'Former' in the Bible

The first account I made, Theophilus, was [a continuous report] about all the things that Jesus began to do and to teach

Therefore God overlooked and disregarded the former ages of ignorance; but now He commands all people everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God’s purpose for their lives],

Many of those who had become believers were coming, confessing and disclosing their [former sinful] practices.