It is written by THE SPIRIT in Hebrews chapter 11:
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
Each of us has a past where we have failed to live up to The Word and Its commandments yet FATHER has extended HIS great grace and mercy toward us because of HIS unfailing Love. We must not look back to our past mistakes and failures for they have been wiped away by the Blood of The Lamb. We must look forward and leave the past behind. Yes, we should learn from past mistakes but not relive those mistakes over and over.
15 And if they (Abraham and Sarah) had been thinking of that country from which they departed [as their true home], they would have had [a continuing] opportunity to return.
16 But the truth is that they were longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. For that reason God is not ashamed [of them or] to be called their God [even to be surnamed their God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob]; for He has prepared a city for them. AMPL
Abraham was told to leave his country for a better place and they were not to look back. We too are to keep our eyes fixed on a better place and cut all ties with the past. Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in 2 Corinthians chapter 5:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
The adversary wants to draw us away from our relationship with Christ by constantly bringing the old man and his deeds. We need to resist any attempt to cause us to live in the past. We must walk in faith that FATHER’S Love is greater than any past sin and HE only has our best interest at heart.
Consider David. He broke the Law and committed adultery with Bathsheba, then planned to have her husband killed. However, it is written in Acts chapter 13 by THE SPIRIT:
22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’
Did FATHER know that David would break HIS Commandments? Yes, but FATHER’S grace and mercy are greater than our failures. We must repent of our sins and move on toward that “Heavenly City”. Let the old man remained buried and let the Blood of Christ be at the forefront of our consciousness. Let us never discount the power in The Blood for Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law. FATHER’S Agape Love and Divine Intent toward us overcomes the past and provides us light to walk according to HIS Ways.
Paul’s past included the shedding of innocent blood yet he understood the power of FATHER’S Love and forgiveness. He wrote by THE SPIRIT in Philippians chapter 3:
12 Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on [e]so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature [pursuing spiritual perfection] should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you.
16 Only let us stay true to what we have already attained. AMPL
Our goal is to be Christlike so let us no longer consider the past but walk in faith, knowing that our redemption is sure and with exception.