RESTITUTION: EVIDENCE OF SALVATION II – Monday September 18th 2017
Memorise:
Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high prisest: for
it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
Act 23:5
23:1 And
Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have
lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
23:3 Then
said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest
thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten
contrary to the law?
23:4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?
23:5 Then
said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is
written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
MESSAGE:
A
sign that confirms whether or not you have experienced genuine
salvation is your willingness to make restitution with your fellow men.
When you are genuinely saved, the Spirit of Jesus Christ in you will
motivate you to right your wrongs and undo your evil deeds. An elderly
judge once attended one of our meetings at the Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja
(Lagos), and he gave his life to Christ. On his way home after the
programme, he just could not contain himself. There was a person he
quarrelled with several years before, and he had a burning urge to
resolve the dispute; so right from the venue of our programme, he went
straight to the house of the person in order to settle the matter. Did
you say you are saved, but you still hold grudges, have bitterness and
manifest an unforgiving spirit? Please examine yourself to be sure you
are truly in Christ.
Similarly,
there was a particular king in Ogun State, Nigeria. For several months,
I went to preach to him and he would tell me “Before your mother
married your father, I have been going to church.” He would show me a
Bible that Queen Victoria gave to his grandfather. Repeatedly, I said to
him, “Your royal highness, that is not what I am talking about. I am
asking you to repent of your sins and surrender your life to Jesus
Christ.” Then one day, he yielded and gave his life to Jesus. By that
time, he had not seen his wife for years, due to a disagreement they
had. Within days of giving his life to Christ, he promptly contacted
her, and they resolved their differences. You cannot be genuinely saved
and refuse to restitute.
In
what areas would you need to make restitution today? If you stole
anything from anybody, return it or pay for its replacement if it’s
lost. If you bore false witness against somebody, go and uncover the
truth. Have you fraudulently acquired your academic certificate? Go and
restitute. If you have stolen another person’s passport and impersonated
the fellow, using the passport to move around, go and restitute. Are
you a second or third wife to a man, or have you as a man married two or
more wives? You are living in adultery. Make restitution! Have you
received payment for a contract which you did not execute? Go and return
the money! Have you been falsifying records and stealing money through
that? Go and restitute. If you have tough cases, seek counselling from a
pastor in a true Bible-believing church. Also, ask God to help you. If
you really want to obey God, He will definitely make a way for you.
Key Point
Salvation straightens your crooked paths with God, while restitution strengthens your crooked paths with men.
Open
Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye,
the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the
largest evangelical Church in the world and also the President of
Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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