Discussion Questions

Diogenes searched Athens with a lantern looking for an honest man; if intellectual and spiritual honesty means being “totally objective in the pursuit of God’s truth,” what kinds of loyalties, fears, or habits might keep Christians from being honest with Scripture? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If being honest with the Bible means seeking God’s truth without bias, what loyalties, fears, or habits can keep Christians from doing that?

David Bercot says that God is “a God of truth” and that true worship must be “in spirit and truth”; what does this suggest about God’s character, and why would a desire merely to defend one’s church or denomination be spiritually dangerous? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says God is “a God of truth” and wants worship “in spirit and truth.” What does this show about God, and why can it be dangerous to only defend our own church or denomination?

Bercot insists that “what David Bercot thinks Scripture means is totally irrelevant” if the issue is simply one private interpretation against another; how does this challenge the way modern Christians often approach Bible teachers, favorite authors, pastors, or personal interpretations? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says his own opinion about the Bible does not matter if it is just one person’s view against another. How does this challenge the way Christians follow teachers, authors, pastors, or their own ideas?

The chapter argues that Protestant approaches to Scripture “do not work” because they have not provided a realistic way for Bible-believing Christians to become one body again; what evidence from church life today supports or challenges that claim? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The chapter says Protestant ways of reading the Bible have not helped Bible-believing Christians become one body again. What do you see in churches today that supports or questions this claim?

Jesus prayed in John 17 that all who believe in Him would be one as the Father and Son are one; how should that prayer shape our understanding of God’s purpose for the church and our attitude toward denominational separation? JumpstartAnother way to ask: In John 17, Jesus prayed that all believers would be one, just as He and the Father are one. How should this shape how we see God’s plan for the church and church divisions?

Bercot connects factionalism with Paul’s list of “deeds of the flesh” in Galatians 5 and with the warning against a divisive person in Titus 3; why do many modern Christians treat division as normal or even virtuous when the New Testament describes it as perilous sin? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot connects division with serious sin in Galatians 5 and Titus 3. Why do many Christians today treat church division as normal or even good when the New Testament warns against it?

How might early Christians, who heard the apostles speak of one body, one faith, and rejection of divisive people, have reacted to the existence of thousands of denominations claiming to be Bible-believing churches? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Early Christians heard the apostles teach one body, one faith, and rejection of divisive people. How might they have reacted to thousands of Bible-believing denominations today?

Bercot criticizes the common evangelical phrase, “Go to the church where God wants you,” when it is used to justify Christians scattering into competing churches; how might this way of speaking make God an accomplice in division, and what would a more faithful way of thinking sound like? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot criticizes the phrase, “Go to the church where God wants you,” when it is used to defend Christians splitting into competing churches. How could this make it sound like God supports division, and what would be a more faithful way to think?

The chapter says most Christians today did not start the divisions they inherited, but many share the “same mentality and spirit” as those who did; what attitudes or actions might reveal that we are preserving division rather than working toward healing it? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The chapter says most Christians today did not start the divisions they inherited, but many still have the same mindset. What attitudes or actions show that we are keeping division alive instead of healing it?

Bercot claims the solution is not ecumenical compromise but a “common sense” approach to Scripture that could help Bible-believing Christians become one; what would we personally need to surrender, reconsider, or practice differently if we truly believed such unity was possible and required by Christ? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says the answer is not weak compromise, but a common-sense way to read Scripture that could help Bible-believing Christians become one. What would we need to give up, rethink, or do differently if we believed Christ requires this unity?