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Christian Citizenship  /  Five Laws of the Kingdom Life  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
In law #4 and #5, he warns that obedience can breed spiritual pride (“Shoots and Ladders” near the finish) and that Kingdom life normally includes conflict—often from other professing Christians in North America—and he says true obedience makes grace more precious, not less; how would your relationships, speech, and expectations change if you assumed (a) you always have a “beam” in your eye and (b) the most painful opposition may come from fellow Christians rather than “the world”?
Another way to ask: How would your words, relationships, and expectations change if you assumed you always have your own “blind spot” and need humility? How would you live differently if you expected the toughest pushback to come from other Christians, not just from nonbelievers?

Direct Answer The transcript section we have directly supports (a): if we assume we have a “plank/beam,” we will stop judging, speak more humbly, and focus on our own repentance before correcting others. The provided transcript is truncated before Bercot develops law #5 and the “other Christians in North America” emphasis, so we can’t fully ground (b) in this text; a reasonable inference is that he expects conflict and criticism and urges believers not to be stumbled.

Support from Transcript:

  • Law #4 summary: “don’t develop spiritual pride… Don’t start judging others. Worry about your failings… not… shortcomings of everyone else.”
  • Matthew 7:1–5 quote: “Judge not… why do you look at the speck… but do not consider the plank… Hypocrite, first remove the plank.”
  • He frames this as a danger even for those “doing well” with the first three laws.
  • Law #5 summary earlier: kingdom life brings “conflicts, criticism, persecution, stress… maybe even torture and death,” so “don’t be surprised.”
  • The transcript ends right as he begins an illustration (“Shoots and Ladders”), so details about opposition from fellow Christians and grace becoming more precious are not included here.
Discussion Follow-ups How would your tone change online or in church meetings if you assumed you have a plank? When conflict comes, do you interpret it as proof you’re wrong—or as something Jesus told kingdom citizens to expect?

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