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Question 3

David describes reading Acts 2:38 “500 times” without noticing “baptized…for the remission of sins” because he had been trained to read past the words—what current doctrines do you suspect you may be doing that with, and how would you actually test whether you’re letting the text speak rather than your system?

Another way to ask: David read Acts 2:38 many times but skipped over the words because of his training. What Bible teachings might you be reading that way today, and how could you check if you’re following the text instead of your usual system?

Direct Answer Based on David Bercot’s approach, the doctrines most at risk are the ones where we already have a settled explanation that makes certain phrases “not sink in.” His test is to re-read the relevant passages at face value, gather all verses on the topic, and refuse to “hide” or explain away half of them.

Support from Transcript:

He says Acts 2:38 exposed that he had been reading with “glasses on,” so the words “went right past me.”
He recommends reading “the whole New Testament through” to see whether a teaching is really “right there in front of me.”
He repeatedly asks, “Can you read [the verse] and actually believe what it says?”
He insists we must look at “all the verses that pertain to a given topic” and “read them all at face value.”
He warns against a method that must explain away “this verse and this verse and this verse,” calling it “playing games.”

Discussion Follow-ups Try his method on one disputed topic (baptism, head covering, justification). What phrases do you notice you’ve been trained to mentally skip?

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