Restitution 1

Those who came up with the
doctrine of restitution that
included
a man who was married to
more than one wife putting
away the other wives and her
children are wicked and the
truth of the word of God
is not in them. Nowhere
was such a practice mentioned
in the Bible, either in the
old or new testaments.

Polygamy was not an issue
under Judaism and it is surely
not an issue under Christianity.
There was nowhere Jesus said
“If you believe in me and
have two wives you will not
make heaven”. He said
“There is no marriage in heaven!"
Which means whether you marry
one or marry 50, it ends here.
Remember the woman by the well,
the one that has been with
six men? Do you notice that
Jesus avoided dwelling on the
issue of her “marital status”
but spoke to her about the
salvation of her soul?

Did you notice Jesus didn’t say
“Leave the man you’re with
now because when you left
your first husband you became
a serial adulteress and without
leaving the current man you
cannot be saved”
A lot of Jews who became
believers in the early church
had more than one wife.
They were not made church leaders,
they didn’t become pastors,
evangelists, bishops, or teachers
but they were not useless in the
house of God.
They were lay leaders, men and
women of influence within the church
who helped guide and shape the
church throughout history.

Apostle Paul addressed the issue of
marital relationships in the book
of Romans, notice how he omitted
polygamy while mentioning other
practices that Rome was notorious for
in his day which he condemned
in strong terms.
Look at 1 Corinthians 7:17
"Nevertheless, each person should live
as a believer in whatever situation
the Lord has assigned to them,
just as God has called them.
This is the rule I lay down
in all the churches.
18 Was a man already circumcised
when he was called? He should not
become uncircumcised.
Was a man uncircumcised when he
was called?
He should not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing and
uncircumcision is nothing.
Keeping God’s commands is what
counts.
20 Each person should remain in
the situation they were in when God
called them.
21 Were you a slave when you
were called? Don’t let it trouble
you—although if you can gain
your freedom, do so.
22 For the one who was a
slave when called to faith in
the Lord is the Lord’s freed
person; similarly, the one who was
free when called is Christ’s slave.
23 You were bought at a price;
do not become slaves of human beings.
24 Brothers and sisters, each person,
as responsible to God, should remain
in the situation they were in when
God called them.”

He said to remain as you were!
Does this then mean that if
you were single before you met
the Lord you should remain single
forever? Of course not ?
At the same time, it doesn’t
mean If you have had many
wives before meeting the Lord
you should throw the other wives
away and claim they were a mistake.

A young lady I met while
I was in the University was
the daughter of the second wife
of a non-Christian. This man
became a believer and the church
prevailed on him to let go
of all his other wives
He did so.

His second wife, a nurse, died
of heartbreak and loneliness at
the age of 51. We were in
school when the news of her
death was broken, this young lady
(a believer in my fellowship) at
the time had to be told.
I had to follow her back home
for the burial with some other
leaders of the fellowship.
The late woman’s friends and
relatives talked about how frail,
gaunt and sad she grew towards
the time of her death. She
felt that by being a second
wife she was the devil and
a sinner. She believed this was
why the church told her husband
to put her away and stay
with the first wife. She had
been in another religion all her
life and didn’t know why she
was the “problem” all of a sudden.
Her children, two boys and this
lady from my school didn’t get
it too.

Why were they suddenly fatherless?
What sort of God would instruct a
man to abandon his own wife and
children in order to make heaven?
Was salvation for the polygamous
different from the salvation the
monogamous enjoy so freely?

The white missionaries made a lot
of adjustments to the gospel.
Some of these adjustments were
inspired by selfishness, greed, their
worldview, and their superiority
complex!
Imagine that they justified slavery
and told their congregation that the
slave is nothing better than a domestic
animal that must be put under
subjection by instilling fear in them!
Fear can be instilled both psychologically,
religiously, and physically. 
It was an onslaught that the nations 
they sought to dominate had to bear on every
side. Now someone will come claiming 
Jesus condemned polygamy.

I agree that marriage should be
sacred and a man in Christ
should live an exemplary life
as an example to others.
I also insist that Christianity
is not adopting a white man’s
cultural beliefs but faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ as Lord
and savior.
We preach Christ and Christ only!

Acts 28:31
Preaching the kingdom of God, and
teaching those things which concern
the Lord Jesus Christ, with all
confidence, no man forbidding him.
This is the gospel.
Doctrines have changed over the ages
but Jesus Christ has remained the
same yesterday, today, and forever.
This is our message.

Two years ago, I met with
a new convert at Ebutte Meta
in Lagos. He had four wives
and had met with the Holy Spirit
in a hotel room while meeting
with one of his concubines.
He became a Christian and
proceeded to preach the gospel
to his wives and children by
himself until the household
became believers.

Then he joined a church and
they told him about “restitution”.
This church’s founder had many wives
and after becoming a pastor did
restitution.
This then became a standard in the
church.
This man didn’t know why
he had to break his family to
please God. It really shook his faith.
His first daughter, a law student
in the UK reached out to me.
I went to see him and
we studied the Bible together for
weeks. I asked him when we
were done if the Holy Spirit told
him to let go of his other
wives and children. He said
“No, it would be a betrayal of
the grace of God upon his life”.
It would mean he was trying
to attain salvation through works and
self-righteousness but at the detriment
of his other wives and children
who would feel rejected and unloved
by his actions. I told him
to follow his convictions and stay
with his family.

There is no other condition by
which we must be saved except
our faith in the Son of God.
It is better to keep the family
together in the love of God
than to break it in the name
of church doctrine.
Yes, he will not become
a pastor but to his household,
he will remain a priest and a
blessing!”

PS: This is not an endorsement
of polygamy in any way, it is
written to address a flaw in a
doctrine that does not represent
Christ or the reality of the gospel.

-GSW-