Past is not precedent
Philippians 3:13-14 "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Paul's words above describe an important tenet of the Christian faith - progressive sanctification. Sanctification is different but equally important as justification. Justification is the full and complete forgiveness we receive when we place our faith in what Christ accomplished for us through His death and resurrection. Sanctification describes what happens over the course of our lives after justification.
After we accept Christ's unmerited grace, we become His children and start a lifelong process of coming to know Him and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us to be more like Him. Justification is more like an event that happens at a particular time, whereas sanctification is a process that does not end during our time on earth.
If we allow the process to work as it should, each successive day brings us closer to (and more knowledgeable of) God than we were the day before. Our words, beliefs and actions at any particular point in our lives are constrained by what we know and where we are in the sanctification process at that time. Later, we may look back on choices we have made and see a different path than we were able to see at the time.
Our past thoughts, choices and actions do not set a precedent for us that can never be changed in the future. We don't continue to give someone an "F" in math all the way through high school because they answered a math problem incorrectly in 1st grade.
In the same way, we shouldn't label someone a hypocrite for holding different beliefs today and taking different actions today than they did in the past. This is exactly what Paul means when he talks about forgetting what is behind and pressing on toward the goal. How many times must he have had his past life and beliefs as a persecutor of Christians and a keeper of the law thrown in his face as he was preaching the Gospel of grace through faith and not by works?
Even those (no, especially those) who have made certain choices in the past (divorce, adultery, idol worship, etc.) and held certain beliefs in the past can forcefully argue against those same choices and beliefs at a later point. Who could have more credibility to speak on an issue than someone who has walked in those shoes and has seen the fruit (good or bad) of certain choices and beliefs?
To place someone in a permanent box and deny them the ability and freedom to change is to deny the sanctification process that is described in the Bible. If our destinies were set by past actions and beliefs, no one would stand today as a believer and washed clean by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
Paul's words above describe an important tenet of the Christian faith - progressive sanctification. Sanctification is different but equally important as justification. Justification is the full and complete forgiveness we receive when we place our faith in what Christ accomplished for us through His death and resurrection. Sanctification describes what happens over the course of our lives after justification.
After we accept Christ's unmerited grace, we become His children and start a lifelong process of coming to know Him and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us to be more like Him. Justification is more like an event that happens at a particular time, whereas sanctification is a process that does not end during our time on earth.
If we allow the process to work as it should, each successive day brings us closer to (and more knowledgeable of) God than we were the day before. Our words, beliefs and actions at any particular point in our lives are constrained by what we know and where we are in the sanctification process at that time. Later, we may look back on choices we have made and see a different path than we were able to see at the time.
Our past thoughts, choices and actions do not set a precedent for us that can never be changed in the future. We don't continue to give someone an "F" in math all the way through high school because they answered a math problem incorrectly in 1st grade.
In the same way, we shouldn't label someone a hypocrite for holding different beliefs today and taking different actions today than they did in the past. This is exactly what Paul means when he talks about forgetting what is behind and pressing on toward the goal. How many times must he have had his past life and beliefs as a persecutor of Christians and a keeper of the law thrown in his face as he was preaching the Gospel of grace through faith and not by works?
Even those (no, especially those) who have made certain choices in the past (divorce, adultery, idol worship, etc.) and held certain beliefs in the past can forcefully argue against those same choices and beliefs at a later point. Who could have more credibility to speak on an issue than someone who has walked in those shoes and has seen the fruit (good or bad) of certain choices and beliefs?
To place someone in a permanent box and deny them the ability and freedom to change is to deny the sanctification process that is described in the Bible. If our destinies were set by past actions and beliefs, no one would stand today as a believer and washed clean by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
posted by Robert Jory Allen at
4:15 AM
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