Quick Answer

What is the historic Christian faith?

The historic Christian faith (or historical Christian faith) is the body of belief and practice handed down from Jesus and the apostles and preserved by the early church — what believers everywhere held before later divisions and innovations. This free course walks through that faith once delivered to the saints, using the Scriptures and the earliest Christian writings.

What is The Historic Faith? What is the Kingdom of God? What is life all about? How do I know who to trust? These are big questions that you will explore during this foundational introduction to The Historic Faith.

This course is free to access. The Historic Faith is donation-funded, with no paywall and no subscription required. Generous supporters help keep these lessons open to anyone in the world.

Course Content

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How to Be a Thinking Christian
Kingdom of God: The Theme of Jesus' Preaching
Faith Once Delivered
What Can We Learn from Early Christians?
Why Did God Create Humanity?
Were the Apostles Failures?
Were Early Christian Writings Tampered With?
Survey: Introduction to the Historic Faith
Additional Readings: Introduction to the Historic Faith
Free Course Guide

What This Free Course Covers

In this free introductory course, David Bercot addresses several foundation-level questions about the historic Christian faith. The lessons begin with the need to be a thinking Christian: to read carefully, question claims responsibly, and distinguish Scripture from inherited assumptions. The course then turns to the Kingdom of God as the central theme of Jesus’ preaching and asks what it means to live under the rule and teachings of Christ.

Several lessons explore why the early Christian writings matter, how they can help readers notice later assumptions, and why Bercot believes the pre-Nicene Christian witness should be taken seriously. Other lessons ask why God created humanity, whether the apostles failed in their mission, and whether early Christian writings can be trusted.

Together, the course introduces students to careful Bible reading, kingdom discipleship, and the search for the faith once delivered without adding to Scripture.

Critical thinking Careful Bible reading Kingdom of God Apostolic Christianity Early Christian writings Faith once delivered Obedience and love Primary sources Church history Discipleship

What You Will Study

  • How to practice critical thinking, healthy skepticism, openness, and intellectual honesty as a Christian
  • Why careful reading means noticing what a Bible passage says and what it does not say
  • The Kingdom of God as the main theme of Jesus’ preaching and a way of life under Christ’s rule
  • How early Christian writings can help students compare later assumptions with earlier Christian understanding
  • The meaning of the “faith once delivered” and the danger of stopping short in the search for apostolic Christianity
  • Why Bercot argues that God’s purpose for humanity centers on love, obedience, and God’s original plan
  • The claim that the apostles did not fail, and that the early church continued the gospel Jesus and the apostles preached
  • Reasons given for trusting the pre-Nicene Christian writings rather than dismissing them as tampered with

Questions This Course Helps Answer

  • What does it mean to be a thinking Christian?
  • How can Christians avoid confusing their assumptions with the actual words of Scripture?
  • Why are primary sources important when researching Christian beliefs or historical claims?
  • What was the main theme of Jesus’ preaching?
  • How does the Kingdom of God affect discipleship, values, and obedience to Christ?
  • What can the early Christians help modern readers see in the New Testament?
  • Why does Bercot distinguish the pre-Nicene Christians from later church developments?
  • What is meant by the faith once delivered?
  • Why does Bercot warn seekers not to stop short in looking for apostolic Christianity?
  • Why did God create humanity, according to this course?
  • Were the apostles failures if later Christians departed from their teaching?
  • How does Bercot respond to the idea that early Christian writings were forged or altered?

Lesson-by-Lesson Guide

How to Be a Thinking Christian

This opening lesson urges Christians to use critical thinking, intellectual honesty, and careful research. Bercot especially emphasizes reading Scripture for what it actually says, recognizing one’s own preconceptions, and going to primary sources when possible.

  • What does it mean to love God with the mind?
  • How can Christians practice healthy skepticism without becoming cynical?
  • How do preconceptions affect the way we read Scripture?
  • Why are primary sources better than secondary or tertiary sources?

Kingdom of God: The Theme of Jesus' Preaching

This lesson presents the Kingdom of God as the central theme of Jesus’ preaching. Bercot explains that the kingdom is not merely an idea to admire, but a reality to live under through obedience to Christ’s teachings.

  • What did John the Baptist and Jesus mean by the Kingdom of God?
  • Why does Bercot say the Kingdom was the theme of Jesus’ message?
  • How does kingdom citizenship change a Christian’s loyalties?
  • Why should the Sermon on the Mount be taken seriously?

Faith Once Delivered

This lesson discusses the search for authentic apostolic Christianity and warns against stopping short by settling for later forms of church history. Bercot argues that the faith should be tested by Scripture and by the early Christian witness closest to the apostles.

  • What does it mean to seek authentic apostolic Christianity?
  • Why does Bercot caution against stopping at later church traditions?
  • How does he use early writers such as Irenaeus in this discussion?
  • What is the difference between a complete faith and a progressively developing one?

What Can We Learn from Early Christians?

This lesson explains why Bercot believes the writings of Christians before Nicaea can help modern readers understand Scripture more naturally. He stresses that this is not about adding to the Bible, but about recognizing later additions, assumptions, and misplaced emphases.

  • Who does Bercot mean by the early Christians?
  • How can early Christian writings help readers understand the New Testament?
  • Why does he say commentaries and Bible dictionaries can be inaccurate?
  • How can early Christian writings expose modern preconceptions?

Why Did God Create Humanity?

This lesson asks what life is about and why God created humans. Bercot presents God as a Father who created children to love, and he connects that purpose with human love for God shown through willing obedience.

  • Why did God create humanity?
  • What does it mean for believers to be God’s children?
  • How does love relate to obedience in this lesson?
  • Does Bercot present God’s purpose as having been thwarted by sin?

Were the Apostles Failures?

This lesson responds to the idea that the church quickly lost the apostolic gospel after the apostles died. Bercot argues that the apostles preached the same gospel as Jesus and that there remained a kingdom line of faithful disciples, even amid corruption.

  • Why would some groups imply that the apostles failed?
  • Did the church disappear or go fully apostate after the apostles died?
  • How does Bercot describe the continuity of the kingdom through history?
  • What do Jesus’ images of wheat, weeds, and the kingdom dragnet contribute to this lesson?

Were Early Christian Writings Tampered With?

This lesson addresses whether the early Christian writings were forged, altered, or made unreliable. Bercot points to scholarly use of the writings, internal evidence, manuscript distribution, detected forgeries, and Eusebius’ historical record as reasons he believes the pre-Nicene writings can be trusted.

  • How do we know early Christian writings were not widely tampered with?
  • Why does Bercot say later churches often ignored rather than altered early writings?
  • What internal differences distinguish pre-Nicene writings from later developments?
  • How does Eusebius provide a roadmap for early Christian writings?

Survey: Introduction to the Historic Faith

No transcript sample was supplied for this lesson. Based on the title, it appears to be a survey connected to the Introduction to the Historic Faith course.

  • What feedback or response is requested after the course?
  • How does this survey relate to the Introduction to the Historic Faith course?

Additional Readings: Introduction to the Historic Faith

No transcript sample was supplied for this lesson. Based on the title, it appears to provide additional readings connected to the course.

  • What additional readings are connected to this introduction?
  • How can students continue studying the historic faith after the main lessons?

What students are saying

4.85 out of 5 — 62 reviews
FRANK ANDREWS Sep 7, 2026
★★★★★
Very clear explanations offered. Course was both interesting and informative
Erika Martinsson Jul 13, 2026
★★★★★
Good starting point for anyone who has never heard of the early church writings, or is confused about why they would be relevant for us today
Bruce Hallbauer Jun 21, 2026
★★★★☆
Very good information on what I consider an important topic. In dealing with Catholics their argument is you’re either catholic or Protestant and Protestant are wrong. I don’t consider myself Protestant and this class reinforced my beliefs. I have much more to learn.
Daniel Segura May 22, 2026
★★★★☆
Good introductory lessons on how to think correctly, apologetics on why studying the historic beliefs and practices of the ante-Nicene church is valuable, etc. I am not sure it actually succeeds in explaining "What is the Historic Christian Faith?" As someone who has been reading David Bercot and early church primary sources for years, I understand it is a deep topic. But I think new seekers might left confused what exactly the main differences are in both theological dogma (or lack thereof) and interpretation of the practical teaching of Jesus and the Apostles. A better title might be…
Verified Student Aug 13, 2025
★★★★★
Excellent course. Thank you.
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“What is the Historic Christian Faith?”

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Course Includes

  • 9 Lessons
  • 7 Quizzes
  • Course Certificate