Luke 19:7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He has gone in to lodge with a sinful man. (8) And Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, the half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore four times as much.
Zaccheus did not do this [verse 8 above] as a result of doctrinal teaching; he did this as a result of the working of the Holy Spirit. The principle in the book of Leviticus is to add one-fifth to the original amount. But if one is touched, he can pay as much as the Lord's Spirit directs him to pay. What is spoken of here is only a principle. It is the result of the leading of the Holy Spirit when He operates in man. At that time everyone was saying, "How could the Lord lodge in this sinner's home? He has extorted and defrauded many people!" They were all indignant. While they were saying this, Zaccheus stood up and said, "If I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore four times as much." This fourfold restoration was neither a requirement of becoming a son of Abraham nor a requirement for God's salvation coming to Zaccheus's house. This fourfold restoration was the result of God's salvation coming to Zaccheus's house and of his becoming a son of Abraham. Due to this act of restoration, Zaccheus had a testimony before man. This was the basis of his testimony. Suppose that before you became a believer, you had extorted or defrauded others, stolen from them, or obtained things by improper means. Now that the Lord is working within, you have to deal with these things in a proper manner. This has nothing to do with the forgiveness you received from the Lord, but it is very much related to your testimony.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, Messages for Building Up New Believers, pp. 38-39. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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