Putting Your Past in Its Place (Harvest House Publishers, 2011)
In Putting Your Past in Its Place, Dr. Stephen Viars draws on more than 20 years of ministry as a pastor and biblical counselor to address the role that the past plays in one’s present-day life and craft an appropriate response founded on God’s authoritative, infallible Word.
Dr. Viars affirms R.C. Sproul’s statement that “the issue for Christians is not whether we are going to be theologians, but whether we are going to be good theologians or bad ones.” Handling one’s past according to biblical principles creates opportunities to learn exciting truths about God while developing a joyous, closer relationshhip with Him.
The author helps Christians become good theologians by pairing their responses to past events with 4 Bible-based approaches: responding well to being sinned against (innocent past) requires authentic suffering, or suffering well; responding poorly to the innocent past requires humble analysis; responding well to committing sin (guilty past) requires joyful remembrance; and responding poorly to one’s guilty past requires honest self-examination.
Each chapter begins with a personal vignette from the author’s past which focuses the reader’s attention on the key concepts presented in that chapter while also establishing a trusting relationship between Dr. Viars and each reader. Especially humorous examples are his impending visit of doom to the dentist and his error-prone Little League tryout.