Direct Answer
According to Bercot’s argument, the second-century church appears to have assumed that New Testament commands were meant to be obeyed concretely, not dismissed as merely cultural or optional. They also seem to have respected apostolic tradition as authoritative for church practice.
Support from Transcript
- Bercot states, “the church of the 2nd century practiced all of these things listed above.” - The listed practices include commands from Paul’s letters and teachings of Jesus, suggesting early Christians treated both as binding. - In the head covering example, Bercot emphasizes Paul’s words: “the traditions just as I delivered them to you.” - He argues that the head covering was delivered by Paul, “not the pagan Greeks.” - He contrasts early Christian practice with modern churches that do not “teach today and practice all of these things.” - He also criticizes modern “rationalizations of why we do not have to literally obey what's taught in Scripture.”
Discussion Follow-ups
The transcript does not provide detailed evidence for second-century practice here; it simply asserts the claim and uses it to contrast early and modern obedience.