Perfection Is Our Goal, But Not Our Reality
A recent survey from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University noted that about 50 percent of Americans, and WAY TOO MANY Christians, believe that they are perfect and have no need of improvement. This is false doctrine, and it is our objective at First Fruits Ministries to correct false doctrine by teaching the Truth.
As you know, Scripture teaches that all are sinners and fall short of God's glory; that we NEED (and God has provided) a Savior in Yeshua; that we MUST trust Yeshua to be saved; and that we ought to work out our salvation with fear and trembling by relying on God to help us sin no more BECAUSE we love Yeshua and what He has accomplished for us. It is our duty to know what sin is and ask God to help us reject it in our lives. It is our duty to trust in God's instruction, rather than our own way or the way of our culture or of the world, so that we can be blessed.
Unfortunately, pastors have not been doing their duty to share the Truth with their congregants, and this needs to change. According to a New American article about the survey, a 2019 Pew Research study that analyzed sermon content across the nation determined that just 3 percent of all sermons preached even mention sin. "Obviously, too many pastors, unlike God, are like politicians trying to win votes," concluded Selwyn Duke, the author of the article. Whether pastors or congregants, we can't be like this. Our objective has to be to humble ourselves before God and seek knowledge of His Word with prayer, knowing that the whole reason we're here in this world is to learn how to be less worldly and more like how Yeshua the Messiah taught us to be. In other words, the purpose of life is to know God and learn His ways, rejecting what people and institutions teach us that is contrary to God's Word.
Here is a link to the research from the Cultural Research Center: https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BARNA_CRC_AWVI-2025-8-Americans-Christians-Deny-Their-Sinfulness.pdf (First Fruits Archive).
There is good news to share in all of this. First Fruits Ministries has already produced a sermon message on this subject, called "You shall be perfect...," and it covers both sides of the perfection deception. Here's a link to the YouTube archive and here's a link to the transcript from 6/15/2024. Please use the research to familiarize yourselves with the false notions of our common culture in America and the failures of the church from the article, and find yourself siding only with the Truth of God's Word, presented—in part—in this sermon so you can be ready to speak with people about the sin that is in the world, the sins that people have adopted in their lives, and why they need Yeshua as a savior to help them escape sin and walk in both humility and righteousness if they have any hope of being with God in His Kingdom. We need to embrace our brokenness as people who need a Savior, because Yeshua, who was lifted up from death in the resurrection on our behalf, will also lift us up to be more like Him. He is ready to help us do this by the power of His Holy Spirit. Our objective is to ask Yeshua to help us with humble hearts ready to learn and grow.
As you know, Scripture teaches that all are sinners and fall short of God's glory; that we NEED (and God has provided) a Savior in Yeshua; that we MUST trust Yeshua to be saved; and that we ought to work out our salvation with fear and trembling by relying on God to help us sin no more BECAUSE we love Yeshua and what He has accomplished for us. It is our duty to know what sin is and ask God to help us reject it in our lives. It is our duty to trust in God's instruction, rather than our own way or the way of our culture or of the world, so that we can be blessed.
Unfortunately, pastors have not been doing their duty to share the Truth with their congregants, and this needs to change. According to a New American article about the survey, a 2019 Pew Research study that analyzed sermon content across the nation determined that just 3 percent of all sermons preached even mention sin. "Obviously, too many pastors, unlike God, are like politicians trying to win votes," concluded Selwyn Duke, the author of the article. Whether pastors or congregants, we can't be like this. Our objective has to be to humble ourselves before God and seek knowledge of His Word with prayer, knowing that the whole reason we're here in this world is to learn how to be less worldly and more like how Yeshua the Messiah taught us to be. In other words, the purpose of life is to know God and learn His ways, rejecting what people and institutions teach us that is contrary to God's Word.
Here is a link to the research from the Cultural Research Center: https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/BARNA_CRC_AWVI-2025-8-Americans-Christians-Deny-Their-Sinfulness.pdf (First Fruits Archive).
There is good news to share in all of this. First Fruits Ministries has already produced a sermon message on this subject, called "You shall be perfect...," and it covers both sides of the perfection deception. Here's a link to the YouTube archive and here's a link to the transcript from 6/15/2024. Please use the research to familiarize yourselves with the false notions of our common culture in America and the failures of the church from the article, and find yourself siding only with the Truth of God's Word, presented—in part—in this sermon so you can be ready to speak with people about the sin that is in the world, the sins that people have adopted in their lives, and why they need Yeshua as a savior to help them escape sin and walk in both humility and righteousness if they have any hope of being with God in His Kingdom. We need to embrace our brokenness as people who need a Savior, because Yeshua, who was lifted up from death in the resurrection on our behalf, will also lift us up to be more like Him. He is ready to help us do this by the power of His Holy Spirit. Our objective is to ask Yeshua to help us with humble hearts ready to learn and grow.
Posted in Bulletin