Confessing, Repenting, and Making Restitution for Our Sins

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We are to confess and repent of our sins, and make restitution where possible and appropriate.

Category: Godliness, Holiness & Righteousness

Type: Positive

Form: Explicit

Source dataset: Old Testament

Uniqueness: Unique

Classical commandment: Yes

New Covenant Literal Application

Applies to Person Categories: Everyone

Literal Application: mandated

More explanation about New Covenant Literal Application

The New Covenant Literal Application Code (NCLA) is an interpretive guide used by the authors to indicate which person categories a mitzvah applies to, and at what level of literal compliance.

It combines person categories such as Jewish, K'rov Yisrael, and Gentile, together with male/female distinctions and an application level such as mandated, recommended, optional, or prohibited.

This code reflects the authors' interpretive opinion and is provided for prayerful consideration. On this page, the technical code is summarized into plain language to help new readers understand it more easily.

Read the full explanation from the source

Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

Acts 3:19
Acts 17:30

Key OT Scriptures

Leviticus 4:27-29
Leviticus 16:29-31
Leviticus 23:27-29
Leviticus 26:40
Numbers 5:6-8

Supportive NT Scriptures

Acts 2:38
2 Corinthians 7:9-10
James 5:16
1 John 1:9
Luke 13:3
Matthew 4:17
Matthew 5:23-24
2 Peter 3:9
Romans 2:5

Supportive OT Scriptures

2 Chronicles 7:14
Deuteronomy 4:29-31
Exodus 22:1-14
Ezekiel 18:21-23
Isaiah 55:7
Leviticus 5:5
Leviticus 6:2-6
Leviticus 16:11-22
Proverbs 28:13
Psalms 32:1-5

Bible verses copyright: PUBLIC DOMAIN except in the United Kingdom, where a Crown Copyright applies to printing the KJV. See http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent

Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

It is the general rule that we are to confess our sins, repent, and make restitution. Confession is always to God but, according to James 5:16 , we are also to confess our sins to one another. Confession alone is not adequate, however, and we are commanded to repent as well. Repentance involves regretting that we sinned, and soberly determining to not repeat the sin. A common definition of repentance is "turning away from sin and turning toward God." Not all sins are of the kind that the making of restitution is wise, reasonable, or even possible. For that reason, we must rely on the Ru'ach Hakodesh to know if, when, and how repentance should be made. Regret and repentance, on the other hand, should always occur immediately upon realizing that we have sinned. Matthew 5:23-24 requires that when we sin against a brother we are to go to him, confess, repent, and attempt to reconcile. Even if we do not think we have sinned but our brother does, we should go to him and try to reconcile. Although Scripture is not explicit on this point, it would seem that we should do so even if the one we sinned against is not a brother, but an unbeliever. When that is not possible or appropriate, Scripture still requires that we confess our sins to God and to one another, meaning to mature brothers and sisters in the faith who will hear us.

Rabbi Daniel Juster

Laws of restitution such as referred to in these passages were intended to guide the civil courts in ancient Israel. As such, the idea of paying damages beyond just restoring what was stolen has become part of most Western law systems; the civil laws in the Bible greatly influenced the legal systems of the west. On a personal level, the person who repents should restore what can be restored and, beyond that, should restore even more as the biblical texts suggest. This is so that the pain of the violation is felt by the one who has sinned, and is mitigated somewhat by the one who has been sinned against. The amounts of restitution specified in the Scriptures can guide personal acts of restitution as well as those of the civil courts. When personal restitution takes place, court actions can be avoided, keeping in mind that 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 prohibits a believer from suing a fellow believer in a secular court.

Classical commentators

Maimonides, Meir, and HaChinuch state that we are to confess our sins and repent, but they do not indicate to whom the confession should be given. Maimonides specifically requires that the confession must be given orally. The others do not specifically say that, but imply it through their use of the word "say" (translated of course). All three commentators reference the fast of repentance on Yom Kippur . Maimonides and HaChinuch reference the commandment in Leviticus 4:27-29 to make a sin offering after one sins, while Meir is silent on the matter.

Drawings

Artist: Jenske Visser

Classical sources

Maimonides

Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 12th century) organized all 613 Torah commandments into a structured list. These linked items show where this Law of Messiah commandment overlaps with that classical framework.

Meir of Rothenburg

Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (13th century, Germany) was a leading Talmudic authority. These reference numbers link this commandment to his halachic rulings.

MP32, MP33

Source and License

Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

Volume 1 & 2 | Volume 3

License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution required, NoDerivatives). CC BY-ND 4.0

Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.

Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2

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