Good Morning,<\/p>\n
I was a big sinner in the past. I’ve asked God for forgiveness. I would like to be pure, holy, and ready for when He comes. But I still feel guilty about all the things I’ve stolen. There was a time in my life when I stole many things from people and shops. I don’t steal anymore and will never steal again, but what do I do with the things I’ve stolen? It’s all household items, and I’ve taken them a long time ago. It’s almost impossible to return it to the people and shops that I took it from. Does God want me to get rid of it? I don’t want anything in my house to be unholy. But I don’t know what to do – for example, the kettle in my kitchen is about two years old and I’ve stolen that from a shop. I can’t return it – should I throw it away or give it away? I really don’t know what to do. The only thing that is important to me is God’s forgiveness. Please help me with this. I can’t talk to anyone else about it as nobody knows that I did this evil. I never hurt somebody else in the process, nobody ever knew, but I know I hurt God and I am so sorry for that.<\/p>\n
Hope to hear from you soon.<\/p>\n\t
When Zacchaeus repented of his sins, he made this statement: “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” (Luke 19:8). Zacchaeus did not want to have profited from his sins. Those he may be made aware of sinning against, he offered to repay four times. The Old Law required returning the stolen goods plus 20% (Numbers 5:6-7), so Zacchaeus is demonstrating his commitment to do what is right.<\/p>\n
In the same way, if you wish to show your change, give your stolen goods away to charity and to those in need. If someone does accuse you in the future of stealing in the past, be courageous to admit it, and offer to pay for the item more than what it is worth. Yes, this may leave you financially strapped for a while, but get busy earning money so you can replace those things. “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>” (Ephesians 4:28).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Good Morning, I was a big sinner in the past. I’ve asked God for forgiveness. I would like to be pure, holy, and ready for when He comes. But I still feel guilty about all the things I’ve stolen. There was a time in my life when I stole many things from people and…<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[50,526],"class_list":["post-45531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-repentance","tag-stealing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37848,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-make-restitution-when-i-no-longer-know-how-much-i-stole\/","url_meta":{"origin":45531,"position":0},"title":"How do I make restitution when I no longer know how much I stole?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"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\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":27360,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-confess-every-sin-i-committed\/","url_meta":{"origin":45531,"position":1},"title":"Do I need to confess every sin I committed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am having trouble with understanding repentance and forgiveness.\u00a0 I have strayed away from God for a couple of years now.\u00a0 I want to be back in good standing with the Lord.\u00a0 However, I have committed many, many sins.\u00a0 As I understand it, I cannot be forgiven unless I\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":52926,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-happens-when-you-steal-from-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":45531,"position":2},"title":"What happens when you steal from God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What happens when you steal from God?\u00a0I have stolen from the church but have asked for forgiveness from God.\u00a0I don't have any source of income to return the money so what should I do now? Answer: What I noticed is that you did not tell the leadership at the\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":47492,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-repent-for-buying-stolen-items\/","url_meta":{"origin":45531,"position":3},"title":"How do I repent for buying stolen items?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A few years ago, I bought stolen items from a friend's friend. It was a mystery box containing a few items from a convention. I don't know which convention. My friend's friend wanted to sell me the mystery box with the items for 10 dollars, which I agreed to.\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":45531,"position":4},"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. 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