Welcome to our Bible study series on the book of Galatians to discover how the gospel of Jesus grants us freedom. Today we will see how we can experience freedom from our past. Freedom from past hurts, mistakes, and guilt. Recently, I wrote a Bible study that is all about just that called “Battle Scars to Beauty Marks.”
I want to ask you a quick question. Have you ever sinned? Well of course you have. We all have sinned. It says so right there in the Bible.
Romans 3:23 New International Version (NIV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Satan’s favorite way to attack Christians is to remind them that they have a past. A wretched, sin-filled, fleshy part of themselves. Don’t give in to the lies that Satan tells you, that righteous looking looking lady at church that seems to have it all together, she has a past too.
You have one argument and its over. That is who I was, but God has forgiven me. Who I was does not make me who I am. God defines me. (drop the mic)
Paul’s past was pretty sinful. He did some pretty awful things to Christians before he met Jesus. When he is attacked by things from his past, he meets them head on and shows us how we can do the same. His response shows us how we can live free from our pasts, no matter how dark they may be, and freely move forward towards everything God has for us.
Galatians 1:13-24 New International Version (NIV)
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
Paul who was one of the most amazing missionaries and had a pretty nasty reputation to overcome. Before he accepted Christ into his life, he was a Jewish leader didn’t believe in Jesus Christ and didn’t hesitate to hunt down and punish Christians. On the road to hunt down and kill Christians everything changed. Jesus appeared before him and showing Himself to Paul. That was it Saul was change to Paul, and a new life in Christ began. Paul turned his life around just like we did when we where saved. And just like us there were people being used by Satan to bring up the past and discredit us.
Think about it. This way could God really use someone like Paul? Can God really use someone with a past like mine or yours?
Paul talks about his past but he doesn’t dwell on it. Look at Verse 15 “But when God.” That is it. Period. Full Stop. “But When God.” His past was dark, sinful, and awful, but it didn’t end there. Verse 15 is the point when God stepped in his life and turned his past completely around. Your past does not have the chance to destroy your life when you have a verse 15 that says, “But when God.” Because if Paul was not disqualified because of his past, then neither were the Galatians, and so neither are we. But in verse 15 we see the gospel. We see that because of the saving work of Jesus Christ, our past cannot hold us slaves to the past.
Do you remember your But When God Moment?
Paul addresses his past to the Galatians. He does not try to sugar coat what happened or act like it didn’t happen at all, and we can’t either. We can’t get to verse 15 if we don’t realize the need for it in verses 13 and 14.
If you pretend your past did not happen, if you walk around acting like you’ve always been saved, if you deny what’s been done to you or by you, you are cheapening God’s grace. You are watering down God stepping in and turning that thing around or turning you around. But God will allow your past to become the testimony that propels you to a better future.
Some of us need to honestly face our pasts. We need to cry about it. We need to allow ourselves to process the pain and hurt, to open ourselves up to God’s freedom and healing. If we don’t come to terms with our pasts, we can never really come to terms with our future. If we want the truth to set us free, we have to be honest with ourselves about the good and the bad.
Paul knew his past was dark, but he also knew that God was greater than his past. We usually get this wrong on either two extremes. On one side, we act like we’re perfect, and we just ignore our past like it doesn’t affect us at all. On the other side, we admit that we have this dark past, but forget God has and can redeem us from it; we then become overwhelmed with condemnation and shame. But we need to come to terms with both our past and God’s mercy and grace that is greater. We will never be free from a past that we do not believe God can redeem.
Many were saved because Paul was freed from his past. Do you understand that Christ wants you free so He can use you to free others? As women of God, we must face our past, face our fear, face our insecurities so they do not enslave us, and even more so we are empowered to set others free. But we will never find freedom from our past if we act like it never happened. Hear me when I say this, sister: God wants you free more than you do. So maybe tonight you need to go to your prayer corner, or closet, or car, and tell God how you really feel. Ask Him the hard questions and say the hard things. He can take it. And then allow God to cover you in His truth, because the truth will set you free. And the truth is that you are not your past; you are God’s daughter.