I led a sinful life before I became a Christian.\u00a0 I’d like to ask you a question about restitution. I was a thief.\u00a0 I shoplifted and stole from other people.\u00a0 Now, Zacchaeus tried to restore the money to those he’d stolen from.\u00a0 But is it a command to do so?<\/p>\n
For instance, before I became a Christian I stole from places like Walmart and Dollar General.\u00a0 Do I\u00a0 now need to write these companies a check and put it in the mail?\u00a0 I’d like to make some restitution for what I’ve done, but I have no clue how much I’ve stolen.\u00a0 I wouldn’t know what amount to send. Plus I may go broke if I try to do this.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, I believe God forgave me of these sins when I was baptized.\u00a0 So should I just put this in the past?\u00a0 I think of this verse when my situation comes to mind, but I’d like your input.\u00a0 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need<\/em>”\u00a0(Ephesians 4:28).<\/p>\n I have thought about this before. In fact, I’ve made restitution for many other deeds that I’ve done in the past.\u00a0 But I’m just wondering what step I should take with this situation.\u00a0 Thanks for all the help.<\/p>\n\t Since you no longer know what you stole or how much, you are much like Zacchaeus who did not know how much he has overcharged people in taxes. Zacchaeus found a general way to pay back what he may have stolen. “Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold<\/em>” (Luke 19:8). I would suggest a similar thing. Find out what charities these companies support and volunteer some time at a few of them to give back. Sometimes these companies sponsor drives for charities, so give to the drives so the companies get the credit.<\/p>\n Restitution is not required, but what God does require is a radical change in behavior. “For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter<\/em>” (II Corinthians 7:11). Giving back in some manner is a part of clearing yourself.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I led a sinful life before I became a Christian.\u00a0 I’d like to ask you a question about restitution. I was a thief.\u00a0 I shoplifted and stole from other people.\u00a0 Now, Zacchaeus tried to restore the money to those he’d stolen from.\u00a0 But is it a command to do so? For instance, before I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[50,600,526],"class_list":["post-37848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-repentance","tag-restitution","tag-stealing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":91504,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-restoring-what-i-took-do-i-need-to-mention-my-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":37848,"position":0},"title":"When restoring what I took, do I need to mention my name?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi! First, thank you so much for the questions and answers you provide. I find the information super helpful. I've had a chance to review questions similar to mine, but I would like to ask a few specifics. The overall theme of my question concerns repentance and restitution. For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43641,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-restitution-necessary-for-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":37848,"position":1},"title":"Is restitution necessary for salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am writing to you asking for your guidance. I am a believer of Christ, but am in a dark spiritual place. I do not understand the biblical concept or requirements of restitution fully. Clearly, Zacchaeus made restitution for the sins he committed and was saved. But is restitution\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9165,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-have-to-make-restitution\/","url_meta":{"origin":37848,"position":2},"title":"Do I have to make restitution?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 31, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin if you don't pay back what you've stolen? Like I used to copy movies and, well, that's stealing, but I don't feel like paying back what I copied. Isn't that why Jesus dies for our sins? Answer: Repentance from sin means making a complete turn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67258,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-repent-of-stealing-from-my-neighbors\/","url_meta":{"origin":37848,"position":3},"title":"How do I repent of stealing from my neighbors?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have sinned for many years. I recently gave my life to Christ. I repented to the Lord of all my sins. I am devoting the rest of my existence to serving the Lord Jesus Christ. One of my biggest sins was being a thief for many years.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40815,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-is-restitution-required\/","url_meta":{"origin":37848,"position":4},"title":"When is restitution required?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm aware that I am very scrupulous. I've become very very numb to God because on one end I'm entirely too obsessive and want to be perfect. Then on the other end, I become numb to avoid trying to gain perfection. I've quit jobs due to my religious anxiety\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91781,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-restitution-require-on-past-taxes\/","url_meta":{"origin":37848,"position":5},"title":"Is restitution require on past taxes?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I hope you're having a blessed day! I need some advice, if you please. In the past, my sister has committed past dishonesty in her tax forms, and I was wondering if restitution is required? Should she have to make things right by admitting to it and repaying\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Answer:<\/h2>\n