Deeper Life #321

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: 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

ONE MUST BE VERY CAREFUL to place spiritual things in their right sequence and relationship. It is perilously easy, for instance, to suppose that restitution is a necessary work before salvation; but that is thoroughly unscriptural. Spiritual regeneration leads one to restitution.

It is possible to preach mistakenly a baptism of power and of the Holy Spirit which totally ignores Romans 12:1—namely, the presentation of the body to God. A person can obey such a statement only if he has first of all received the Holy Spirit and been born from above.

Restitution and cross-bearing for the Lord are possible only after the glorious transformation of spiritual quickening.

Prayer Thought: With Paul I rejoice that “I have been crucified with Christ,” and in Him I now live by faith.

SUGGESTED READING: Exodus 22:1–6