In another article in this issue of “The Christian,” we have seen the importance that the Word of God attaches to restitution manward, in our responsibilities towards one another. We also know that man, as the head of God’s creation, has a spirit that enables him to recognize who God is, and it also enables him to communicate with God. Man is thus responsible to God for his conduct, as well as to his fellow man. When a sin is committed against one’s fellow man, it is also a sin against God, who created man in His own image and likeness. However, there are sins against God that have nothing to do with our fellow man.
Sin Against God
A sin against God was more serious than a sin against man, and in the Old Testament, restitution had to be made by sacrifice, which prefigured the work of Christ. In the sin offering, detailed for us in Leviticus 4, sins of ignorance are taken up. Four different sin offerings are mentioned, and we notice that a greater sacrifice was required for a priest or for the whole congregation than for an individual. Also, a ruler had to offer a greater sacrifice than one of the common people, showing that God recognized greater responsibility in some than in others. God takes into account our degree of knowledge and understanding.
It should touch our hearts to realize that in the sight of God, only a sacrifice could make restitution for sin. Before our Lord Jesus Christ went to Calvary’s cross and finished the work of redemption, God accepted an animal sacrifice that looked on to the death of Christ. However, even the death of an animal was a solemn indication of the seriousness of sin in God’s sight.
In the sin offering, it is more the actual iniquity before God that is in question, while in the trespass offering, the emphasis is more on the actual injury done. Once again, even if the individual was ignorant of his sin, he was still considered guilty. He had disobeyed a definite command of the Lord. It is very significant that if a man sinned in the holy things of the Lord (Lev. 5:14-1614And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 15If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the Lord; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering: 16And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. (Leviticus 5:14‑16)) or sinned against his neighbor (which was also a trespass against the Lord; Lev. 6:1-71And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbor; 3Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. 6And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: 7And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein. (Leviticus 6:1‑7)), he must not only bring as a sacrifice a ram without blemish, but also add the “fifth part” to whatever he was required to restore. The ram would speak of consecration — that consecration of our blessed Savior to complete the work that the Father had given Him to do, whatever the cost. He was totally separated to God, and He could say, “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God” (Heb. 10:77Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. (Hebrews 10:7)).
The Fifth Part Added
Adding the “fifth part” to what the individual was required to restore is also a most precious type of what the work of Christ has done for us and for God’s glory. Had sin never entered this world, we would still be able to enjoy the Garden of Eden. But the work of Christ has done far more than restore that which was taken away by sin. Our Lord Jesus Christ could say prophetically, “Then I restored that which I took not away” (Psa. 69:44They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. (Psalm 69:4)). God has been far more glorified and we have been far more blessed than if sin had never entered this world. The work of Christ has brought us into a nearer relationship with God than ever could have been known before sin entered this world. A hymn expresses it well:
Though our nature’s fall in Adam
Seemed to shut us out from God,
Thus it was His counsel brought us
Nearer still, through Jesus’ blood.
We see then that restitution towards God could not be made by man’s own efforts. He might satisfy his fellow man by natural means, but God Himself does not need anything man can offer Him. Cain thought he could bring the fruit of a cursed earth to God, but God had to reject that sacrifice. Down through the ages, many have thought that they could bring their own good works to God, but none of these can put away sin. The Apostle Paul could remind the Athenians that God is not “worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:2525Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; (Acts 17:25)). Even in the matter of sacrifice, David recognized that God’s requirements for restitution went far beyond the offering of an animal. He could say, “Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise” (Psa. 51:16-1716For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalm 51:16‑17)). David recognized that while sacrifices were good in the sight of God, because they spoke of the sacrifice of Christ, yet repentance and confession must accompany them. The mere offering of a sacrifice was not enough; there had to be the full acknowledgement of the seriousness of sin before God and that man’s own efforts could not remove the guilt.
Full Restitution
How thankful we should be that full restitution to God has been made for sin and that the mighty work done by our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross has not only put away our sins, but provided the basis by which God can bring us into even greater blessing than was possible before sin entered this world. God looks for repentance and humility on our part, but when that takes place, we recognize that only the work of Christ can satisfy the requirements of a holy God and provide restitution for the injury and insult to God that has been done by sin.
However, there are sacrifices that we can make today, not in the way of restitution towards God, but rather as an indication of our appreciation for what Christ has done for us. First of all, we have the privilege of offering “the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Heb. 13:1515By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)). In addition, our gratitude should overflow to others, for we are also told “to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Heb. 13:1616But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. (Hebrews 13:16)). Finally, our whole life should be one of sacrifice, not a dead sacrifice, as Israel offered, but rather a living sacrifice. After having given a full and glowing description of the work of Christ and all that it means for believers, Paul appeals to those in Rome: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassion of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service” (Rom. 12:1 JnD). We can never make restitution to God for what Christ has done for us, but He values those sacrifices that flow from a heart full of gratitude for all that His love and grace has done for us.
W. J. Prost