Ken Sande · The Peacemaker (3rd ed.)

Appendix C & D

Making Things Right — & Knowing When to Go to Court

Alternative Dispute Resolution · Christian Mediation

An interactive walk through Appendix C, “Principles of Restitution,” & Appendix D, “When Is It Right to Go to Court?”

Scroll to begin⌄

Two appendices, one question

Justice with mercy — not one or the other

scales of justice tipping — justice, meet mercy

Appendix C

Principles of Restitution

When you’ve caused harm, what does it take to make it right? You’ll get a calculator that turns the Bible’s rules into a live answer.

Appendix D

When Is It Right to Go to Court?

Built on 1 Corinthians 6. You’ll get a decision wizard that walks Sande’s reasoning to a verdict.

Both sit in Part 4 — “Go and Be Reconciled.” Both answer the same instinct — “I want what I’m owed” — by refusing to let justice and grace compete.

A case for the bench · you decide

The Case of the Stolen Phone

Docket · Restitution before the Law of Moses

Facts

Person A takes Person B’s iPhone 17 Pro — worth $1,000 — and sells it to someone else. Person A is caught, but won’t confess and refuses to make it right.

Question presented

Under the Law of Moses, what must Person A repay?

sneaking cartoon thief — Person A, allegedly

Render your verdict — then we’ll check it against the text.

C

Appendix C

Principles of Restitution

“Make full restitution for his wrong.” — Numbers 5:7

What it is & why it matters

More than “sorry” — it’s repair

Restitution means taking concrete action to restore the person you harmed toward where they were. Repentance produces action, not just words — and it does three kinds of good. Num. 5:7

1

Restores the victim

repairs the loss, not just the feeling

2

Protects society

makes wrongdoing unprofitable

3

Frees the offender

a real path back to the relationship

Luke 19 · Zacchaeus

A cheating tax collector who met Jesus

Tap: what he did ↻

“Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody… I will pay back four times the amount.”

Luke 19:8 — 4× the law required

Numbers 5:7 · The rule

Confess first, then repay

Tap to reveal ↻

“[He] must confess the sin he has committed… and make full restitution for his wrong.”

Numbers 5:7

Zacchaeus didn’t just say sorry — he repaid four times over, far beyond the law. The heart changes first; the wallet follows.

counting out cash — …then the wallet follows

The graduated scale

The penalty rises with intent — and falls with repentance

referee calling a penalty — penalty rising…

👆 Tap any rung for the Bible story behind it.

repair

Unintentional damage ⌄

“Simple restitution” — repair or replace what was lost.

Exod. 22:5–6

The case — your livestock strays into a neighbor’s field, or a fire you lit spreads to his grain. You repay from your own best produce — no theft, just responsibility.

Story — Jacob bore his flock’s losses himself rather than charge them to Laban. Gen. 31:39

+20%

Intentional — but repented before being caught ⌄

Pay the value plus a one-fifth penalty. Voluntary repentance is rewarded.

Lev. 6:1–5

The case — you lied about a deposit or kept what wasn’t yours, then conscience caught you. Return it + a fifth + a guilt offering: repair to the neighbor, atonement before God. Num. 5:5–8

Story — Zacchaeus came forward on his own — no one had caught him. Luke 19:8

2×

Caught with the goods (intact) ⌄

Return the property and its equal value.

Exod. 22:4

The case — the stolen animal is found alive in your hands, so you pay it back double. You lose exactly what you tried to take — the same loss falls back on the thief. Exod. 22:4, 9

4×

Caught after disposing of the goods ⌄

Repay at least four times the value.

Exod. 22:1

The story — Nathan’s parable: a rich man kills a poor man’s only lamb. David erupts, “He must pay four times over!” — quoting this law, and unknowingly sentencing himself. 2 Sam. 12:1–6

And — Zacchaeus repaid four times over, by choice. Luke 19:8

5×

Stolen property hard to replace ⌄

Repay five times its value.

Exod. 22:1

The case — steal and slaughter an ox, repay fivefold. The ox was a working animal; losing it cost a family its plowing and its livelihood.

A mercy — a classic rabbinic reading spares the sheep-thief a notch (4×): he had to haul the sheep off on his own shoulders. b. Bava Kamma 79b

← restorationdeterrence →

“These penalties are obviously designed to discourage deliberate wrongs and to encourage prompt repentance and confession.”

— Ken Sande, The Peacemaker (3rd ed.), Appendix C

A worked example

One $1,000 tool — five very different bills

Picture your friend’s $1,000 iPhone 17 Pro. The same object, five honest scenarios — and what you owe runs from nothing extra all the way to five times its value.

It all turns on one fork: did you mean to?

$1,000

Accident

You knocked it off the table. No theft — simply repair or replace it. No penalty.

Exod. 22:5–6

$1,200

Stole it — confessed first

You took it, but repented and resolved to repay before being caught: value + 20%.

Lev. 6:1–5

$2,000

Caught with it

Apprehended, tool still intact: return it and pay its value over again.

Exod. 22:4

$4,000

Already sold it

Caught only after you’d disposed of it: four times the value.

Exod. 22:1

$5,000

It was irreplaceable

A discontinued, hard-to-replace model: five times the value.

Exod. 22:1

Same tool. Same $1,000. The bill runs from $1,200 to $5,000 — set by intent, and by whether you came clean before you were caught. That’s the genius of the law: deliberate wrong becomes unprofitable, and early repentance pays.

Try it · Interactive

The Restitution Calculator

confused math lady meme — calculating your 4×…

Scripture never sets one flat fine. What you owe rises and falls with intent, repentance, and circumstance — and the rules are scattered across Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. This tool gathers them into one place.

What it’s for: describe a real situation and it returns the exact restitution Scripture requires — with the verse behind it. The point: “making it right” isn’t guesswork or a flat fee — the amount tracks the heart.

Appendix CDescribe the situation → see the biblical restitution owed.

The key tension

Forgiveness and restitution are not opposites

What forgiveness is

You won’t dwell on the wrong, use it against the person, gossip about it, or let it stand between you. But being forgiven doesn’t automatically erase the duty to repair the damage. Num. 5:5–8

Mercy may still waive it

The injured party can release the debt. Matt. 18:22–27 Yet making restitution often helps the offender — it shows a changed heart and ingrains the lesson. Luke 19:8–9

“Blending mercy with justice is a powerful way to restore peace and glorify God.”

— Ken Sande, The Peacemaker · Appendix C, closing line

For discussion

1

When someone says “I’m sorry,” what makes you actually believe them? Is saying sorry ever enough on its own — or do you need to see them do something about it?

2

Have you ever forgiven someone but still felt, deep down, that they owed you something? Is it fair to want them to make it right — or does real forgiveness mean letting it all go?

D

Appendix D

When Is It Right to Go to Court?

Everything turns on one passage: 1 Corinthians 6:1–8

1 Corinthians 6:1

Brother v. brother

Tap to reveal ↻

“If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people?”

1 Cor. 6:1

The setting · Corinth, ~AD 55

A wealthy, litigious Roman colony where a lawsuit was also a status game — a way to publicly humiliate a rival. Right after confronting a sex scandal in the church (ch. 5), Paul rounds on believers dragging each other before pagan judges over money and property.

So it isn’t “Paul’s scandal” — it’s the Corinthians suing one another. And his point isn’t “avoid embarrassing suits,” but “Why not rather be wronged?” 1 Cor. 6:7

Only scandalous lawsuits?

A court can’t reach the heart

Some say 1 Cor. 6 only bans embarrassing suits. Sande says that misses the point — almost every lawsuit between believers carries sin underneath, and a courtroom is powerless there.

A court CAN rule on…

contracts · property · damages · legal rights

Only the church reaches…

bitterness · dishonesty · pride · refusing to repair Jas. 4:1–3

“Civil courts are completely powerless to resolve the root causes of a lawsuit… Only the church can authoritatively carry out the ministry that is needed to thoroughly resolve a lawsuit between believers.”

— Ken Sande, The Peacemaker (3rd ed.), Appendix D

Who does 1 Cor. 6 bind?

Three views — tap to see Sande’s reasoning

1

Forbids suing anyone — Christian or not

Rejected⌄

The passage is explicitly internal — a “brother… before unbelievers,” judging “between believers.” Paul says the church doesn’t judge outsiders, so this can’t mean all lawsuits. 1 Cor. 5:12

2

Forbids any & all suits between professing Christians

Rejected⌄

God established civil government and expects His people to respect it. An absolute ban contradicts the rest of Scripture. Rom. 13:1–7 · 1 Pet. 2:13–14

3

Forbids suing a believer in good standing in a faithful church

Sande’s view⌄

The protection attaches to church membership. If that person is removed by discipline, they’re no longer a “brother… among you,” and 1 Cor. 6 no longer shields them. This is the hinge of the whole appendix. 1 Cor. 5:1–13 · Matt. 18:17

“It would be better to be wronged or cheated than to sue a person who is part of the church — that is, someone who is ‘among you.’”

— Ken Sande, The Peacemaker (3rd ed.), Appendix D · on 1 Cor. 6:5, 7

The logic, mapped

The decision, as a tree

A lawsuit has to run the whole gauntlet — every gate has an off-ramp, and court is the last door. (Next slide: walk it yourself.)

Threshold

Who is on the other side?

non-believer / company

Courts are open to you1 Cor. 6 doesn’t bind this

a fellow believer

Safety first

A dangerous crime? (e.g. abuse)

someone’s in danger

Church AND police — at onceprotect people first

no immediate danger

Condition 1

Church remedies exhausted?

not yet

Go to the church firstMatt. 18 — the first door

fully exhausted

Condition 2

Are the rights biblically legitimate?

no / unsure

Don’t pursue ita legal right can still be wrong

legitimate

Condition 3

Is the purpose righteous?

no

Reconsider — settle quicklyMatt. 5:25

all three met

✓ May proceed— cautiously, counting the cost

Try it · Interactive

“Should I go to court?” — the wizard

judge banging a gavel — order in the court

Three conditions must all be met: ① exhaust church remedies · ② biblically legitimate rights · ③ a righteous purpose. Walk it below.

Appendix DAnswer honestly — the path leads where Sande would send you.

Who has authority? · click the diagram

Two jurisdictions — sometimes overlapping

referee making a call — who makes the call?

Churchsin & the hearte.g. refusing to forgive · gossip · bitterness

Statecrime & societye.g. suing a company · the government · an insurer

⚠ Exception: for a dangerous crime where others could be harmed (e.g. abuse), invoke church and police at the same time — protect people first.

A concrete case · walked through the wizard

The Case of the Shoplifted CD Player

Docket · Sande’s own example · concurrent jurisdiction

Facts

Bob shoplifts a CD player from Betty’s store. Bob professes to be a Christian and belongs to a Bible-faithful church.

Question presented

Should Betty press charges right away — or is there a door to try before the courthouse?

Shoplifting is both a sin and a crime, so the church and the state share jurisdiction. Here’s how the “Should I go to court?” wizard — the tool we built two slides back — handles exactly this case.

The tool, explainedThe wizard just encodes Sande’s logic — court is the last door, never the first.

Other side: a believerNot a dangerous crimeChurch remedies: not yet

Step 1

Go to the church first

Because Bob professes faith and no one is in danger, Betty doesn’t rush to the courthouse. She holds off on charges and asks Bob’s church to step in.

Matt. 18:15–20

If Bob repents

Resolved — no court needed

The church brings Bob to repentance and restitution. The matter is settled, and the civil authorities never have to be involved at all.

Luke 19:8–9

If Bob refuses

The church removes him

An unrepentant Bob is put out of fellowship. He’s no longer a “brother… among you,” so 1 Cor. 6 no longer shields him.

1 Cor. 5:11–13 · Matt. 18:17

re-run the wizard for the unrepentant Bob

Now outside the churchNot dangerousChurch remedies exhaustedLegitimate rightsRighteous purpose

Last door

Now the state may step in

With the church’s process exhausted, Betty may legitimately turn to the civil courts. The two jurisdictions hand off cleanly — church first, court last.

Rom. 13:1–7

Appendix D

One framework: restore, don’t retaliate

Repair harm where you can; treat the courtroom as the last door, not the first. Both appendices refuse the false choice between justice and mercy.

For discussion

1

Have you ever “won” a fight or an argument but still walked away feeling like you lost? What did winning actually cost you?

2

When you’re in a serious conflict, who do you turn to first to sort it out? And when does bringing in an outside authority — a court, the police, a boss, HR — make things better… and when does it make things worse?

Ken Sande, The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004) — Appendices C & D. Scripture: NIV.