Direct Answer
The transcript does not spell out the specific changes Christians must make, but it implies that they may need to reexamine their beliefs, practices, church discipline, and assumptions about early church history. If the second-century church preserved apostolic Christianity, Christians may have to take its witness seriously rather than dismiss it as apostate.
Support from Transcript
- Bercot concludes that "neither history nor common sense nor Scripture" supports the idea that the whole church quickly became apostate. - He says Irenaeus testified that the church around A.D. 180 was "still holding to the same gospel as that known by Polycarp." - He connects Polycarp to Smyrna, a church for which Jesus had "no correction whatsoever." - He asks, "Have we held fast to those same beliefs and practices?" - He rejects hidden alternatives: "There simply is no historic primitive church other than the one we have been talking about." - The chapter ends: "It leaves us with a hard choice that few of us want to face."
Discussion Follow-ups
The likely discussion is not merely historical but practical: whether modern Christians are willing to let documented early Christianity challenge their own church life.