One of the most common ways Satan tries to defeat believers is by bringing up their past sins so they will dwell on them and be discouraged. We all have sins we have committed in the past, so how can we deal with them biblically so as not to let them be a constant tool of the devil to defeat us in the present?
The next time Satan brings to mind a sin in your past, just remember that you are not the only person with sins in your past. The greatest Christians in the Bible had sins in their past. If anyone knew what it was like to deal with past sins, it was the apostle Paul. In (Phil. 3:13-14) Paul said, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul, no doubt, was constantly reminded of “those things which are behind.” What things was he talking about? He tells us in (1 Tim. 1:12-13) where he said, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13) Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”
Paul had many sins in his past, yet he said he was able to forget those things in the past and not let them hinder him from “reaching forth unto those things which are before.” So, how can we accomplish this as well? What should we do the next time Satan brings to mind our sins in the past?
1. Use past sins to keep you HUMBLE. In other words, when they come to mind, let them cause you to say, “Lord, I know what I did was wrong, so help me to remember that I could fall to that again without your help. Lord, give me strength to avoid that temptation again.” We need to remain humble in order to receive God’s grace because the Bible says in (1 Pet. 5:5) that “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.”
2. Use past sins to keep you THANKFUL. “Wait a minute! Did you just say thankful?” I sure did. When we remember past sins which have been forgiven, we should let it cause us to thank God again for His mercy, love, and forgiveness. Paul said in (Rom. 5:20) that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:” Now THAT is something for which we can be thankful!
So the next time a past sin comes to mind, just pray something like, “Father, I thank You for being so merciful, loving, and kind. Thank You for your forgiveness. I praise You that your grace is greater than my sin!” You will be less likely to get discouraged if the remembrance of a past sin causes you to thank God.
3. Use past sins to keep you MERCIFUL. If nothing else, our past sins should cause us to be more merciful and compassionate to others who have fallen into the same sin we fell to. Many times Christians can become so critical of others when the truth is we have all fallen for one sin or another.
None of us are sinless. We are ALL sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. But even though we all sin, we do not have to let those sins defeat us from pressing “toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”