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A Dozen Things God Did with Your Sin

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What Did God Do with Your Sin?

Every Christian has experienced days or even seasons of feeling extreme guilt over past or present sins, thinking that God is angry or disgusted with them--sometimes even wondering if they're truly saved. This often happens when believers fixate on their sins while forgetting what Christ has already done on their behalf at the cross. Sam Storms explains it this way: "What consumes us is what we have done by sinning. What ought to consume us is grateful meditation on what God has done with our sinning."

In his latest book, Storms addresses this anxiety over sin by reminding believers of the good news of the gospel. Beginning with an explanation of the glory of penal substitution, he walks through 12 things God did with their sin, including forgiving it, passing over it, and casting it into the depths of the sea. He also explains 3 things God will never do with their sin, such as counting it against them. Walking through the Bible's teaching, Storms helps believers find freedom, joy, and peace in knowing what God has done (and will never do) with their sin through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus.

225 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 13, 2022

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312 people want to read

About the author

Sam Storms

79 books137 followers
(Some early works written as C. Samuel Storms)

Sam has spent 39 years in ministry as a pastor, professor and author. He was visiting Associate Professor of Theology at Wheaton College from 2000-2004, and is currently Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City. He has authored 22 books and founded Enjoying God Ministries. He's a graduate of The University of Oklahoma (B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M) and The University of Texas (Ph.D.). He and his wife Ann have been married for 40 years and are the parents of two grown daughters and have four grandchildren. On a more personal level, Sam loves baseball, books, movies, and anything to do with the Oklahoma Sooners.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
1,674 reviews
March 20, 2022
This is a bit of an exhausting book. Do you know how wearisome it can be when someone explains a joke? Well in this book Storms explains a bunch of metaphors that all basically mean the same thing. Just as tiring. Now, don't get me wrong, I have the deepest respect for Sam Storms, and the images are all biblical--and all glorious!--but the technical slicing and dicing is not what they require. The "dozen" things are more like two or three, and are no different than the other parenthetical three. This book would have been a lot more enjoyable as a tract.
Profile Image for Dr. David Steele.
Author 8 books263 followers
March 27, 2022
“The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are thus to be seen as the pivotal chapter in the unfolding story of God’s redemptive purpose for humanity.” So, says Sam Storms in his recent book, A Dozen Things God Did With Your Sin. Storms masterfully unpacks the gospel in a way that is readable, compelling, and biblical.

The author’s aim is to encourage readers who struggle with embracing their identity in Christ: “It comes down to one thing and one thing only: you and I have failed to believe what God himself says he has done with our sins.” To help overcome this massive theological blunder, the author draws a crucial distinction between our eternal union with God and our experiential communion with him. The remainder of the book draws on this distinction and reminds readers that:

Their sins have been forgiven.

They are adopted by God.

They are ransomed from the power and penalty of sin.

They are in union with Christ - forever.

They are reconciled to God.

They have been delivered from the wrath of God.

They are seated together with Christ in heavenly places.


Storms adds, “My union with God is unchanged by my sin, but my communion with God certainly suffers … My capacity to enjoy and feel the glory of being a child of God can be undermined by unrepentant sin.”

With the proper biblical foundation in place, the author unveils twelve things that God did with our sin. Each chapter unfolds God’s activity and highlights the redemptive benefits of Christ and his gospel.

The book concludes by revealing three things God doesn’t and never will do with our sin. In the end, A Dozen Things God Did With Your Sin is an elaborate explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a book that should be read and studied over and over again. Sam Storms should be applauded for writing such an accessible book that can be absorbed by people in the pew and passed along to the next generation!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.
Profile Image for Marney Rausch.
134 reviews9 followers
July 13, 2024
Excellent excellent excellent !! Reading this book was spending time each day meditating and contemplating all God has done for us through Jesus. What a great way to spend your time!
18 reviews
December 22, 2021
Ray Ortlund says in the forward, “without confidence that God is both morally serious and mercifully generous, our consciences will never leave us in peace.” Storms takes up the challenge of helping us understand what God has done for us in redemption and the forgiveness of our sins.

In the initial chapter, Storms explains that God has laid our judicial guilt on His Son Jesus, and that we no longer are subject to punishment for our sins, past, present, and future. Storms comments at the beginning of the second chapter, that the remainder of the book is an explanation of the pictures that Scripture uses to describe our relationship to God and to our sin.

Some of those ways God views our sin are: He has cleansed us of sin; covered our sin; passed over our sin; cast our sin into the sea; and forgotten our sin and refuses to remember it, to name a few of the twelve things God does with our sin.

Before ending the book with a chapter on the Gospel, what it is and why it is important, Storms lists three things God doesn’t and never will do with our sin. One of those things is remember them.

One question that Storms deals with is what effect sins have on our lives after we commit them. Even though God doesn’t remember them and has covered our sins, don’t our sins still influence us? His answer is that there is a difference between our eternal union with God in which our sins play no part, and the experiential communion with Him. Our sins cause us to lose enjoyment, feeling, and sense of God’s presence, but not our eternal union with Him.

I found the book easy to read, engaging in style, and at the same time challenging. Having grown up in a home that focused on performance and acceptance based on that performance, it was easy for me to transfer that same attitude into my relationship with God. Now I know that my eternal union with God is safe, but the feelings of enjoyment of Him when I sin can cause me to lose joy.

I can’t recommend the book more highly. Storms’ writing style is personal while challenging, like a good friend who cares for you while telling you the hard truth.

Crossway was kind enough to provide me a copy of the book for an unbiased review.
Profile Image for Becky.
6,177 reviews303 followers
January 25, 2022
First sentence: Sometimes profound truths are tucked away in obscure and neglected places.

A Dozen Things God Did with Your Sin is a great little book for believers of all ages and stages. It is beneficial if you're a brand new believer. It is beneficial if you have been a believer for decades. It's been said many times that believers need to preach the gospel to themselves daily. Though that certainly isn't the only purpose of A Dozen Things God Did With Your Sin, it's one of the consequences. For of reminding us what God has done with our sin, it points us again and again and again to Jesus Christ.

So the premise of this one is straightforward enough. It shares TWELVE things God has done with our sins. Those twelve can be seen in the table of contents:

He Laid Your Sin upon His Son
He Has Forgiven You of Your Sins
He Has Cleansed You of Your Sin
He Has Covered Your Sin
He Has Cast All Your Sin Behind His Back
He Has Removed Your Sin as Far as the East is from the West
He Has Passed Over Your Sin
He Has Trampled Your Sin Underfoot
He Has Cast Your Sin Into the Sea
He Has Blotted Out Your Sin
He Has Turned His Face Away From Your Sin
He Has Forgotten Your Sin and Refuses to Remember It

Each chapter has scriptural supports and a bit of expository teaching. (Perhaps not as much as you'd find in a commentary or from the pulpit of a good expositor. But more than you'd find in 99% of devotional books.)

The book also includes three things He doesn't and never will do with our sins. (Those are not mentioned in the table of contents.)

The book also includes a chapter on the gospel. (Though readers will have been exposed at least twelve times previously to the heart of the gospel). And a LOVELY concluding chapter on the "uttermost" and "always" of Hebrews 7:25.

The book is great for teaching believers about assurance, reconciliation, and the gospel itself.
Profile Image for Caroline.
337 reviews7 followers
August 21, 2025
Sam is a writer who is extremely likeable and relatable and one who I connect with theologically. However, I found this book a little repetitive and maybe not one that stretched me enough. Tim Keller, John Piper and John Owen all tackle this subject and in greater depth. I suspect this would be best for new Christians or those really struggling with the concept of sin.

Profile Image for Brendan Low.
22 reviews1 follower
February 21, 2022
A short but concise books expositing on how God forgives and forgets out sins throughout the Bible. My particular favourite was how God "casts all [our] sins behind [his] back" (Isaiah 38:17), and Sam Storms draws a picture of God going forward and not looking back, telling us not to look back as well, as he has thrown those sins away.
Profile Image for Alistair Chalmers.
Author 1 book22 followers
January 18, 2022
I’ve yet to meet a Christian who isn’t, at one point in their lives or another, reminded of their sin and feels guilt and shame. There are also Christians who feel powerlessly wracked with guilt that they doubt they are even a Christian in the first place. Satan knows how to remind us of our past transgressions and the daily battle we face against temptation, he knows how to plague us. But, if we are in Christ, we are forgiven. If you’re looking for a book to solidify that truth in your mind, this is it!

A Dozen Things God Did with Your Sin (And Three Things He’ll Never Do) isn’t only for a small subsection of the Christian church, but I believe that it is a book that everyone can benefit from, why? Here’s what Sam Storms says in his introduction…

“all of us, both new believers and seasoned saints, will be confronted regularly with disquieting concerns that perhaps we’ve failed once too often and have pushed God to the limits of his grace. There’s no getting around the fact that this is why so many blood- bought, redeemed children of God continue to live bereft of the joy and peace that are two of the blessings Christ died to secure for us. We just can’t bring ourselves to believe that God really loves us.”

The reality is that many Christians have a superficial view of forgiveness and the atonement of Jesus that we don’t realise the full extent of what it means. This book teaches you, as the title says, twelve things that God did with your sin and three things He will never do. The 12 things are...

Full review at https://achalmersblog.com/2022/01/17/...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Dylan Brady.
121 reviews4 followers
March 3, 2022
Favourite excerpt:

“Uttermost” and “always.” These two words are lifesaving. These two words are
hope-giving, joy-awakening, heart-thrilling, and breathtaking in their force and implication. Many of you have tattoos. I do not. But if I were to get a tattoo, I know exactly what it would be. There would actually be two of them. On my right forearm would be the word “uttermost” and on the left “always”! Don’t expect to see this happen anytime soon, but I can’t think of anything more glorious to be reminded of on a daily basis than the truth embodied and expressed in these
two wonderful words.

It seems that everything we experience has a shelf life or an expiration date.
Change your oil every five thousand miles. Replace the filter on your air conditioning unit every six
months. “I take you to be my lawfully wedded wife until death do us part.” So not even marriage lasts forever. Nothing lasts. Or so it seems. One thing that lasts is the heavenly intercession on your behalf of Jesus Christ our great High Priest! Try to envision what kind of Christian life we would lead if we genuinely and sincerely believed what these two words are saying!

How might it affect the way you and I worship? Would any of us ever feel restrained in our shouts of joy? Would we ever grow weary of singing his praises? Would we ever again be embarrassed to
kneel or raise our hands or clap or dance or weep or laugh? I don’t think so.
If we grasped just a small measure of what these two words mean, there is sim-
ply no way to predict what our prayer lives would be like. We would never have to
be encouraged to attend a prayer meeting. We would never struggle to volunteer in
some capacity at our church. We would never have to be told to be generous and
sacrificial in our giving to the financial needs of our local church. Never.

If you doubt what I’m saying, it must be that you still mistakenly think that
“uttermost” means almost and that “always” means sometimes.
Profile Image for Christopher.
92 reviews
February 8, 2024
4.5 stars. Only reason I'm not saying 5 is it slows a bit towards the middle of the book. Just felt like points were being dragged out just a bit, but it picks right back up.

If you're looking for an encouraging book that will help you deal with condemnation, I highly recommend this book! Sam does a great job of briefly explaining substitutionary atonement without going off into the weeds. I especially liked that he repeatedly hit on the distinction between our "union with Christ" that cannot be changed by sin, and our "communion with Christ" that can be effected by sin. In other words, our salvation is secured through our union with Christ, but our relationship with Christ is directly affected by our unfaithfulness to Him.

Towards the end of the book, Sam discusses how the gospel directly impacts every area of our lives, our relationships with our spouse, our kids, our job, how we spend our money, political issues, etc.

He especially makes the distinction between the "content of the gospel", what God did in Christ to reconcile us back to Himself, and the "consequences of the gospel", that is, what we do in response such as charity, abolition of abortion, racial equality, etc. He is sure to point out that we must not confuse our response to being changed by the gospel with the gospel itself, for it equivocates what "we do" with what "God does". The gospel is 100 percent a work of God.

This was the second book from Sam Storms I have read. If you haven't read, "Convergence", I highly recommend it!
Profile Image for Doreen.
792 reviews18 followers
February 3, 2022
This is a beautiful book. It looks at 12 things God does with your sin and three things he doesn't. Storms does a fabulous job at explaining and illustrating what things mean. For instance, he talks about what it means when God says he removes your sins as far as the east is from the west or what it means when he casts your sins into the sea. He writes in a way that is easy to understand. It's hope-giving, encouraging and comforting.

He talks about how we all at times fear that Jesus' sacrifice wasn't enough because we know how sinful we are. He walks through the twelve things one by one and shows how thoroughly Jesus took care of our sins so that they can NEVER be used against us. It felt like being bathed in grace.

One story I found particularly poignant was when he talked about the look Jesus gave to Peter as Peter denied him. We might imagine it was a look of disgust or disbelief. Yet Jesus looked on him with compassion and love. Peter's denial wasn't a surprise to Jesus. Jesus was going to the cross to pay the price for that and every one of Peter's sins.

I think this is an excellent book and I'd highly recommend it. Thank you to Crossway for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Mark.
59 reviews
March 14, 2022
In the foreword, Dane Ortlund quotes Sam Storms: "How can I come to God and be received by him and reconciled to him when I feel so dirty and unworthy? How can I be at peace with God when my conscience incessantly stabs at me with reminders of sin and lust and greed and ambition and selfishness and idolatry? How can I be assured that he really enjoys me as his child? Is there any hope that one day I might feel the affection God has for me?"

If you struggle with letting go of your (forgiven!) sin, continually living in the past, allowing it to affect your relationship with Christ, this book should prove edifying. The most helpful nugget for me was his explanation of eternal union vs. experiential communion--a truth I've known, but (1) never heard described quite like this and (2) probably struggled to truly internalize/believe.

There is a lot of repetition (not necessarily a bad thing for slow learners like me), and there is a chapter or two where the anecdotes and/or Scripture passages he uses aren't clearly linked to the topic, but overall it's an easy and encouraging read.
Profile Image for Mel.
66 reviews32 followers
December 30, 2021
Summary quote for the book: The gospel can accomplish what science cannot.

Disclosure: I received ARC via NetGalley. This is currently scheduled to be released on January 17, 2022.

Review: I haven’t read anything from Sam Storms before. I will definitely be seeking out more of his books. This book has incredible timing with what’s going on in our world right now. This book doesn’t just tell us that God has dealt with our sin, throws a bunch of verses at you & inspire with unnecessary fluff or feel good anecdotes.

This is a soaking experience. Relevant truth from Scripture. Deeper look into the true meaning that anyone can understand. Questions & prayers for further reflection & self discovery. I love that this didn’t go above any heads. This was an easy read while yet deep diving under the surface. The author clearly is passionate in his desire for the reader to know without a doubt that they are loved and their sin is no more, not because of who the reader is; but who God is.
Profile Image for Mercy Bailey .
62 reviews1 follower
May 19, 2024
This was a very thought provoking book.

As a Christian who grew up in church and still attends today- I wish I could say my faith is strong. But this book revealed to me that sometimes, I don’t truly believe what God had done with my sin.
Can he REALLY forgive all I’ve done (even my deepest darkest secrets..)?

If you feel as though you need a refresh and reminder of what being his child truly means—- read this book.

I had forgotten and certainly was not allowing the gift of salvation become a joy and propeller in my life. It just was a part of my life but not affecting my life anymore.

My new prayer? Psalms 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Read this book ❤️
Profile Image for Carter Hemphill.
404 reviews6 followers
December 2, 2022
A really theologically sound book about sin and how the gospel allows us to live a life of grace and not religion. The book does get redundant, but it seems intentional to reinforce frequently God’s grace to overcome the frequent and persistent doubts the reader may have about the absolute nature of God’s forgiveness of sin. I appreciated the special chapter about the gospel (and identifying how it is often misconstrued and expanded upon). This is a good resource to go back and to use for study.
Profile Image for Robin.
273 reviews2 followers
February 11, 2023
4.5 stars, but I'll round up :). This was such a blessing to read every morning for devotions the last week or so, to saturate my heart in the truths of the Gospel. Storms is so pastoral and gracious, though he can be repetitive at times. Maybe it was a good thing, as we need to hear the truth of the Gospel over and over! The beginning couple of chapters were a bit tedious but became very enjoyable as it progressed. There was also a good explanation of the difference between union and communion with Christ, which was helpful. Great read!
86 reviews2 followers
June 9, 2024
Great edification of our freedom from sin and the truth of penal substitutionary atonement. Unfortunately extremely repetitive. If you read the first two chapters and last two chapters, you’ve read the whole book. I get that this message is reiterated throughout scripture so it’s probably my own sinful perspective causing this issue but still, made it pretty challenging to finish the book with enthusiasm.
Profile Image for Adam Kareus.
326 reviews4 followers
February 6, 2022
A fantastic book that all who have ever struggled to accept and believe God’s forgiveness need to read. I have already bought a copy for a friend who mentioned their struggle to truly believe that God could forgive them. Sam Storms writes with passion and truth, and it was a great benefit for me to be able to be reminded once again of the great gospel of Jesus Christ.
Profile Image for Becca.
788 reviews48 followers
December 27, 2021
You may have heard verses from the Bible that tell us that God doesn’t remember our sin or that he has tossed our sin into the bottom of the sea. But what do those verses actually mean?

With solid theology and a pastor’s heart, author Sam Storms walks us through 12 things that God has done with our sin (and three things he’ll never do) because of Christ’s sacrifice. It is an invitation to cease dwelling on past failures and rejoice in the freedom Christ has given us. If you’ve ever struggled to believe that God has *really* forgiven you, this book is for you.

I loved the section in which Storms walked through Psalm 103, which says that God’s steadfast love toward us is so great as to be compared to the distance between Heaven and earth. So the author spelled out how great that distance actually is based on what is known about our universe. I could have wept just meditating on that alone.

Another solid resource from Crossway. If you benefited from reading Gentle and Lowly, this would be a great follow up.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced review copy. This boon releases on January 18, 2022!
Profile Image for Tucker Woodson.
47 reviews1 follower
February 24, 2025
Very good for the correct audience: anyone who needs gospel refreshment, or those seeking for new ways to restate the gospel. If you’re looking for novelty, go elsewhere (For the better! Novelty mixed with Christianity typically draws disaster).
9 reviews1 follower
March 4, 2022
This is an excellent discussion of what God does with the believer's sin. My favorite part is chapter 16 where he talks about the words, "uttermost" and "always" as found in Hebrews 7:25.
17 reviews
April 17, 2022
Although it did seem to get repetitive in some ways, I appreciated the clarity and joy of all God has done and will not do with my sin!
Profile Image for Kieran Grubb.
204 reviews1 follower
April 25, 2022
Good book.

Elementary stuff surrounding atonement and assurance helpfully put into one place.

Definitely recommend.
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