Not Penance

‘Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!’ Luke 19:8

Zacchaeus was appointed as tax collector over his fellow Jews because he was greedy. He was content to extort the people, settle his employers [the Romans] and keep the rest for himself. But Zacchaeus met with Jesus and accepted Jesus as the Lord of his life. Even when people hate you, Jesus doesn’t hate you. It is as though, Jesus loves the people everybody seems to hate. Thank God He still does. And Zacchaeus’ response to salvation was to give those he had cheated on their taxes ‘back four times as much’.  When you experience Jesus’ redeeming love, you are compelled as a response to restore what you have stolen. That action is called Restitution. Restitution is very different from penance. Penance demands that you have to pay God and man in order to obtain forgiveness. This is not scriptural. Penance is not restitution. Restitution is putting right the things that are wrong because you have been forgiven. Penance, on the other hand, dictates that you put them right so that you can be forgiven. Restitution is done because you have already experienced divine forgiveness. Big difference! Restitution, of course is not a requirement for salvation. Zacchaeus’ story is evidence that he had received God’s forgiveness before he decided to restitute. ‘Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham’ Luke19:9. Restitution is not penance, it is justice and it is the duty of every Christian because it is the right thing to do.  Restitution is a response to the grace of God. The grace that leaves us the way we are is not the grace of God. When you experience the grace of God, it changes your life forever. God loves us the way we are but He loves us too much to leave us the way we are’ Max Lucado. ‘For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age’ Titus 2:11-12.

Prayer: Lord, let Your grace teach me to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. To live a life of self-control, uprightness and godliness in my generation, in Jesus Name.