Sorry Russ, but I love Steve Brown...

If you haven’t read, Scandalous freedom by Steve Brown read it! Here is a little taste.
“Free means free. You’ve heard that Christ has made you free. You may have told others of your freedom. And you probably use the concept of freedom in your witness to those who don’t yet know Christ. Sometimes, however, I fear that we define freedom in a way that restricts and binds more than it frees. A lot of what we call freedom isn’t real freedom at all. Furthermore, the similarity between real freedom and the freedom experienced by many Christians is the difference between the taxidermist and the veterinarian; while you do get your dog back, one collects dust while the other jumps, slobbers, and barks. I fear that much of the freedom Christians proclaim has the feel of a stuffed Dog riding along as a hood ornament. It looks nice and is reminiscent of something once alive and vibrant, but is has become only a semblance of the real thing. The words and the connotations of those words-0 the outside- say one thing, but he reality and the substance- the inside- say quite another. When Jesus used the word free ( as in “the truth will set you free), he employed a term that means liberation from bondage. In other words, the Greek word for free means free. (Incidentally, the Hebrew word for free means free as well). If you’re looking for a dictionary definition, free means an “exemption or liberation from the control of some other person or some arbitrary power.”

Steve Brown is not trying to use his soothing deep voice to convince us to sin, as we are free! He is trying to help us find the JOY of today. He is trying to remind us that we are no longer slaves to sin! He is trying to remind us that He has defeated death and taken the punishment for our sins. We know that as true believers we do strive not to sin because of our love for our Savior, not fear of punishment. This is the only way we will have joy and enjoy the freedom we have.
Steve’s point is that alive dogs are messy (slobber, jump, and bark). Stiff dogs (stuffed dogs) don’t do those messy things because they aren’t really free. I don’t know about you, but I would rather go to church with real, messy people who strive to Love the LORD and serve Him, but can show they haven’t reached Glorification yet (as none of us have), ….than go to church with a bunch of clean, stiff people who don’t live in the FREEDOM Christ gives. As Christians, we have such a tendency to inch back toward legalism and the law in a pitiful attempt to be loved and accepted by our savior. This is a great reminder that such efforts don't promote sanctification or glorification... or bring glory to God or his Gospel. With Christ we truly are free.
More Steve Brown-. "I fear too often the church has become an organization of guilty people with a guilty preacher standing in the pulpit, telling guilty people that they should feel guiltier". "The only people who get better are people who know that, if they never get better, God will love them anyway. The corollary to that principle is this: God will not only love you if you don't get better; he will teach you that getting better isn't the issue. His love is the issue. Out of the love, kindness, and presence of God, you will find yourself getting better" (p. 69).
Get more Steve Brown here - http://stevebrownetc.com/
As you think about this, think on these verses and what they mean:

Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." 1 John 3:5-10 (NIV)

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8: 31-36)
Living in Freedom,
Rachel