Have you ever had someone completely misunderstand you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like you say one thing\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and they hear the TOTAL opposite?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Have you ever tried explaining grace to someone, and halfway through you can literally see their brain buffering like a glitchy YouTube video?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And have you ever been asked a question so wild, you had to double-check if you were being punk\u2019d by a pastor?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because recently a pastor asked me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo what I\u2019m hearing is that if I believe Jesus died for my sins, repent once, then I can just sin all I want with peace, joy, and no guilt at all. Am I getting you correctly?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had to pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not because he was wrong \u2014 but because this question is exactly what millions of Christians secretly wonder\u2026 but are too scared to say out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So instead of reacting, I took a breath and answered with grace \u2014 the same grace Jesus gives me daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let me start with this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace is not permission to sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace is the power to stand even when you do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People don\u2019t sin because they want to disappoint God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People sin because they\u2019re HUMAN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bible says sin is not just a decision \u2014 it\u2019s a condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSurely I was sinful at birth\u2026\u201d \u2014 Psalm 51:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor all have sinned\u2026\u201d \u2014 Romans 3:23<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSin entered the world through one man\u2026\u201d \u2014 Romans 5:12<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We didn\u2019t learn sin \u2014 we inherited it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the human default mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even PAUL \u2014 Mr. New Testament himself \u2014 admitted:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe good I want to do, I do not do\u2026 but the evil I do not want to do\u2026 this I KEEP ON doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romans 7:19<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Paul struggled, you can relax. God isn\u2019t shocked by your humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now\u2026 about repentance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most people think repentance means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
crying, begging, apologizing, promising, failing, repeating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Bible defines repentance VERY differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, meaning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo change your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not \u201ccry harder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not \u201cfeel bad longer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not \u201cearn forgiveness through suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Repentance in Scripture is a one-time mind-shift from unbelief to belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRepent and believe the good news.\u201d \u2014 Mark 1:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBelieve in your heart\u2026 you will be saved.\u201d \u2014 Romans 10:9<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are forgiven \u2014 fully \u2014 the moment you believe in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Past, present, and future sins (Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 10:10\u201314).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not conditionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not temporarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not \u201cunless you mess up three times this week.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your righteousness is a gift, not a reward (Romans 5:1\u20132).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s also talk about how the English Bible fails us sometimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have ONE word for \u201clove,\u201d but the Bible has agape, phileo, eros, storge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four very different meanings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same is true for the word sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Hebrew and Greek, there are more than two dozen words for sin:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So when Jesus told the woman caught in adultery,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo and sin no more,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wasn\u2019t saying,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNever commit a single wrong action again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was telling her:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLeave your location of sin (identity) and step into your new place \u2014 grace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like my Korean mother \u2014 she\u2019s Korean by DNA, but her residence is America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Identity and residence are two different things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we accept Jesus, our residence changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We move from the kingdom of sin to the kingdom of grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our human nature still wrestles, but our spiritual address is brand new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let me share a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A man struggled with alcoholism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five years sober.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Full of hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strong community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then his wife left him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heartbroken, he slipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then hiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then pretending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then avoiding church because he felt \u201cunworthy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He wasn\u2019t a hypocrite \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was HUMAN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But because the church gave him law, not grace\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
he hid his struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And hidden shame grew where healing should have been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Law creates actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace creates honesty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou messed up? Come close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Law says,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou messed up? Stay away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is why I preach grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not because sin is okay \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
but because JESUS is greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhere sin increased, grace increased even MORE.\u201d \u2014 Romans 5:20<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace doesn\u2019t encourage sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace heals the shame that keeps people trapped IN sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace doesn\u2019t make you reckless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace makes you REAL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So let\u2019s answer the pastor\u2019s question directly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDoes grace mean I can sin all I want, guilt-free?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace means your IDENTITY is no longer tied to your sins \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and guilt no longer has authority over you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don\u2019t WANT to sin more when you taste grace \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
you want to LIVE more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace doesn\u2019t celebrate sin \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace celebrates the Savior who refuses to give up on you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don\u2019t try to sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You don\u2019t try to be holy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both are fruits of identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One comes from Adam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One comes from Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your residence changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your behavior is catching up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And THAT is why I want my upcoming book \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom Pastor to Pornstar: Holy to Horny\u201d \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to shake the religious world awake with a message of radical grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because guilt doesn\u2019t transform people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hopefully this blog made sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask me anything \u2014 I LOVE these conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if you\u2019ve got more questions like this or want to go deeper, email me anytime at info@funnychristy.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember you are my lovers, whether you love me or love to hate me you are still my lover!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t forget Jesus loves you and so do I!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Have you ever had someone completely misunderstand you? Like you say one thing\u2026 and they hear the TOTAL opposite? Have you ever tried explaining grace to someone, and halfway through you can literally see their brain buffering like a glitchy YouTube video? And have you ever been asked a question so wild, you had to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":81,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pastor-christy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/81"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlychristy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}