The old man always wants to go back to the past and is not able to let go of the past. 很多人, 包括基督徒, live with a lot of pain, hurt, sadness, 愤怒, 和讨厌, that are caused in the past. They have been mistreated, physically and/or mentally abused, falsely accused, they’ve experienced trauma, or …. you name it. Every day of their lives, they live with sorrow and are controlled and tortured by these negative feelings, while holding others accountable. They want apologies, take revenge to get even and ensure that they will be punished for the evil and injustice that has been done to them. They think, that when they get apologies, take revenge, and punish the person, their pain will go away and they can continue with their lives. 但事实是, that none of these things, will take away the pain, and will redeem them from these feelings and the past. And so many Christians are a slave of the past. What about you? Are you a slave of the past? What does the Bible say about being a slave of the past and what you must do to be freed from the past so that you can live in freedom?
Old things are passed away, all things are become new
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; 看哪, all things are become new (2 哥林多前书 5:17)
当你成为 重生, and become 一个新的创造 in Jesus Christ, the past will be gone. You will lay down your 老人, and therefore you will lay down and let go of the past.
The old man is crucified with Jesus Christ and doesn’t exist anymore; the old man is buried in the water. But you not only died in Jesus Christ. By the baptism with the Holy Spirit, you’ve been risen from the dead, and have become 一个新的创造.
Your spirit, who was dead, has become alive and shall reign in your life.
You shall no longer be ruled by your flesh; 感官, 情绪, 想法, 发现, ETC。. But you shall be ruled by your spirit that cooperates, with the Holy Spirit and is united with Jesus Christ and the Father.
You shall walk after the Spirit according to His will, and not after the flesh and according to your will. You shall seek those things which are above, and not the things, which are on this earth.
If ye then be risen with Christ, 寻求在上面的事, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 将你的喜爱放在上面的事物上, 不在地球上的事物上. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory (歌罗西书 3:1-3)
How to be redeemed from the past?
One of the first things you will do, when you become 一个新的创造, is to forgive others. You will forgive those, who have hurt or mistreated you (or your family). You shall no longer think about the past. And if you do think about the past, you won’t feel any kind of pain anymore.
这里有很多人, 包括基督徒, who are still being ruled by their past. 正因为如此, they live with a lot of pain, hurt, and hatred toward others. They hold others responsible, for what has been done to them. But if believers, walk around with so much pain and feelings of hatred towards others and are still focused on some kind of revenge, prove that they haven’t been redeemed in Jesus Christ. They are still stuck in the past and haven’t become a new creation, but are still the 旧造.
因为 新的创造, who has become in Jesus Christ, 上帝的儿子, doesn’t need any apology, or retribution, and doesn’t want to take revenge to get even, but will only forgive.
The new creation will forgive because the love God has entered and dwells in his/her heart. But the love of God is another kind of love, than what the world calls love.
这 love of God is a love that doesn’t repay evil for evil or retaliate. The love of God doesn’t look back at the past and doesn’t want to take revenge or retribution, but forgives. It is a self-sacrificial love, that doesn’t seek itself, that isn’t hateful towards others etc. This is the love, in which the new creation should walk in.
The devil wants Christians to stay a slave of the past
The devil wants Christians to look back and go back to the past. This way he ensures, that people will get stuck in the past and become overwhelmed by all kinds of negative feelings. We see more and more, that people keep digging up past events and making them the topic of the day again. But they often are not aware of the pain, hurt, and anger they are causing in the lives of many people. And that’s exactly, what the devil wants.
The devil wants to keep people in bondage. He wants people to live in the past so that they will get stuck, and be tortured day in and day out.
As long as a person remain bound by the past, (s)he shall remain a slave of the past, and shall not walk in the newness of life in Jesus Christ.
The person shall live in bondage and not in freedom.
But God doesn’t want you to stay a slave of the past. God doesn’t want you to keep living in the past and be controlled by your past. God doesn’t want you to remember and consider the old things from your past. He says:
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 看哪, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? (以赛亚 43:18-19)
Freedom from the past through forgiveness
Jesus knew, that the 仅有的 way to deal with the past and to let go of the past, is through forgiveness. Forgiveness is the only way to let go of the past and forget the past.
When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and become a new creation, by water and Spirit, your past will be gone. God doesn’t remember your past anymore, it is erased by the blood of Jesus. He has forgiven you! How great is God’s mercy! If God doesn’t remember your past, you shouldn’t remember your past.
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it (歌罗西书 2:13-15)
If you can’t forgive others, the Father will not forgive you
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (马修 6:14-15)
耶稣说, that if you can’t forgive others, then the Father will not forgive you either.
所以, let go of the past, so that you may live! Forgive those, who have hurt you. When you forgive those, who have hurt you, Jesus shall take away all your pain, and all these negative feelings, that are connected to your pain. Jesus will remove them from your life, 借着圣灵的力量.
When Jesus redeems you from these feelings, you shall be healed, and you shall no longer be a slave of the past. You shall be freed and shall live in the newness of life; in the freedom of Jesus Christ.
‘成为地球之盐’
