A Continuously Reformed Mindset Moves Forward, Not Backward

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It's very easy to cling to the past - not especially if it's to some huge achievements or if it's a failure that was just too big. Some events are too good and we wish they never ended. Some events are so bad it's so easy to dwell on them. The message of the Bible is to learn from your mistakes and move on. Stop thinking about your past glory days nor your past failure days. While we do have to study history but we don't study it to be stuck in it. We study history to learn from it on how to make a better present. The Bible gives us plenty of historical facts to study while it encourages us to move forward at the same time.

Instead, here's Paul's advice for the missions:
Philippians 3:13-14 
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 of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

Don't let past achievements prevent you from learning new things

Paul counted all his achievements as dung (Philippians 3:8). Do you have a plethora of trophies in the past? If so, did you give God back the glory or are you using them as an excuse not to learn anything new? There's nothing wrong with having such an impressive track record until you let it destroy you. Some people end up not improving after a huge track record of success because they think they're invincible. You can call that the Haman syndrome. Haman surely had an impressive track record that he got his position as the king's prime minister. However, it took only one simple act of Mordecai rightfully not bowing down to him that led to his demise. Many people today think that their past achievements or how great they are and the shadow they cast make them invincible. They refuse to learn new things. However, the Bible teaches no such thing and says we must continue to learn new things by God's grace.

Many of God's great men fell after many past achievements. Abraham who by faith left his homeland later made the foolish decision of taking a mistress by the name of Hagar. Aaron who was involved in the Exodus would later fall into peer pressure to build the Golden Calf. Moses who led the Israelites in the Exodus would later lose his privilege to enter the Promised Land because he lost his temper. Samson who devastated the Philistines ended up getting devastated by Delilah. David who was already a celebrated king in Israel ended up committing adultery with Bathsheba (who was young enough to be his daughter) because he got too complacent with his past achievements. Solomon grew too confident in his achievements that he ended up backsliding so horribly when he married so many idolatrous princesses. Jehoshaphat got too confident that he formed an unequal yoke with Ahab's household. Peter would later deny Christ after he got so confident in himself.

Don't let past sins and failures discourage you because even God's greatest men fail 

There are also issues of past failures. I have had some past failures myself. These past failures can be financial losses, bad classroom track record, you may have had an abortion, taken drugs, been involved with sexually immoral activities before you got saved. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 writes about a lifestyle change in Corinth. Corinth was so full of immorality you'd never expect the Gospel to work there but it did. You had so much temple prostitution and homosexuality going on yet Paul commended in 1 Corinthians 6:11 that such were some of them. These people were not yet beyond saving. Some of the Bible's greatest heroes started out wrong like Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth was an idolatress of Moab, Matthew was once a publican for Rome, Mary Magdalene was once a sexually immoral woman, a woman by the well was an adulteress before she invited others to Jesus, and Paul was once a murderer of Christians before he became the greatest evangelist in the New Testament.

It was also mentioned earlier of God's great men who fell down after their achievements. One has to consider the fact that they didn't go backward and sulk in sin. David really did the unthinkable that might make you think he wasn't a regenerate man - most Christians would think twice before doing what he did. David would later pen Psalm 51. Solomon after returning to his senses penned Ecclesiastes as his book of repentance. Samson, in the end, prayed to God to restore his strength to liberate his people. Peter who backslid and took his entire team of deacons with him was restored by Jesus in John 21. Peter would later preach his first Sunday service in Acts 2 and continue to walk forward. Peter didn't allow his failure in Acts 15 to stop him - rather he took it with grace and learned better on how to pastor as evidenced in his epistles. They repented to God, paid for the consequences, and they moved on from their failures knowing God can still use them because He is God.

The missions must move forward

 There are also many hurdles about why some people suddenly stop soul-winning. Jeremiah 20:8 has the prophet Jeremiah giving up preaching because nobody ever listened to him. You have people who have stopped preaching to people they know because they were continuously ridiculed. You have people who are discouraged after they had failed to warn others. There's always that fear of failure or clinging to failure. It's like I realize I didn't warn everyone who has died. I even think about the loss of reward there is. But by clinging to that failure then wouldn't I lose more reward?

Paul's theme was always moving forward. Isaiah 43:8-10 has the mission to forget the former things. The prophets of the Old Testament we're told to just keep moving forward. Paul wasn't going to let anything stop him from soul-winning. He soon declared that he was free of the blood of all men (Acts 20:26) which was presumably because he did his part already. Some may interpret it as he's no longer a murderer and the past is behind him - he's moving forward to warn others about Hell and judgment. It's like I can warn you all I want but if you don't listen then I'm not liable to what happens to you. I can't declare as much due to my failures yet I can't stop my failures from stopping me in doing what I have to do.

Missions must always be moving forward. If a person refuses to listen after one or two warnings - just shut up and leave. Not shutting up after doing your part will just aggravate the situation. Sometimes, the people we warn won't heed to us but to others. Sometimes a loved one you shared the Gospel to won't listen to you. However, you may be surprised they got converted because a total stranger witnessed to them. Sometimes, some people will never respond which is why some people believe in the Calvinist doctrine of election - that only those who were called are able to believe.

We must move forward. God didn't make the Christian life stagnant. There will never be a perfect Christian. But there's a perfect God who will guide Christians towards the path to be someday perfect in glorification. As a Calvinist would say, "How do we know who God has chosen for salvation unless we first preach the message of salvation?"

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