Repentance, Part 5

Fifth, repentance evidences itself when a person wants to make things right. In Luke 19:1‑10 we read the story of the man by the name of Zacchaeus who repented. What evidence does he give to God? He told Him, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.‘ (Luke 19:8)

Zacchaeus not only said, ‘I am sorry’ to those he had wronged, but he paid them back four times more than he had stolen from them. Imagine that for a moment. Maybe one of our problems in Australia is that the brand of Christianity we have is too easy. We think, ‘I’ll just say I’m sorry, and it will be okay.’ But when people get saved they want to make things right. They have a longing in their hearts to make amends for their past wrongs.