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Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
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Proverbs 14:9
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| 5:9 |
Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance. (ESV)
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12Step.org Comments:
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Sometimes people question whether it is important to make amends or not. This proverb, however, tells us that it is a fool who would mock making an offer for guilt. In the context of the Proverbs of the Old Testament, perhaps the writer is thinking about the guilt offerings that were ordained in the book of Leviticus. In the context of the New Testament, the underlying truth still remains that offerings (or amends) for the guilt of the past can be appropriate. It is the fool who would say otherwise. The latter half of the verse also reflects the experience of many who work a 12 step program in that after making amends they often find an acceptance from others and themselves that brings joy to their lives.
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Matthew 5:9
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| 5:9 |
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
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12Step.org Comments:
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Jesus is telling us that when we are makers of peace, that we become truly children of God.The eighth and ninth steps are about
making peace with those whom we have wronged, as much as is within us to do. The usual practice is to sweep wrongs of the past
under the rug and try to forget about them. But by making appropriate amends, we are able to go the second mile and oftentimes
bring peace and goodness where there might have been lingering doubts or mistrust or confusion before. We can become peacemakers
who are blessed as children of God.
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Matthew 5:23-24
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| 5:23 |
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
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| 5:24 |
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
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12Step.org Comments:
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We are told in clear terms here that we are to be reconciled with our brother if they have things against us. This means not
only are we to be diligent in trying to make things right when there is resentment against us, but it also implies that we
should be sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others so that we can know if there is any lingering resentment or
anger toward us. There could also be an implication that since they are a brother or sister in the Lord, then they will
be reasonable and sensitive to God's leading so that when we sincerely try to be reconciled, that there will be
true reconciliation.
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Matthew 5:25-26
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| 5:25 |
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the
judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
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| 5:26 |
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
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12Step.org Comments:
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This may be the corollary of the previous two verses for how to deal with the resentment of others, but this time
they are for our adversaries, those who are truly set against us and may not be in the family of God. Here we are
to be very careful to not offend if possible, knowing that the consequences could be severe. And by agreeing that
we have done wrong, that we were remiss or negligent in our dealings with them, can often be all that it takes to
make their anger and resentment subside to something that is manageable.
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Acts 9:10-31
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| 9:10 |
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said,
Behold, I am here, Lord.
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| 9:11 |
And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for
one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
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| 9:12 |
And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
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| 9:13 |
Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
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| 9:14 |
And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
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| 9:15 |
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles,
and kings, and the children of Israel:
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| 9:16 |
For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
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| 9:17 |
And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord,
even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight,
and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
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| 9:18 |
And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
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| 9:19 |
And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
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| 9:20 |
And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
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| 9:21 |
But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem,
and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
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| 9:22 |
But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
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| 9:23 |
And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
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| 9:24 |
But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
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| 9:25 |
Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.
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| 9:26 |
And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.
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| 9:27 |
But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him,
and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
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| 9:28 |
And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.
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| 9:29 |
And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.
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| 9:30 |
Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
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| 9:31 |
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord,
and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
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12Step.org Comments:
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In these verses we see part of a story of repentance and making amends. The story actually begins in the Acts 7 and 8. Saul is there shown
to be consenting to the death of the first Christian martyr Stephen, and he then begins taking believers in Christ and putting them in prison.
Then the Lord appears to Saul on the road to Damascus and Saul becomes a convert to Christ. In this passage in Acts 9, we see that some time
after this conversion, Saul returns to Jerusalem and begins to preach the good news of Christ, endangering his own life that he might share the
news of Christ's salvation with others. In today's language, we might call Saul a "religious addict". He was so enamored of his religion and
the power that it gave him that he abused people with it. This may or may not have been our addiction. In this case it took a miraculous vision
by God's grace to bring Saul to the truth. If we have come to Christ, then we also have experienced in some way the grace of God. In Saul's case,
he went back and told others basically how wrong he had been and how right the followers of Christ had been. In one sense, these amends went
on throughout the rest of his life so that in the letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul (as Saul was then named) wrote about how God had been
merciful to him because he had been a blasphemer and persecutor in ignorance and unbelief (1 Tim. 1:13). So also we have probably done many
things in ignorance and unbelief. But now as a believer in Christ, we can live in truth and righteousness, making right any wrongs we have
done and telling others of the truth that we know.
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