Steve Brown likes to poke the bear. If you have listened to his radio broadcasts at Key Life Network you probably know this already. In 2012, he published Three Free Sins to offer a fuller explanation of something he said on one of his radio programs.

After years of listening to people suffering under the oppressive guilt that comes with trying to be righteous and constantly failing, Steve declared that today he was offering his listeners, “Three Free Sins”. I didn’t hear the broadcast, but apparently, chaos ensued.

People were outraged at his insolence. How dare he? Who does he think he is?

Is holiness irrelevant?
Does obedience not matter?
Are there no consequences for bad behavior?

Steve takes about 223 pages to try to answer those questions. His writing style is casual and breezy. The text is conversational and very approachable. While he guesses that people who aren’t Christians might read the book, his intended audience is people who are currently following Christ.

Steve attempts to be honest about his own struggles. And in doing so admits that we really have something better than three free sins. We have UNLIMITED FREE SINS!

If you have responded to Jesus in faith that means that every bad thing you have ever done, are currently doing or ever will do has been paid for in His sacrifice. Everything = Unlimited

So instead of feeling crushed and defeated by your inability to follow the rules, instead rejoice because you don’t have to! Jesus followed them perfectly for you. Trust his sacrifice on your behalf.

“Religion can make you weird. I can also make you afraid”

“Perfectionism is so obsessive that we hardly have time to do anything but try harder until we get it right.”

“Over the years, God has granted me the severe mercy of failure, pain, and an awareness of how I’m about as messed up as anybody I know. If I were asked that question again [am I moving on toward perfection], I would have to answer that I hoped maybe I was getting better. ‘But frankly’, I would have to say, ‘who the hell knows?'”

My Three Takeaways

God is not made at me

This is the subtitle of the book, so it isn’t that unexpected that this concept would leave an impression on me. But, for some reason, when I imagine God has he thinks about me he looks like this:
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Not really frowning, but not too pleased. I am a constant screw up. I get very clearly what Paul is talking about in Romans 7. Emotionally, I just rarely move on to Romans 8.

But the truth is that God isn’t made at me. He loves me. Yes, he hates sin. Absolutely. Just look at what had to be done to make me clean. But that is just it. I am clean. I have been forgiven and now I have my Father’s smile.
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My attempts to behave are cute

Just because I am trying to believe that God isn’t actually made at me, doesn’t mean I have stopped trying to earn his approval. That is what often ends up backfiring. I can’t be good. While sin has been ultimately defeated its effects are still present in my life. When I start slipping back into that old habit of trying to prove I belong God probably has the same expression I have as I listen to my 6 years old say he is ready to play in the Big Leagues.

“Sure buddy.”

My righteous posturing only fools other people who are also pretending

I am pretty good at faking it. I’ve had over 2 decades experience doing it. But, the more time I spend around people who really, really know the Lord or people who really, really don’t is that I haven’t fooled them. They are able to see through the BS pretty quickly.

The only people who content themselves with the mask I sometimes wear are the people who are often wearing masks themselves. I don’t think it is because these people are dumb. I think they very smart. They are very religious, moral people. But, they are terrified of being exposed as not having all together, so they don’t call my bluff.

If that sounds familiar to you, friends, I would say go ahead and remove the mask. It is easier to see the Father’s smile that way.