issue of faith as part of the basic doctrine of Christian faith. Anyway, there is more to repentance as part of the basic doctrine of the Christian faith that believers should know. You see, there is the initial repentance that is associated with faith in Christ but thereafter a believer’s life is then characterized by continuous repentance.
Continuous repentance as part of basic doctrine a believer should know still involves the role of conviction of guilt. A believer who is never convicted of guilt or sin would not be involved in continuous repentance that is part of the basic Christian doctrine. Obviously, conviction of guilt due to sin would normally lead to sorrow. It is rather unfortunate that some teach there is no need for sorrow regarding sin. In other words, those who teach this removes any form of emotion on the part of ba eliever regarding sin. They say it is not necessary to feel sorrow or any grief about sin but that a person should simply recognize sin and forget about any emotion of sorrow or grief or remorse. However, this understanding ignores the fact that some of those convicted of sin in the Scripture showed emotion or remorse either stated or implied. Consider the case of the woman that Jesus forgave her sins, as narrated in the seventh chapter of Luke, specifically in Luke 7:38:
and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
The woman wept because she was under conviction of her sins. There are people who seem to be turned off because someone weeps or sobs because of sins. There is nothing wrong with that. This woman out of the heaviness of her soul and the oppression of sins wept. Today, we have become so intellectual in our understanding of God’s word to the point that we seem to exclude emotion. This is partly due to the reaction of some towards those Christians who function primarily on their emotions. But there is nothing wrong with even weeping because of one’s sins. In fact, if one is not disgusted because of sin then there is the possibility that the person does not truly understand the awfulness of sin. Display of emotion with respect to one’s understanding of his sinful condition is not new or wrong. When the Lord, appearing as the angel of the Lord, caused Israel to become aware of their sins; they responded by weeping, as we note in Judges 2:1-4:
1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be [thorns] in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you." 4 When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud.
After the Babylonian exile, the priest, Ezra, recognized how sinful he and his people were. What did he do? He confessed sins with weeping, as we read in Ezra 10:1:
While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites — men, women and children — gathered around him. They too wept bitterly.
Weeping of Ezra was an expression of sorrow for his sins and that of Israel. Those who returned from exile expressed sorrow over their sins through crying when they realized they have sinned because they did not obey God’s word as given to them as they heard it read, as we gather from Nehemiah 8:9:
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
Sorrow is part of repentance; that is a reason Apostle Paul associated it with repentance in his epistle to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 7:8–10:
8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
The apostle indicates that the sorrow that is in keeping with God’s will is one that leads to repentance. Thus, it is doubtful that anyone would come to true repentance about sin without having remorse or being sorrowful about sin. The point is that showing emotion because of sin is not wrong. In fact, there is something wrong with someone that shows no emotion with respect to his sin or that of others. Apostle Paul was grieved because of those who were unrepentant of their sins, as recorded for us in 2 Corinthians 12:21:
I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.
Sorrow for sin that leads to repentance should lead to the next step that is basic truth in continuous repentance of believers. This step is confession of sins that is joined by abandoning the sin in view, as stated in Proverbs 28:13:
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
The believer should admit to God of whatever the sin is, but the individual should not stop there. There should be the action of forsaking or abandoning the sin that is confessed. The individual should walk away or remove self from the specific sin confessed or make right any wrong done to a person as we will note later in the subject of restitution. It is a failure to understand this act of abandoning one’s sin that has been confessed that in part has led some Christians to misunderstand the instruction of 1 John 1:9:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
You see, there are some Christians who, based on this passage, imply that they do not have to be concerned or even have sorrow about their sin so long as they confess it. In the worst case, some would sin and say to themselves that all they have to do is to confess, although they purposely sinned, with the justification that after all, whatever the sin is, they would confess it. This is a situation where the context is ignored. The promise of this verse is for those who live righteously but because of the sinful nature are overcome by sin to their dislike. We say this because the Holy Spirit through John had earlier indicated that those whose sins are purified are those who walk in the light in 1 John 1:7:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Here walking in the light means to live righteously, that is, living in the sphere of truth and holiness. A person who lives in the light therefore does not make light of sin. Anyway, a believer involved in continuous repentance is one that is involved in continuous confession and forsaking of sins as they are important aspects of repentance.
Another truth that should be communicated to believers as basic element of repentance is that it should be demonstrated. In other words, when there is genuine repentance, it should be accompanied by appropriate actions that prove it. When we use the word “genuine” we imply that there is repentance that is not genuine. Such repentance is described in the Scripture as giving a half-hearted response to God as stated by Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 3:10:
In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
The word “pretense” implies that the return of Judah to the Lord in the sense of repentance is insincere so there is such a thing as a repentance that is not genuine. Anyway, part of the truth that must be communicated to new converts or be reminded to believers is that genuine repentance is demonstrable through actions. This truth Apostle Paul would have communicated to the Corinthians following their conversion. We are sure of this because of the apostle’s words recorded in Acts 26:20:
First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
This truth of proving repentance by deeds is quite important that John the Baptist not only stated it to those who responded to his preaching, but he gave examples of what constitute actions of repentance, as we can gather from Luke 3:8–14:
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”
Thus, it is important that when there is genuine repentance there should be action(s) that demonstrate it genuineness.
By the way, there is an important aspect of demonstrating repentance in action that is rarely mentioned these days among Christians. It is the concept of making restitution. In course of this study, I heard a report in the news of a woman who did this kind of thing although people simple saw it as something nice. This was a case of a lady who was a waiter in a restaurant for a period of time. According to her, she was stealing money from the owner but either because she was converted or because as a believer she realized that what she did was wrong, she sent back to the restaurant the money she stole and added some interest to the amount stating that she did this to make restitution. The woman acted correctly in that she demonstrated that her repentance was genuine and so she complied with the instruction of the Scripture regarding restitution. This instruction is given in Numbers 5:6–7:
6 “Say to the Israelites: ‘When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the LORD, that person is guilty 7 and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged.
The instruction of this passage indicates that there are some kinds of sins in which confession alone is not sufficient in repentance. Any sin that involves loss on the part of the person that the sin is directed, full repentance requires confession and restoration of the person wronged to the individual’s original state plus a twenty percent interest of what was deprived of the person. The example of the lady that I gave previously was one that complied to the instruction we have here in the passage in Numbers. In effect, any sin that results in cheating or depriving a person of his possession comes under the instruction we have. You see, to make restitution means to make payment to someone for a loss incurred for which one is responsible. This means that if you sinned either as an unbeliever or a believer in such a way that you robbed someone of the individual’s property or money then when the one who sinned in this way repents, the individual must not only confess the sin but must return to the victim what was robbed plus twenty percent interest of what was robbed. If it is a property, the repentant person should return it and then add a penalty of twenty percent on the current market value of the property returned. The principle involved in restitution is that the repentant person must compensate the one who suffered the loss in such a way that what is involved in the compensation far exceeds the original loss. In case of stealing of flock, the restitution is spelled out in details. On the one hand, if the stolen flock is slaughtered, then the restitution involves payment of four or five hundred percent of what was stolen, as stated in Exodus 22:1:
“If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.
On the other hand, if the livestock is still alive the restitution is two hundred percent of what was stolen, according to Exodus 22:4:
“If the stolen animal is found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double.
A question that may arise in the matter of restitution as part of repentance is what to do if the victim is no longer alive. The Scripture indicates that the restitution should be made to a living relative. If there is no living relative, then the person should give the money equivalent of what is lost to a local church in an offering. This answer is based on the instruction of the Lord to Israel in Numbers 5:8:
But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for him.
Restitution is important in repentance as we can note from the promise of Zacchaeus whom Jesus visited on His way to Jerusalem for the last time, as recorded in 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.”
Restitution by a repentant believer serves as a testimony to the victim regarding the power of God’s word in the life of a person. If a believer carries out restitution to an unbeliever, it will be a witness to that unbeliever that there is something powerful about faith in Christ as to cause the believer to risk being identified by the victim. The point is that restitution is an important element of repentance as well as a powerful witness to the victim of a sin that requires restitution.
Another fact that should be included in teaching regarding repentance is emphasis on the truth that works are not part of salvation. In other words, the truth that human’s goodness does not earn God’s salvation needs to be inculcated to a new convert at the beginning of the Christian life. We say this because of the phrase repentance from dead works used by the human author of Hebrews in Hebrews 6:1 when he mentioned the doctrine of repentance. The truth that human goodness does not earn God’s salvation was communicated by Apostle Paul to various Christians he taught through his epistles. For example, to the Philippians he did it by showing that he does not have any righteousness that comes from observance of the law, as we read in Philippians 3:9:
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
With the Galatians, he conveyed the same truth by teaching them that right standing with God or justification is not through the observance of the law in Galatians 2:16:
know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
The point is, regardless of a believer’s spiritual status, we need to be reminded that our salvation is not due to our good works but because of God’s grace.
In any case, a last fact that should be included as part of teaching on repentance is that repentance may not remove the effects of human sin. In effect, a believer should be taught that repentance in some situations would not keep a person from suffering the effects of sin already committed so that a believer should be careful about sin. A good illustration of this truth is David. He repented of his sins of murder and adultery, but his repentance did not remove the punishment due to his sins beginning with the death of the son of his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, as recorded in 2 Samuel 12:13–14:
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”
Anyway, we have considered a first teaching that would have been a part of the basic teaching of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians. We will continue with this subject in our next study but let me end by saying that repentance is important for forgiveness of sins and restoration to fellowship, as implied in the declaration of Apostle Peter in Acts 3:19:
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
08/17/18