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Abundant Life in the Son: A Study of Salvation

Lord Jesus as our Savior without involving our intellect, emotions, and
will, which include every aspect of life: our affections, desires, and
intentions. We must totally surrender to the lordship of Christ with a
heartfelt acceptance of His yoke.

The Relationship of Repentance to Restitution

Luke notes that John the Baptist preached the good news to the
people and urged them to change their ways (Luke 3:3–18). He urged
them to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (v. 8). Here John
was asking for evidence which could prove that their repentance was
genuine. Paying back what we have wrongfully taken or making right a
wrong we have done is called restitution.

Restitution is a principle that is introduced in the Old Testament Law
(Exodus 22:1; Leviticus 6:5; Numbers 5:6–7). Although the custom of
making restitution for the wrong we have done is biblical and time-
honored, it does not save a person by itself.

Making restitution gives visible evidence—tangible proof—that a
person has decided to turn from sin to Christ. It reinforces our testimony
that we are following a new Master. Although making restitution does not
save, it is a healthy indication that one has experienced God’s saving grace.

New Testament Emphasis
A Continuous Message

According to Scripture, repentance is the first step in one’s return to
God (Ezekiel 14:6; 18:30; Malachi 3:7; Luke 13:3, 5). Without repentance,
no one can be saved. Thus the plea to repent is primary in God’s call to
people in both the Old and New Testaments. The compelling and urgent
plea of Old Testament prophets, ending with Malachi, was revived
in the powerful message of repentance preached by John the Baptist
(Matthew 3:2, 8, 11; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3, 8).

In the New Testament we see a definite development in the use of
the word repentance. In the New Testament alone, the words repent
and repentance occur 64 times. From a desert of Judea, John the Baptist
sounded the warning to the Jewish people that they should repent in view

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