Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
The teaching claims “the faith was complete” by the time the last apostle died (around 100 AD) and then handed down publicly “among many witnesses”; how should that shape the way Christians today evaluate “new” doctrines, emphases, or movements that claim to recover the Bible?
Another way to ask: If the faith was already complete by the time the last apostle died, how should we judge “new” teachings or movements today that say they’re getting back to the Bible?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript suggests Christians should test “new” doctrines by comparing them to what was publicly taught by the apostles and immediately understood by the earliest Christians, rather than assuming modern claims automatically equal “Bible recovery.”
- David cites 2 Timothy: “The things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also,” emphasizing public transmission.
- He states, “the faith was complete by the time the last apostle died, John… around the year 100 AD.”
- David says the New Testament is “our only inspired witness,” yet argues we should ask: “What did Christians believe when the New Testament was finished?”
- He highlights today’s confusion: “thousands and thousands of different churches… each one says, ‘We go by just what the Bible teaches,’ and yet they all teach contradictory things.”
- He points to early writings as a check: when there was “still just one church” and Christians “could trace it back to the days of the apostles.”