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Romans 4:7-8 from Ps. 32:1-2, New Living Translation

"'Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose sin is no longer counted against them by the LORD.'"

Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

"Do not assume you are good soil."

Chan believes most American churchgoers are thorny soil.

"A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions, or commitments are piled on top of it."

David Goetz, as quoted in Chan: "'Too much of the good life ends up being toxic, deforming us spiritually'" (67).

"... the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity.... Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered" (68).

See "Lukewarm People vs. the Word, 68-81.

C. S. Lewis as quoted in Chan: "'If you read history you will find that Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this'" (75).

The lives of the lukewarm "... wouldn't look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God" (76).

"... a lukewarm Christian is an oxymoron" (83-84).

Tim Kizziar as quoted in Chan: "'Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at thing sin life that don't really matter'" (93).

Nothing I do "... in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made" (97).