Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that believes a group text is where peace goes to die.
You’re sleeping soundly and suddenly you awaken. It’s 3 am and a memory surfaces.
You wince. You sigh. What comes with it is worse than a wince and a sigh. It’s heavy shame.
Your past is a ghost trailing behind you. Forever, it seems.
But here’s what nobody tells you. The ghost of regret has no power over tomorrow. Your past mistakes can’t ruin your life with God.
If you’ve ever read Paul’s triumphant thunderclap in Romans 8:35–39, you know that the apostle seemingly lists everything he can think of that cannot possibly separate us from the love of Christ.
He talks about every conceivable thing in the present and future: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, suffering, life, death, angels, demons, principalities, the present, the future, every power, height, depth, and any created thing.
Paul then erupts declaring that none of them can break the connection of God’s love toward us.
Strangely, however, he never mentions the past. He doesn’t mention past sins. Past wrongs. Past mistakes. Past regrets.
Strikingly, he doesn’t mention sin at all in the list.
Paul’s past happened to be dark. And I’m sure he struggled with deep, agonizing regret over it.
So why didn’t he throw in past sins in his seemingly exhaustive list of elements that cannot separate us from the love of God?
My answer: He already did. In Romans 1 through 7, Paul covers the waterfront on God’s unfathomable mercy and unfailing grace in forgiving and cleansing us from all sins—present, future, and past.
And his thundering, triumphant opening in Romans 8 follows his argument:
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
~ Romans 8:1
If you are in Christ, there is no condemnation for your past. There is no condemnation for your present. And there is no condemnation for what’s coming down the pike. (Paul explains why in Romans 3:21 through 8:4.)
Consequently, even your past cannot separate you from God’s incredible, unshakable, unbreakable love.
Listen to Paul’s own words about his past:
“For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.”
~ Galatians 1:13
“Formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent…”
~ 1 Timothy 1:13
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”
~ 1 Timothy 1:15–16
Did you catch that last line?
God used Paul’s horrible-but-forgiven past as a model and an example for all of us who are in Christ.
If God could forgive Paul’s sins of destroying people and their families when he ravaged the church of the living God (Acts 8:3; 1 Corinthians 15:9), then surely he can forgive you and me for the regrettable things we’ve done.
I have a lot more to say about this subject, and I’ve done so in three places. So before you send me an email about what I left out, check these out first.
I hope they set you free:
Until next time,
Your brother,
fv
New Morning Statements
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