Righting wrongs

[Jennifer Harvey]

I was wondering according to these two scriptures if God wants us to fix the things we have done wrong in the past?

Ephesians 4:28
King James Version​

28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

• Acts 24:16 KJV: And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians 4&version=KJV

 

[Aussie Pete]

I was wondering according to these two scriptures if God wants us to fix the things we have done wrong in the past?

Ephesians 4:28​

King James Version​

28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

• Acts 24:16 KJV: And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians 4&version=KJV

If it is possible, it is right and good to make restitution for a wrong. Did we break something that did not belong to us? Fix or replace it. Did we steal something before we were saved? Give it back or repay the value. Did we lie about something? Tell the truth, even if it hurts. We need wisdom and discernment. Decades ago, my now wife stole money from the till where she worked. After she was saved, she went back to the former workplace, confessed and repaid. It was a great testimony.

Zaccheus is a perfect example. He met Jesus and was immediately convicted. His response showed that he was genuine.

 

[Joy]

MOD HAT ON

This Thread has Moved

From Ethics & Morality

To General Theology

MOD HAT OFF​

 

[bling]

I was wondering according to these two scriptures if God wants us to fix the things we have done wrong in the past?

Ephesians 4:28​

King James Version​

28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

• Acts 24:16 KJV: And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians 4&version=KJV

This is the passage I use to show you do not have go back and try to correct and/or compensate for all your past sins.

 

[linux.poet]

I'm not sure you can make a case for fixing wrongs from Ephesians 4:28. That particular verse seems to be about refraining from a bad action (stealing) and replacing it with a good action (working with your hands). Stealing is a high-intensity sport, so in order to break the adrenaline rush addiction, you need a distraction for when the urge comes. Hard work and generosity are the recommended distractions.

Acts 24:16, however, can be used to make this case. While not all wrongs can be righted, those that can should be righted as much as possible. For the righting of financial misdeeds, I would point to the example of Zacchaeus rather than Ephesians 4:28. While financial restitution is in fact a Biblical idea, that is not what Ephesians 4:28 is about.

Meanwhile, Matthew 5:23-26 makes a better case for righting wrongs:

23 Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your [p]offering. 25 Come to good terms with your accuser quickly, while you are with him on the way to court, so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will not be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last quadrans.

 

[Jipsah]

I was wondering according to these two scriptures if God wants us to fix the things we have done wrong in the past?

Couldn't hurt.

 

[Jennifer Harvey]

So when Paul told theses that stole to steal no more but instead work with their hands....were they required to go back and right their wrong?

 

[bling]

So when Paul told theses that stole to steal no more but instead work with their hands....were they required to go back and right their wrong?

Not "required", you cannot "right" every wrong.

 

[bbbbbbb]

Righting wrongs can be exceedingly messy. A classic example would be polygamy. When a polygamist becomes a Christian should be divorce all but one of his wives (and which wife should he keep?) and disown the children begotten by those wives?

Another scenario would be slavery. If Philemon was a true Christian why did he own slaves? Why did Paul not command him to free Onesimus from slavery, not to mention any other slaves he owned?

 

[bling]

Righting wrongs can be exceedingly messy. A classic example would be polygamy. When a polygamist becomes a Christian should be divorce all but one of his wives (and which wife should he keep?) and disown the children begotten by those wives?

Another scenario would be slavery. If Philemon was a true Christian why did he own slaves? Why did Paul not command him to free Onesimus from slavery, not to mention any other slaves he owned?

What should paul have done about all the Christians he killed, tortured and imprisoned?

 

[bbbbbbb]

What should paul have done about all the Christians he killed, tortured and imprisoned?

That is a really thorny question. We don't see that he did anything directly other than to cease his persecution and to promote the gospel.

 

[Aussie Pete]

Righting wrongs can be exceedingly messy. A classic example would be polygamy. When a polygamist becomes a Christian should be divorce all but one of his wives (and which wife should he keep?) and disown the children begotten by those wives?

Another scenario would be slavery. If Philemon was a true Christian why did he own slaves? Why did Paul not command him to free Onesimus from slavery, not to mention any other slaves he owned?

Polygamy in Paul's time was not illegal. However, it did disqualify a man from eldership. So no, there is no issue to address. Slave ownership was not illegal either. If a man owned slaves when he got saved, he could choose to keep them or set them free. Paul could advise and suggest, but not command. Some slaves preferred to remain members of a household (the concept of bondslave). Slaves were also usually released at around 40 years old anyway. They were not as physically able to do hard work as they could when younger. It is not safe to judge a society by the morality of our own generation.

 

[bbbbbbb]

Polygamy in Paul's time was not illegal. However, it did disqualify a man from eldership. So no, there is no issue to address. Slave ownership was not illegal either. If a man owned slaves when he got saved, he could choose to keep them or set them free. Paul could advise and suggest, but not command. Some slaves preferred to remain members of a household (the concept of bondslave). Slaves were also usually released at around 40 years old anyway. They were not as physically able to do hard work as they could when younger. It is not safe to judge a society by the morality of our own generation.

I agree. One of the problems in Christianity which is, at best, feebly understood, is the enormous influence of the larger culture on the beliefs deemed to be foundational to the church. I raised the polygamy and slavery issues which, for typical Christians today are bedrock beliefs which cannot be countenanced in Christianity. The United States fought a religious Civil War over the issue of slavery.

Sexuality, in line with modern culture, has risen to a prominent position within Christianity. Curiously, where once divorce and remarriage constituted major sins which even led to the king of Great Britain having to forfeit his throne, today they are considered to be quite normal practices which hardly elicit the slightest tsk tsk.