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Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that believes a group text is where peace goes to die.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re sleeping soundly and suddenly you awaken. It\u2019s 3 am and a memory surfaces.<\/p>\n
You wince. You sigh. What comes with it is worse than a wince and a sigh. It\u2019s heavy shame.<\/p>\n
Your past is a ghost trailing behind you. Forever, it seems.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s what nobody tells you. The ghost of regret has no power over tomorrow. Your past mistakes can\u2019t ruin your life with God.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve ever read Paul\u2019s triumphant thunderclap in Romans 8:35\u201339, you know that the apostle seemingly lists everything he can think of that cannot possibly separate us from the love of Christ.<\/p>\n 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,\u00a0every power,\u00a0height, depth, and any created thing.<\/p>\n Paul then erupts declaring that none of them can break the connection of God\u2019s love toward us.<\/p>\n Strangely, however, he never mentions the past. He doesn\u2019t mention past sins. Past wrongs. Past mistakes. Past regrets.<\/p>\n Strikingly, he doesn\u2019t mention sin at all in the list. <\/em><\/p>\n Paul\u2019s past happened to be dark. And I\u2019m sure he struggled with deep, agonizing regret over it.<\/p>\n So why didn\u2019t he throw in past sins in his seemingly exhaustive list of elements that cannot separate us from the love of God?<\/p>\n My answer: He already did. In Romans 1 through 7, Paul covers the waterfront on God\u2019s unfathomable mercy and unfailing grace in forgiving and cleansing us from all<\/em> sins\u2014present, future, and past.<\/p>\n And his thundering, triumphant opening in Romans 8 follows his argument:<\/p>\n \u201cThere is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ~ Romans 8:1<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019s coming down the pike. (Paul explains why in Romans 3:21 through 8:4.)<\/p>\n Consequently,\u00a0 even your past cannot separate you from God\u2019s incredible, unshakable, unbreakable love.<\/p>\n Listen to Paul\u2019s own words about his past:<\/p>\n \u201cFor you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ~ Galatians 1:13<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFormerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ~ 1 Timothy 1:13<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n ~ 1 Timothy 1:15\u201316<\/span><\/p>\n Did you catch that last line?<\/p>\n God used Paul\u2019s horrible-but-forgiven past as a model and an example for all of us who are in Christ.<\/p>\n If God could forgive Paul\u2019s 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\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n I have a lot more to say about this subject, and I\u2019ve done so in three places. So before you send me an email about what I left out, check these out first.<\/p>\n I hope they set you free:<\/p>\n Two Kinds of Regret<\/a><\/p>\n The Pain of Regret<\/a><\/p>\n Rethinking the Love of Christ<\/a><\/p>\n Until next time,<\/p>\n Your brother,<\/p>\n fv<\/p>\n \n