The Doctrine of "Trying to"

The Armor Christ Put On Pt. 2

Mike Dickson, 5/17/26

Faith: Shocked or Settled

Curt Allen, 4/28/26

The Rich Young You

In this message, Pastor Curt revisits the doctrine of justification and assurance to clarify how it should function in the Christian life. Justification—being declared righteous before God—is meant to stabilize our identity and encourage perseverance, not produce doubt or false certainty. Believers should have confidence that they are running the race of faith, but Scripture never teaches that we can claim we have finished it while we are still running. Like Paul in Philippians 3, maturity means pressing forward toward Christ rather than assuming we have already arrived. The sermon then turns to the story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10. The man approached Jesus with humility and genuine obedience, yet Jesus exposed the one thing he lacked. The issue was not merely money but what his heart treasured most. When faced with the trade—earthly security for eternal treasure—he walked away sorrowful. The key lesson is that many believers resemble the rich young ruler. We may know Scripture, have a history of obedience, and still cling to something we value more than Christ. The deeper problem is often a lack of eternal perspective. Scripture repeatedly motivates believers with future rewards and life with God. When eternity fades from our focus, compromise becomes easier. But when eternity motivates us, we keep running the race until the finish.

The Doctrine of "Trying to"

In this sermon, Pastor Curt challenges what he calls the modern church’s “theology of trying to”—the belief that Christian obedience mainly consists of continually attempting to obey God while expecting repeated failure to be normal and acceptable. He argues that this mindset comes from Satan twisting biblical truth, much like the serpent did in Genesis by questioning God’s word. Instead of denying Scripture outright, the enemy distorts it, producing half-truths that lead to full deception. The message focuses on the doctrine of justification by faith, explaining its biblical origin in Genesis 15:6 and its development through Paul’s writings in Romans and Galatians. While justification rightly teaches that we are declared righteous by faith and not by works of the Mosaic law, Pastor Curt warns that the modern church often misapplies this doctrine by separating faith from transformation. Paul and James, he argues, were not contradicting each other—both taught that genuine faith produces a life that continues believing and obeying God. Using Abraham as the model, the sermon shows that the declaration of righteousness in Genesis 15 was validated through a lifetime of obedience, culminating in Genesis 22. The call for believers today is not casual belief but persevering faith—living lives that continually place ourselves and our desires on the altar before God.

Suspicion vs Submission: A Layer Deeper Too

This sermon continues the series examining the first three statements of Satan in Genesis 3 and how those same deceptions still influence believers today. The focus is Satan’s claim that eating the fruit would make Eve “like God, knowing good and evil.” Pastor Curt explains that this statement attacks identity and subtly implies that God approves of compromise. In the modern church, this lie often appears in the phrase, “God knows my heart,” suggesting that sincere attempts are enough even when obedience is inconsistent. The message argues that Scripture does not frame the Christian life around trying but around conquering. The New Testament consistently uses language of striving, diligence, training, and victory rather than casual attempts. While the Bible acknowledges that believers stumble, it does not assume failure as the normal trajectory. Instead, grace trains believers toward holiness and empowers them through the Holy Spirit to overcome sin. The core warning is that many believers have become comfortable with compromise and have lost confidence that real transformation is possible. The call of the sermon is to shift from the mindset of “I’m trying to obey” to “I’m training to obey,” trusting that God’s Spirit enables believers to conquer sin rather than merely manage it.