by Rev. Joda Collins
The Apostle Paul (then known as Saul) was a participant in the murder of Stephen, a godly man (Acts 20:20) and following that he (Saul), was a prolific hunter and killer of the people of God. (Acts 26:10.) It was probably not an uncommon experience that Paul met individuals and preached to groups of people where some were friends of or related to loved ones murdered at his command and/or with his blessing. His past was not a pretty one. We do have a hint that Paul might have been constantly reminded of his past. Paul writes, "...one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead...." (Philippians 3:13.) Notice Paul puts "forgetting" in the present tense; "One thing I am doing is in the process of forgetting." Paul did not write, "I have forgotten the past."
Unless you have Alzheimer's disease you probably have not nor will you ever forget your past. I carry around a lot of guilt about my past and I have no doubt Satan rejoices to throw my past in front of me in an effort to make me stumble in my present walk with God. If you are trying to live for Jesus, you know what I mean! I surmise Paul heard from Satan things like, "Who are you to claim to be a follower of Christ and a leader of Christians? You murdered the people of God and you were an enemy to the Church. You are disqualified. You are worthless. You are a loser! You know that. I know that. Everyone knows that!" Imagine trying to go to sleep at night with a demon screaming such things in your spiritual ear. Imagine waking up from a sound sleep with demons yelling such things. Imagine trying to preach with those kind of words echoing in your conscience.
However, if we completely forget our past or discount our errors, we will also be less inclined to remember and reflect on God's grace. If we forget or minimize God's grace, then we will have less motivation to appreciate and share God's grace. While Satan screams accusations of guilt to us, God whispers His consolation of blood-bought forgiveness. Satan uses our past to try to derail us from our godly future. God uses our past to remind us of His grace -- past, present and future. When Paul writes "forget the past" his inference is to not allow the reality of the past forgiven sins and mistakes to sway us from our Christ-honoring future. We are destine to live with constant sorrow and constant joy at the same time as we attempt to win men and women and boys and girls to salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our forgiven past is under the blood of the Lamb. Our forgiven past will never be used by God to drag us down, but to lift us up to praise and adoration or our Savior.
Forgetting our past means to rejoice in God's forgiveness. We are guilty but not guilt-ridden. One of the most powerful verses in the Bible is 1 John 1:9. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I remember well the moment of my salvation. I was only nine years old and just a skinny little kid, but when I called on God to save me and said the sinner's prayer, I became lighter. I learned later that was the Holy Spirit removing the weight of my sin from my soul. I do not have adequate words to express my gratitude towards God for His mercy. None of us do. Unattainable words of appreciation are expressed in heart-felt worship and an honest commitment of our lives to the person of Christ and the principles of His Word.
We deal with guilt at the foot of the Cross.
Rev . Joda Collins
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