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Encounter Messages  /  The Church Did NOT Fall Apart After the Apostles  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 1
David Bercot quotes a description of God as a courteous tutor who is ready to correct what we say in error through weakness or ignorance, and who makes the most of what we say correctly. How should this picture of God shape the way we view our own mistaken beliefs and those of other Christians?
Another way to ask: God is pictured as a kind tutor who gently fixes our errors and makes the most of what we get right. How should that change the way we see our own wrong ideas and the wrong ideas of others?

Direct Answer

It should make us humble about our own errors and patient with others. We can assume that a fellow Christian who says something wrong is trying to say what is right.

Support from the Message

- God is described as a "courteous tutor" who is not eager to trip us up when we say something amiss. - David Bercot says that when someone speaks in error, he does not assume a wicked heart or start yelling blasphemy. - He tries to help the person see more accurately, as a brother, in a spirit of winning the person over out of love. - He expects more from teachers, yet correcting a teacher should still be done in that same spirit. - He thinks God forgives people in their ignorance, including those whose prayers confuse the Father and the Son.

Discussion Follow-up

When someone in your church says something you think is wrong, what is your first reaction? What would a courteous tutor do?

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