“Does your past play a role when you become a Christian?”
This is another one of those questions whose meaning is a
little hard to nail down, but the answer is the same either way we read it: No.
A good past, even a past chock full of good
works and moral excellence — if any of us could truly claim one —
cannot qualify us for a relationship with God. Likewise, even a past rife with
the most wretched
sin and excess cannot disqualify us from getting right with God and seeking
to live a life that pleases him. There is nothing impressive in our past that
we can bring to God for his pleasure: “All our righteous deeds are like a polluted
garment.” But there is also nothing in our past which will drive us
from God’s presence forever if we truly repent: “Every
sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people.”
What matters is whether your past is really your present. Let
me explain that a bit.