Do we ever escape it? Our past sins, mistakes, etc. does God really forgive? Are they truly cast far from us? Isn’t there always repercussions, punishments, and other ramifications? Will we ever be truly free? Should we be?!!! Perhaps leaving us to our own devices is the punishment – and that was not a facetious comment. If the problem/issue is based in our pride of us, then that may be an effective punishment.?
Perhaps, we need to distinguish between our past sins v. any current ones. If it is current, we have a quick remedy found in 1John 1:9. Confess and seek His forgiveness which He extends. However there is a caveat, in my world – our intentions and contrition. We need to be truly sorry and we need to purpose not to repeat. I believe it is the intention of our heart that rules because we are always susceptible to temptations or seductions.
The issue often is those past sins. We have great difficulty getting beyond them, because we have difficulty in believing they are washed away. But they are. No punishment? Ahhh, there’s the rub. However, our every word and action (or non) is our responsibility and can always has repercussions. This shouldn’t hamstrung us, but it is a check. I personally believe that believing we never escape our past is akin to believing that God puts sickness on us to ‘teach us (fill in the blank)’. Rubbish. Why would God do this? What do you learn when you are moaning?
This entire thinking rests on Who we believe God is and what He does, and our relationship with Him. When you accepted Jesus as your Lord, you put a target on your back. From that point on the devil has tried every trick and lie ( John 10:10) that he thinks will stop you/us and our past is his arsenal. He isn’t pleased with our turning to the Lord, so it stands to reason that he doesn’t want you to be effective. You, your testimony is what he is trying to derail.
The question you need to ask yourself is – if God hasn’t forgiven you your past, how can you possibly turn to him to seek His help in your life? Can you believe He will hear and listen with the past still there between you? But IF He is Who He says is and does what He says He does… then we have a foundation in which to put our trust and hope. Our focus needs to be now and not our past. He’s dealt with it and we should too.
