Discussion Questions

Question 1: Bercot objects to human interpretations being printed “on the very same pages where God’s Word appears.” What does this concern suggest about how Christians should view the authority, purity, and sufficiency of God’s own words? Question 2: In the example from 1 Corinthians 11, Bercot argues that the study Bible note turns Paul’s delivered “tradition” into a mere Greek custom. Why is it significant that Paul roots the head covering teaching in apostolic tradition rather than cultural preference? Question 3: Bercot says that study Bible notes often cause readers to give “man’s words more weight than God’s.” In what ways can modern Christians subtly trust respected teachers, systems, or notes more than the plain language of Scripture? Question 4: Bercot argues that no church truly uses “just the Bible,” since all churches rely on sermons, Christian books, commentaries, dictionaries, or theological vocabulary. How does this challenge common Protestant or evangelical claims about “Scripture alone”? Question 5: Bercot says the real question is not whether Christians use something besides Scripture, but whether they rely on the early Christian witness or the modern witness of pastors, writers, and theologians. Why might the early Christian witness be especially important for understanding apostolic teaching? Question 6: Bercot lists non-biblical terms such as “Revival,” “Legalism,” “Trinity,” “Incarnation,” “Missionary,” “Altar Call,” and “Born Again Experience.” What does our dependence on non-scriptural vocabulary reveal about the difference between claiming to believe only the Bible and actually practicing that claim? Question 7: Bercot asks whether someone could simply hand another person the New Testament and say, “Read it,” if asked what their church teaches. What parts of modern church belief or practice might become difficult to defend if Christians limited themselves to the actual language and commands of the New Testament? Question 8: Bercot lists many New Testament practices that most churches do not obey literally, including head coverings, church discipline, not suing brothers, holy kisses, modest dress, holy hands in prayer, nonresistance, not storing earthly treasures, and refusing oaths. Which of these omissions most exposes the gap between modern Christianity and the obedience expected by Jesus and the apostles? Question 9: Bercot claims that the second-century church practiced all the New Testament teachings he listed. What assumptions would early Christians likely have had about obedience, tradition, and the authority of apostolic commands that many modern Christians no longer share? Question 10: If God intended His people to obey the teachings of Jesus and the apostles concretely rather than explain them away, what habits, loyalties, fears, or comforts might Christians need to surrender in order to read Scripture more honestly? Jumpstart