THREE FREE SINS Steve Brown CHAPTER 1: The Impossible Task of Flying Frogs Romans 7:18-19 Hebrews 12:8 Pulling Back the Curtain 1. Manipulate with guilt. 2. Encourage with comparisons to how much better others have done. 3. Tell stories of heroes of the faith who persevered and were faithful in the hard places. 4. Use the carrot-and-stick technique. 5. Throw out the follow me as I follow Christ thing. What if the Christian Faith Isn t about Getting Better? 1. Have you ever jumped off the cliff? Why can t you stop yourself? 2. In what ways do you feel like Felix the frog? 3. Even if you re not a pastor, how are you obsessed with sin prevention? 4. Have you been on the receiving end of any of these techniques? How did it make you feel? Did it help you stop sinning? 5. What if you really had three free sins (or better yet, unlimited free sins)? How would this change your life, perspective, and relationship with and view of God? CHAPTER 2: How s It Working for You So far? Romans 7:21-24 John 5:6 Telling Secrets Have You Had it with the Payback Pain? Trying to Make Things Better Almost Always Makes Them Worse There s a Lot to be Said for Self-Righteousness 1. How is it working for you so far? 2. What would happen if you decided to open up and tell your own secrets? If you did, what would God s reaction be? 3. When was the last time that surprise and relief were your reactions to God? 4. Steve teaches the principle: Real change doesn t take place until the pain gets greater than the payback. Do you agree or disagree, and why? Share a personal example of this. What is/was the payback? 5. Do you ever feel that Jesus is nowhere to be seen? What has been your experience with trying harder? Does it work?
6. How are you into being self-righteous? CHAPTER 3: Repent! The End Is Near! Psalm 51:17 Matthew 9:12-13 Matthew 5:20 Matthew 23 Repentance is Burning Bridges The Power of Repentance The Problem with Self-Righteousness Bingo! 1. What is repentance? How is it different from what you ve been taught in the past? 2. Steve writes, Your disobedience, your failure, your rebellion, your struggle to be better in short, your sin is the greatest gift God has given you if you know it. And your obedience, your faithfulness, your success, and your getting better is the most dangerous place you can be when you know it. Do you believe this, and why or why not? How has this been true in your own life? 3. How have you burned the bridge to God? 4. What is your reaction to Steve s offer of unlimited free sins and admonition for you to go out and (quoting Martin Luther) sin boldly? 5. How is repentance a source of power and authenticity? How does repentance change us and our relationships? 6. Steve teaches the process of self-righteousness (page 46). What is an example of this in your own life? 7. What would happen and how would you feel if you just came out and said that you re not doing so well, that you re struggling with goodness, that you re having trouble with being all that people want and think you should be? 8. What would happen and how would you feel if you just stopped defending and explaining yourself? CHAPTER 4: Why Can t We All Just Get Along? Ephesians 4:32 Isaiah 53:5 Matthew 18:21-35 Matthew 6:12 Matthew 5:23-24 Mark 11:25 Isaiah 53 Luke 19:41-44
Stories of Forgiveness Why Can t We All Just Get Along? It Always Starts with Jesus Mercy Has Come Running to You! 1. Why do you think we all can t just get along? 2. Steve shares two stories of forgiveness. How often are you surprised by forgiveness? Give an example. 3. Have you ever tried to forgive and forget? How well did it work? 4. What do you need to be forgiven of? What do Christ s tears and sacrifice on the cross mean to you? 5. Read back over (even better, read out loud) Martin Bucer s confession. Make it your own as you think through it and pray it. 6. Steve writes, You have unlimited free sins. I don t care where you ve been or where you are, what you ve done or what you re doing, what you re smoking or drinking, who you re sleeping with or demeaning, who you ve offended or who you ve hurt, or where the bodies are buried You re forgiven! Do you really believe and accept this as true, and why or why not? If not, what is stopping you? CHAPTER 5: Ain t Gonna Study War No More! Isaiah 2:4 James 4:1 1 John 3:2 Hebrews 12:1-2 Matthew 16:19 Matthew 23:27 Luke 5:17-26 Matthew 7:17-23 Matthew 1:20-21 What s So Great about Forgiveness? Four Almost Impossibilities 1. It s almost impossible to accept something we don t need. 2. It s almost impossible to give something we don t have. 3. It s almost impossible to fix something by ignoring what needs to be fixed. 4. It s almost impossible to serve a King and ignore his passion and substitute your own. 1. How do we get better? 2. Steve makes this challenge: Think of the person who irritates you the most, the one who has hurt you the deepest, the one who deserves forgiveness the least and then forgive him or her. Begin to think through and consider this.
What steps would you need to take and what support would you need to gather around you in order to accomplish this? How would you be and feel better as a result? 3. In what way is forgiveness a win/win deal? 4. Steve writes, You ll never know that is until you screw it up so badly you can no longer fix it or hide it the laughter and freedom of being forgiven and the concomitant laughter and freedom of forgiving someone who is just as messed up as you are. Have you come to this point? 5. Steve teaches the principle: You can t forgive until you ve been forgiven, and then you can only forgive to the degree to which you ve been forgiven. How is this true in your own life and experience? 6. How and why have you ignored what needs to be fixed? 7. What is your passion? What is God s passion? How are they similar or different? 8. Steve writes, The essence of the Christian faith is forgiveness unbelievable forgiveness given by screwed-up people to other screwed-up people without any kicker. Do you really believe this? Why or why not? CHAPTER 6: The Wuss Factor Acts 4:13 Ephesians 6:19-20 Romans 5:6, 8 Matthew 25:14-30 Matthew 26:1-5 Luke 12:2-3 Acts 4:19-20 Romans 8:1-2 Isaiah 1:18 John 15:13-14 The Courage of Bonhoeffer Freedom Creates Dangerous People What Happens if You Dare to be Free 1. If you have free sins, you don t have to wear a mask anymore. 2. If you have free sins, you don t have to please. 3. If you have free sins, you are free from the need to be perfect. 4. If I have free sins, I recognize my value to the One who assigns value. 1. In what areas and why do you lack courage? What would happen if you were to become dangerous? 2. What is the connection between freedom and danger? 3. Why is boldness a very hard trait for Christians to acquire? What is it about us? How have you fallen into the trap of niceness?
4. Steve writes, Forgiveness always costs; love is sometimes as hard as nails. Share an example in your own life. 5. How does being careful and meticulous, and working to maintain your witness kill freedom? 6. How is the parable of the talents not about doing better, but instead about risk? What are some examples of your risking? And what was the outcome? 7. What mask or masks do you wear? Why do you feel that s necessary? 8. Who have you been striving to please? Did it work? 9. In what areas are you a perfectionist? 10. Do you recognize your value? Why is it such a struggle? 11. Steve writes, It really isn t about me and my faithfulness, perfection, and obedience. It s about Another, who is perfect in his faithfulness and obedience. That would be Jesus. How can you accept, and relax and rest in this truth? 12. How are you dangerous? What would it look like if you were? Practice Steve s final admonition to go out and offend, bless or love someone. CHAPTER 7: When Getting Better Doesn t Matter 2 Corinthians 5:14 Colossians 3:3 Ecclesiastes 9:10 Romans 7:15, 18-19 Genesis 15 Philippians 1:6 1 John 3:2 2 Corinthians 5:17 Galatians 5:22-23 Matthew 6:1, 16 Matthew 7:22-23 1 Samuel 9-10 Isaiah 57:15 Four Truths that Can Change Your Life 1. You don t have to get better. 2. You will get better, and you won t be able to help it. 3. If you get better, hardly anybody will know. 4. If you do get better, you probably won t even know it. 1. Does getting better really matter? Why or why not? Aren t we to get better and better, every day in every way? 2. Steve teaches the principle: Almost everything of any importance is found while we re headed somewhere else. How is this true in your own life? 3. In what ways are you neurotic about purity, obedience and holiness? 4. If getting better isn t the issue, then what is? What is God s love based on?
5. Steve lists several heroes of the Bible. Are you surprised? With whom do you identify? What is God trying to tell us? 6. Do you trust that Philippians 1:6 is true? Why or why not? 7. Steve makes the suggestion that you do something (preferably something you like, are good at, and which doesn t cause more damage than you can fix) and let the devil take the hindmost. What is this for you? 8. Are you guilty of faking goodness at times? Did people fall for it? How were you tempted (almost forced to) keep it up? 9. If you do get better, you probably won t even know it. Why do you suppose this is true? What could be God s purpose behind it? 10. Are you getting better? CHAPTER 8: The Other Side of Silence Romans 8:15 Hebrews 10:21-22 Isaiah 55:8-9 Hebrews 10:31 Deuteronomy 29:29 Psalm 139:23 Isaiah 12:2 Psalm 51:3-4 Matthew 5:28 Romans 7:24 Isaiah 6 Hebrews 1:1-2 John 1:1, 14, 16-17 Romans 5:6 Romans 8:1, 31-34 Ecclesiastes 1:2, 14; 2:15; 3:19; 2:17 Why We Don t Pray 1. We don t pray because we feel intimidated. 2. He knows all our secrets. 3. We really don t trust God. 4. Our guilt prevents us from praying. The Real God 1. What is God like to you (child abuser, policeman, Father )? How does this impression affect your prayer life and relationship with him? 2. How is God intimidating to you? 3. In what ways have you tried to con or manipulate God? 4. What does it mean to really trust God? 5. We re all guilty. Why does that cause you to run from (rather than to) God? 6. What was the God they told you about like?
7. What was God s problem with love? How did he solve it? 8. How do free sins open the door through which we can run to him without getting killed by a holy God? CHAPTER 9: The Devil Made Me Do It! 1 Peter 5:8 Luke 22:31-32 Hebrews 2:14-15 Colossians 2:15 1 John 4:4 Job 1 Revelation 12:8-10 John 8:44 Revelation 19:20 Acts 2:13 Romans 3:20 Romans 8:1 1 Peter 2:16 Galatians 5:1 The Truth about Satan 1. Evil is real, and Satan is alive and well. 2. Satan is a defeated enemy. 3. If you belong to Christ, Satan has no ultimate power over you. Turning Good News into Bad Four Lies that Smell like Smoke 1. Caution 2. Condemnation 3. Control 4. Candor 1. Why is Satan displeased over free sins? 2. There are those who give Satan too much credit and those who give him too little credit, pretending that evil doesn t exist. Which do you tend to do and why? 3. God has already won the battle against Satan. How does this fact allow you to feel free and empowered? 4. How does Satan annoy, trouble, frighten and lie in your life? 5. How have we turned the good news of the Christian faith into bad? 6. How is your Christian caution killing you? 7. How has Satan caused you to get stuck at the point of condemnation, cycling over and over again between feeling condemned and trying harder? 8. In what ways have you moved from the truth of connection/caring/love to the lie of responsibility/controlling/smothering?
9. What is usually meant by maintaining our witness? Have you ever been caught up in the pattern of faking your goodness and obedience for the sake of your witness? How did it end? 10. Don t you wish the gospel were this good? What s stopping you from believing and accepting it? CHAPTER 10: A Party Down at the Church Philippians 1:18 John 13:34-35 Matthew 16:18 John 12:32 John 1:14 John 20:21 Hebrews 2:17-18 1 Timothy 1:16 John 13:1 John 15:11 Dirty Secrets Coming into Divine Light First, the tears Then, the laughter Greensboro Grub Inviting Others to the Party Doing Evangelism the Way Jesus Did It 1. Jesus showed up. 2. Jesus identified. 3. Jesus loved. 4. Jesus laughed. 1. Why isn t the church a safe place at times? What needs to change? 2. Why do you think God has revealed some of our dirty secrets? 3. In what ways is damage control the most dangerous thing Christians can do? 4. How are both sorrow and laughter a response to sin, to coming clean? 5. What is church to you? What do you think it should be? 6. How is our evangelism ineffective? What are we doing wrong? 7. How did Jesus do evangelism? What can we learn from him? 8. Where do you need to show up? 9. How is our identification as sinners a good thing in attracting others to Christ? 10. How does God s love affect your attitude toward them? 11. What are the qualities of salt and light? Where do they come from? 12. How is evangelism a party not only a party, a great, fun and welcoming one?
CHAPTER 11: Just Don t Let Them! Matthew 10:26-27 Galatians 1:8 Matthew 7:15 Acts 20:28-31 Jude 1:3 Galatians 1:6 Galatians 5:12 Galatians 2:13 Galatians 1:8 Galatians 5:1 Galatians 1:7 Galatians 2:11-14 Galatians 2:4-5 Galatians 4:17 Galatians 5:1 Matthew 23 Galatians 2:20 Galatians 4:4-7 Wolves Among Us Who are the Wolves? Wolfology 101 1. Wolves distort the good news. 2. Wolves have hidden agendas. 3. Wolves impose heavy burdens on sheep. 4. Wolves lie about God. 1. Bill Hendricks makes the observation that a lot of Christians speak the language of grace but the reality of grace is missing. In what places/groups have you noticed this as true? Describe. 2. Wolves are those who pervert the gospel yet they are also those who seem to be the most obedient, godly and spiritual. Why, do you suppose, this is true? 3. What does it mean to stand up and fight the wolves? 4. Do you identify with J s words and struggle? 5. What is the hidden agenda of the particular wolves in your life? (What s in it for him/her? Where is the payback?) 6. What is the yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1)? 7. How guilty, tired and condemned do you feel in the presence of the wolf (or wolves) in your life? 8. Who is the God the wolves would have you follow? How is it a lie?