I Have Had Sex, and Jesus Still Loves Me!

"I have had sex, and Jesus still loves me!"

This is a line shouted by Hannah Brown, the current star of the Bachelorette, in a promo for the show. 

I don't know much about Hannah but I can tell you that her statement is true.  An act of premarital sex cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).  I don't know the context yet of this statement and I'm unlikely to watch to find out, but if Hannah shouted this at some judgmental guy who was claiming that Hannah's past had caused her to fall out of the reach of God's long, loving arm, then Amen, sister! 

I hope Hannah is speaking truth in this on national television.  I can't offer much more on Hannah herself, because I have no idea.  However, I have heard lines like these: "I have _______ and Jesus still loves me!" and what they really are saying is "I have ________ and I still _________ and I love __________, and Jesus still loves me and doesn't care!  Get out of my business!"

Jesus' blood covers all our sin.  As the song says, "our sins they are many, His mercy is more."  Sex or abuse or coveting or gossip or murder cannot disqualify us from God's love if Jesus' blood has washed us clean.  But God's amazing grace is not simply about forgiving sin.

"What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means!  We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" Romans 6:1-2

"Jesus straightened up and asked her, 'Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?
'No one, sir,' she said.
'Then neither do I condemn you.' Jesus declared.  'Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8:10-11

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." Ezekiel 36:26-27

"I have had sex, and Jesus still loves me!"

Absolutely!  Jesus loves us no matter what our past.  Jesus loves us even though we sin in the present.  Jesus loves us even though we will sin in the future.  But Jesus died to free us not just from the penalty of sin but also from the power of sin.  Using the doctrine of God's mercy and grace as a license for sin is at best wrong and at worst fatal.  If to you God's grace is a license to live an unchanged life then I will ask you if you have actually met the Lord Jesus. 

All of us have messy, sin-filled pasts.  All of us continue to have messy, sin-filled lives.  But do we treasure our Savior and His ways or do we simply use His blood to feel better while living for the same old pursuits?  Our Lord demands to be followed, not used.

Accept His grace.  Remind others of His grace.  But by all means, be changed by His grace today.