But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind…
Summary: Forgetting what is behind does not mean forgetting the lessons of the past, but it does set us free from the guilt and the shame.
Do you struggle with guilt?
I do!
Satan has his sights on my guilt button, and he finds ways of pushing it when I least expect it.
Yes, I know I am loved by Jesus (Romans 5:8). I believe that if I repent and turn to him, he forgives me (1 John 1:9). I trust that I am one of his sheep (John 10:27) and that, like the thief on the cross, I too will be with him in paradise (Luke 23:43).
Satan doesn’t care!
If he can separate me from other believers and pull a curtain between me and my Lord Jesus, he thinks he can still have me. He continually tries to deceive me (John 8:44) and works to dampen my faith and my effectiveness in the kingdom of God.
Paul writes about this when he tells us to put on the “full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10). He describes Satan’s attacks as “flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). For me, this perfectly describes the sting of my own past sins.
The armor that protects against these arrows is faith, but how does that work?
It is not faith in ourselves or faith in luck that saves us. Only faith in Jesus Christ promises reconciliation with the Father (John 14:6).
So how does all this tie in with Paul’s words?
Notice what he says: He is “forgetting what is behind…”
What is “behind?”
Paul has much to regret! What he thought was doing “good” actually turned out to be fighting God and hurting God’s people (Acts 26:9-11). In his letter to Timothy, he even declares himself the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
Do you think there are things in his past he regrets?
Absolutely!
Yet they are behind him now. He is putting them out of his mind and “forgetting what is behind.”
I love how he frames this for the Ephesians: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret…” (2 Corinthians 7:10)
If we are truly sorry for our sins, that sorrow brings repentance. To repent is to turn away from sin and turn towards God. IF WE DO THAT … there is no regret. Don’t be forgetting that!
Application: Remember that sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation.
Food for Thought: What happens to the “flaming arrows of the evil one” when we have faith in Jesus?
What happens to the “flaming arrows of the evil one” when we have faith in Jesus?
Flaming arrows? What flaming arrows? Oh, I must have forgotten about those…
I know God can take anything and turn it to good. Genesis 50:20 Romans 8:28
Thank you, Tim!
Well said!! Excellent verses, too! 🙂
What happens to the “flaming arrows of the evil one” when we have faith in Jesus?
Every believer in Jesus Christ has been called by God, to live a life in faith given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ who has defeated all power of satan is our strength, our shield, protecting us against the flaming arrows of the enemy.
Luke 10:19, Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
The flaming arrows will come, however our faith in the love and power of our Lord Jesus Christ will extinguish their flame, take away their power of flight allowing us to continue our lives according to His will.
2 Corinthians 5:7, For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Psalm 28:7, The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
2 Corinthians 12:9, But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’”
Thank you, Ron!
It is good to be reminded that we have the benefit of the power of God’s Holy Spirit within us.
What happens to the “flaming arrows of the evil one” when we have faith in Jesus?
When we have faith in Jesus, we recognize our own sinful nature and understand that it separates us from God. But that Jesus, who lived a sinless life, gave Himself to pay our debt so we could be redeemed and reunited with God through Him. In our faith, we also recognize that God’s grace extends to us not only in salvation and also in sanctification, that is to say, as we surrender all of ourselves to Jesus, He lives within us and through us, we become more like Him. The “flaming arrows of the evil one,” which are doubt, fear, and temptation, lose their power as we trust more and more in Jesus, live in the confidence of the Holy Spirit, and as the desire of our hearts turn from self-gratification to self sacrificial service to Christ.
Part of our faith in Jesus means He has given us a shield of faith, we walk with our shield of faith up, and the arrows may land, but they do not take root. Then they serve to remind us of the transformative power of God through Christ.
Thanks, Chris!
I like the way you say the flaming arrows ” lose their power as we trust more and more in Jesus.” So true!