Discussion Questions

David Bercot argues that the colonists’ core spiritual deficiency was “faith and trust” that God had their best interests at heart when He gave His laws; where do you see that same suspicion of God’s intentions showing up in Christian thinking today (especially when obedience looks costly)? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do you see Christians today doubting that God’s commands are for our good, especially when obeying Him would cost us something?

The chapter claims that if God had a good purpose for America, “Can anyone thwart God’s purpose by obeying Him? Of course not”; how does that challenge the assumption that disobedience or coercive power might be necessary to secure a “good” outcome? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If God has a good plan, how does that challenge the idea that we sometimes need to disobey God or use force to get a “good” result?

Bercot links trusting God “completely” with being “truly regenerated,” then contrasts the revolutionaries with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23); what does this imply about how we should evaluate a movement that calls itself Christian but is characterized by anger, threats, and agitation? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If a movement calls itself Christian but is full of anger, threats, and agitation, what does Galatians 5:22–23 suggest about how we should judge it?

In the long quotation from 1 Peter 2:11–23, Christians are told to live as “sojourners and pilgrims,” submit to rulers “for the Lord’s sake,” and follow Jesus’ example of not reviling or threatening; how would early Christians, shaped by this text, have responded to taxation and perceived injustice, and why? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Based on 1 Peter 2:11–23, how do you think early Christians would respond to unfair taxes or injustice, and why?

Bercot says the revolutionaries “weren’t strangers or pilgrims” but “made the world their home”; what practical signs reveal when a Christian community has shifted from pilgrim identity to “this world is my home” priorities? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What everyday signs show when a church stops living like “pilgrims” and starts acting like this world is its real home?

The chapter contrasts “meek” and “peacemakers” (Matthew 5:5–9) with revolutionaries who “reviled and threatened” and refused to honor the king; where do modern Christians justify reviling, mocking, or threatening opponents as if it were compatible with following Christ’s steps? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Where do Christians today excuse mocking, insulting, or threatening opponents as if it fits with following Jesus?

Bercot argues that “misrepresentations, falsehoods, and deliberate lies” stirred rebellion and singles out Samuel Adams for publishing lies and “imaginary conspiracies”; what would it look like, concretely, for Christians to “dig to get their facts right” and ensure “all sides” are heard in today’s political or church controversies? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What are practical ways Christians today can check facts carefully and listen to more than one side in political or church conflicts?

The chapter says “Jesus allows in His kingdom only those who are of the truth,” and that a love of truth must “permeate every fiber” of a Christian’s soul; how does that standard confront common habits like selective outrage, partisan news consumption, or repeating claims we haven’t verified? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Jesus accepts only people who love truth, how does that challenge habits like one-sided outrage, partisan news, or repeating unverified claims?

Bercot calls the Declaration’s “all men are created equal” hypocritical in a slaveholding society, and he highlights Patrick Henry’s rhetoric about “chains and slavery” despite owning slaves; what does this expose about the way Christians can use moral language to defend self-interest, and how can a group learn to spot that in itself? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can Christians use big moral words to protect their own self-interest, and how can a group learn to catch that in itself?

The chapter treats anxiety as evidence of distrust in God, citing revolutionary alarmism (Patrick Henry’s “implements of war and subjugation,” and the Council’s “die or be free”) and contrasting it with Philippians 4:6–7; what fears most tempt Christians to disobey “submit/honor” commands today, and what would obedience plus prayerful non-anxious trust actually require in real decisions? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What fears most often push Christians today to ignore commands to submit and honor leaders, and what would it look like to obey while praying and not panicking in real choices?