Three Free Sins Quotes

“The anger of Jesus was never directed at those who were great sinners, but at those who seemed not to be.”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You

“The wolves were those who would pervert the gospel. And at the same time, they were (and are) often those who seem to be the most obedient, the most godly, and the most spiritual.”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You

“I find myself laughing a lot. Every time I remember that I’m forgiven and loved (that I have unlimited free sins and blank checks), I get the giggles. In fact, Christians are the only people on earth who have something significant to laugh about.”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You

“Forgiveness is at the very heart of the Christian faith. It’s not about getting better, becoming more religious, or following the rules so God will love you. It’s all about forgiveness, dummy! Everything else is secondary. If we don’t keep the main thing the main thing, then everything else will turn sour on us.”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You

“It is no small thing to be loved when you’re unlovable, to be forgiven the unforgivable, and to be supported when you’ve done nothing to deserve it. That’s the gospel. And that’s why free sins are so important. It’s the good news that while there are those who might sacrifice for a good man or woman, “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly [that would be us!]. . . . God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6, 8).”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You

“Based on the stories present here, I believe that the church needs to decide how long it is going to coddle legalism in its ranks. By legalism I mean people who preach grace but practice works. People who inflict guilt on others for being human, let alone sinful. People who say, “Well, we don’t want to go overboard on this grace thing because people will take advantage of it.”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You

“Religion can make you weird. It can also make you afraid. If God is a police officer at best and a child abuser at worst, you had better be careful, and careful will kill your freedom. If the work of Christ depends on your faithfulness, obedience, and purity, and you must work to maintain your witness, maintaining will kill your freedom. If there are angels piling up the good stuff you do on one side of some gigantic scale somewhere in heaven and demons piling up the bad stuff on the other side, you’ll panic as the scale starts tipping in the wrong direction. That will make you quite meticulous about what you say, think, and do . . . and meticulous will kill your freedom.”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You

“I poor sinner confess to thee, O Almighty, eternal, merciful God and Father, that I have sinned in manifold ways against thee and thy commandments. I confess that I have not believed in thee, my one God and Father, but have put my faith and trust more in creatures than in thee, my God and Creator, because I have feared them more than thee. And for their benefit and pleasure, I have done and left undone many things in disobedience to thee and thy commandments. I confess that I have taken thy holy Name in vain, that I have often sworn falsely and lightly by the same, that I have not always professed it nor kept it holy as I ought; but even more, I have slandered it often and grossly with all my life, words and deeds. I confess that I have not kept thy Sabbath holy, that I have not heard thy holy Word with earnestness nor lived according to the same; moreover that I have not yielded myself fully to thy divine hand, nor rejoiced in thy work done in me and in others, but have often grumbled against it stoutly and have been impatient. I confess that I have not honored my father and mother, that I have been disobedient to all whom I justly owe obedience, such as father and mother, my superiors, and all who have tried to guide and teach me faithfully. I confess that I have taken life; that I have offended my neighbor often and grossly by word and deed, caused him harm, grown angry over him, borne envy and hatred toward him, deprived him of his honor and the like. I confess that I have been unchaste. I acknowledge all my sins of the flesh and all the excess and extravagance of my whole life in eating, drinking, clothing and other things; my intemperance in seeing, hearing and speaking, and in all my life; yea, even fornication, adultery and such. I confess that I have stolen. I acknowledge my greed. I admit that in the use of my worldly goods I have set myself against thee and thy holy laws. Greedily and against charity have I grasped them. And scarcely, if at all, have I given of them when the need of my neighbor required it. I confess that I have born false witness, that I have been untrue and unfaithful toward my neighbor. I have lied to him, I have told lies about him, and I have failed to defend his honor and reputation as my own. And finally I confess that I have coveted the possessions and spouses of others. I acknowledge in summary that my whole life is nothing else than sin and transgression of thy holy commandments and an inclination toward all evil. Wherefore I beseech thee, O heavenly Father, that thou wouldst graciously forgive me these and all my sins. Keep and preserve me henceforth that I may walk only in thy way and live according to thy will; and all of this through Jesus Christ, thy dear Son, our Saviour. Amen.5 That just about”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You

“The church, someone has said, is the only club in the world where the only qualification for joining it and staying in it is that one be unqualified. The Bible and systematic theology tell us that we are sinners who sin. The church’s confessions of faith add that same assessment. The liturgies have prayers of confession. All point to the fact that we’re screwed up . . . and not just a little bit.”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You

“Trying harder doesn’t work. You should know that by now. Becoming more religious will only magnify the problem. Being disciplined and making a commitment will, more often than not, cause you to “hit the rocks of reality”; and your efforts, in the end, will turn to dust. Pretending is stupid. At some point, you will slip up and be shamed. And reading the latest book on making an impact, changing your world, or being driven by a purpose (as good as those things can be) will probably drive you nuts. You will only feel guiltier. Motivational advice, biblical directives, challenges, and resolutions are dogs that simply won’t hunt anymore.”
― Steve Brown, Three Free Sins: God's Not Mad at You