Sometimes the amount we owe others is beyond our means to repay. In this case we should ask their forgiveness and request them to allow us to repay either when we have sufficient means or in installments until they are fully paid.
The object of our restitution, of course, should be the owner himself. If the owner has passed away, if he has gone to an unknown place, or if there is no way to communicate with him and it seems impossible for us to see him again, we can repay the debt to his nearest relative. If we cannot locate his nearest relative, we should give it to God (Num. 5:7-8). Everything comes from God and belongs to God. God is the origin of everything and the ultimate end of everything. Therefore, we give God everything in the absence of the owner.
Practically speaking, when we give to God, we give to His representative on the earth. God’s representative on the earth today is first of all the church. We can, therefore, put the debt into the offering box of the church. God’s representative is secondly the poor. Proverbs 19:17 says, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto Jehovah.” All human needs on this earth are supplied by God; therefore, when we give money to the poor, it is the same as giving to God. If there is no church where we live and it is not convenient to send the amount to another church in a different locality, we can give what we owe to the poor. In conclusion, the owner is the first to be reimbursed. If the owner is not available, we may give the amount to his nearest relative. If there is not such a relative, we should give it to the church. If there is no church, we give it to the poor.
Anything we find that has been lost comes under the same principle. If we know the owner, we should return it to him. If we do not know the owner, we should dispose of it in a suitable manner or give it to the poor.
In conclusion, the purpose of our dealing with sin is that we might have a clean conscience, void of offense, and also that our will might be subdued. Whenever God enlightens us, we should be willing to deal with our sin, whatever it may be, not caring for our face or counting the loss. When we have reached such a stage, we can say that the purpose of God in having us deal with sins is accomplished. If at the time the environment does not permit, if we cannot possibly afford the financial burden, or if there is no value in dealing with the matter, we need not be too harsh on ourselves or adhere too much to the letter of the law. There is no harm if we do not deal with it. However, when we first begin to practice dealing with sins, it is better to be as thorough and severe as possible. Even if we overdo somewhat and afterward regain our balance, it is still well. This overdoing is also helpful in making our conscience clean and sensitive and our will subdued and tender.
If we have studied every point with regard to dealing with sins, we know that it is not an ordinance in the law, but a natural demand and urge of God’s life within us. If we live in fellowship and obey the feeling of this demand of life to deal with sins, our spiritual life and service will be strong and released, we shall constantly receive light to know spiritual things, and God’s life in us will be free and far-reaching in its growth. Conversely, if the spiritual condition is abnormal, light is absent, and the inner feeling is weak, miserable, and suppressed, whether it be in an individual saint or a corporate church, the reason is found largely in the lack of dealing with sins. This is a very accurate measurement.
Since dealing with sins has such a close relationship with our spiritual life, we should endeavor to experience this lesson continuously. Although this experience is not a deep one, yet no one can be so spiritual as to say that they have no need to deal with sins. It is difficult to graduate from this lesson. We should not only ask ourselves, therefore, if we have ever had these experiences, but we should also ask ourselves if we are now living in such an experience. We not only have to wash our face, but we need to wash it every day. If we washed our face three years ago and have not washed it since, it must be a dreadful looking face! In the same manner, unless we are free from committing sins every day, we need to deal with sins daily.
There was a young believer who came to inquire of a servant of God concerning how to grow in his spiritual life. The servant of God asked him: “How many days have gone by in which you have not dealt with sins?” How true it is that if we desire our spiritual life to grow, we need to deal with sins. The day that we do not deal with sins, our spiritual life does not grow. By dealing with sins daily, our spiritual life will grow daily. This is an ironclad principle. May God have mercy upon us so that we may continue to go forward.
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