Freed From Sin: A Primer on Holiness

by Tom Brennan

In Freed From Sin Tom Brennan has written another excellent book. In this timeless tome he tackles the subject of holiness. His solid doctrinal foundation, his personal transparency, his clear, easily readable style of writing, and his practical applications make this an extremely valuable book. I am very glad to recommend it.

— R. B. Oullette, Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Bridgeport, Michigan



Pastor Tom Brennan is a gifted communicator and writer and God has given him the ability to take difficult material and bring it down so all of us can comprehend and understand. His past book, Schizophrenic, A Diagnosis of the Independent Baptist Movement was straight forward and dealt squarely and fairly with both the strengths and weaknesses of the independent Baptist movement of the twenty and twenty-first century. This work on holiness is sure to be a classic of our day! The need for holiness in this generation is huge. The need for holiness in each of our lives as believers is great, and we are commanded by God to be holy. Reading this book will help develop a consciousness of this matter. Hopefully it will create the desire in each of us to keep working on developing holiness in fear of God.

— Kevin Folger, Pastor Emeritus, Cleveland Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio

Genres: Christian

587 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2019

About the author

After six years establishing a church in rural Pennsylvania and sixteen years revitalizing an inner-city church in Chicago, in 2019 Tom Brennan accepted the call to pastor the Bible Baptist Church of Dubuque, Iowa. He and his lovely wife, Mandy, have been married since 1999. They have three children. He is happiest at home, surrounded by his family, with a cup of tea to hand and a large stack of books within easy reach. Failing that, he can be found hiking one of the many beautiful trails in Dubuque or slowly barbecuing something on his smoker.

In addition to pastoring, the Lord has given him an active writing ministry. Birthed in 2014, Brennan's Pen includes a blog, daily emails designed for men in ministry, and five books to date. You can find more about his writing by perusing his blog, concerningjesus.blogspot.com, or his author website, brennanspen.com.

Reviews

[Scott Petty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A much needed book on a much neglected subject. Deeply thought out and meticulously supported by scripture, this book cries out to be read and read again. Convicting and illuminating. Definitely a book which should be read by every Christian. Highly recommended.

[Russell Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another spectacular book.

This book is saturated in what matters; the Word of God. I found myself wishing the section on Romans would continue through the end of that book. I appreciate the focus on being Biblical. The subject matter is heavy and not for the faint of heart. However the time taken to read and understand is well worth it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to develop their understanding and growth in genuine, Bible fueled holiness. I look forward to revisiting this book in the future, perhaps with a Sunday School class. I believe the format would lend itself well to such a use.

[Timothy Smallwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep. Thorough. Balanced.

You can trust this book to remain true to the Word of God. The concept of holiness has been abused and mistreated in our day, but this book is a great start to getting things back on track. I started the book in a zoom class with the author and had to finish afterward on my own. In both settings, it was amazing. You will learn and grow in your walk with God by applying what you learn in this book.

[Philip Harrelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This an important book on holiness that I found accidentally (providentially) when I Googled "modesty" several months ago. I found Tom Brennan's blog where he had did a series on modesty that was very good. He comes from an IFB background and writes well. This book is worth the price of the bibliography at the end. I had a number of the books already listed but ended up buying at least 15 more that I did not have. I will dig into those books with some Bible study series at a later point.

[Chad Delhotal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another well written book

While I did find a few things to critique, Bro. Brennan gives a well balanced and nourishing development of the topic that is well worth reading.

[Jessica Sullivant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt. I love how, just when you are faced with some difficult truth, he turns and writes “beloved” and then continues. In essence, he is calling us to be what we’ve already been given positionally in Christ.

Several of my own views were challenged. I was shocked to find myself agreeing with a certain quote, only to have him explain its utter shallowness and Scriptural ignorance.

As I started, I felt a renewed since of purpose in my walk with the Lord but that quickly faded. I was frustrated. Everyone knew I wasn’t like the world. What was there left to do? I almost quit reading at one point. I had fallen again. Why keep trying?

And then in Part 8, nearing the final chapter, he says “what they have not emphasized is that we should be like Jesus.” Yes, I had arrived in a sense. My heart had been challenged by setting personal standards but had grown restless. Now I realize that the real journey is becoming like Christ. Ok, that may sound basic, but to me, seeing it put that way, in the context of the larger work, has been transformative. I haven’t arrived. I’m just beginning. Christ is set before me.

[Michael Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book by my pastor friend. As the Unshackled Radio program's tagline states, this book makes you face yourself and think! This is an important book that you ought to add to your library if you care to draw closer to the Lord.

[Emma Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on a subject that took this author countless hours of study and hard work.
It is not easy to read. But the substance will have you chewing for the rest of your life.