How past failures don’t have to hold you back in your spiritual walk.
When the apostle Paul shares his testimony with the church at Galatia, he recounts how he “persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it” (Galatians 1:13). Before becoming a Christian, Paul was among the worst persecutors of the early church. The Bible speaks of how Paul (previously referred to as Saul) “made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3). He was really bad news for the early Christians.
Although Paul hated Jesus and Christianity, even taking part in the murder of Stephen (one of the first deacons), he was still able to share this testimony:
“It pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen.” Galatians 1:15-16 NKJV
Although Saul was the kind of man he was, hating Jesus with a fiery passion, it still pleased God to extend His grace to him. The same compassion that God showed to Paul is also available today to every individual who will accept it.
After his conversion, Paul was given the task of travelling from place to place to witness for Jesus. Even though Paul had the ugly past that he did, God still used him as fully as though he had never sinned.
“Even those whose course has been most offensive to Him He freely accepts. When they repent, He imparts to them His divine Spirit, and sends them forth into the camp of the disloyal to proclaim His mercy. Souls that have been degraded into instruments of Satan are still, through the power of Christ, transformed into messengers of righteousness and are sent forth to tell how great things the Lord hath done for them and hath had compassion on them.” White, E. The Ministry of Healing p.99
In his service to Christ after conversion, Paul would meet with the same Christians that he formerly tried to destroy. These encounters most likely served as constant reminders of what he had done to the Christians before his conversion.
In a letter to the Philippians, Paul further recounts how he was zealously “persecuting the church” (Philippians 3:6) before his conversion. He had fully acknowledged his past life. Rather than mourning over his past, however, notice how he speaks of his experience afterwards:
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians3:13-14 NKJV
When Paul writes about the “one thing” that he does in order to progress in his spiritual journey, he notes the importance of “forgetting those things which are past.” This includes the guilt and the shame of past sins.
The apostle’s attitude of intentionally “forgetting” was not to treat his past life as though it never happened, but rather to testify that those things were behind him. Although he could not change his past sins, he knew that Jesus had changed him; he now focused on moving forward. Paul’s experience is an example for us also. He
writes:
“This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realise that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life.“ 1 Timothy 1:15-16 NLT
Although the scars and the memories of our sins may remain, like Paul, we are to “forget” the things which are past and press forward. This is especially necessary when we cannot change the past. Like the apostle Paul, we can hold on to the promise given to those who abide in Christ, that:
“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
