History can't be undone...

Last Sunday I sat through a sermon titled The Good, the Bad, and the Saved. I guess it was a fairly simple sermon, but it's something that has really stuck with me. Paul's view was used several times throughout this. First for when he was "at his best." "...If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless." -Philippians 3:4-6. Paul is also shown "at his worst." "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life." -1 Timothy 1:15-16. Paul is saying that he has been at the very top and also the very bottom. If salvation could be earned through works and the law, he would have it. He also realizes, however, that even when he was at his worst, he could still be saved. Letting go of the past can be really hard, but it's not worth holding on to when all it is is dead weight you force yourself to drag around. A line I liked from the sermon was, "Don't hold on to what God has let go and forgotten."
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;  though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. -Isaiah 1:18
"You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." -Micah 7:19
"...[A]s far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." -Psalm 103:12
 ♪History can't be undone, but it can be erased.♫