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Radical Christian Living  /  Obeying Christ is Not Legalism  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
On “multiplying commandments,” Bercot describes the Pharisaic “hedge around the law,” then applies it to modern church standards (television, movies, modest dress like cape dresses), arguing standards may be necessary but must be handled with strict distinctions; in your church experience, where have man-made applications quietly become treated like God’s own commandments, and what concrete practices could keep “Scripture vs application” clearly separated in teaching, membership, and discipline?
Another way to ask: Where have church rules or traditions slowly started to be treated like God’s commands? What simple steps could keep “what Scripture says” and “how we apply it” clearly separate in teaching, membership, and discipline?

Direct Answer Bercot allows that church standards can help guard against worldliness, but he warns they become legalism when churches treat applications as God’s commands, equate them with sin, or use them to decide who is truly a Christian. The concrete solution is persistent clarity: openly label standards as applications, not Scripture, and limit discipline and fellowship judgments accordingly.

Support from Transcript:

  • He says legalism “multipl[ies] God’s commandments” and “elevate[s]…man-made rules” as if they were “commandments of God.”
  • Matthew 15 example: Pharisees condemn disciples for not washing hands—tradition treated as spiritual requirement.
  • He explains the “hedge around the law” (Sabbath-distance rules) and the danger of treating “five miles, two feet” as “terrible sin.”
  • Modern parallels: TV bans; he says a rule may be understandable, but wrong if you claim owning a TV is “sin” as though Scripture said so.
  • His safeguards: (1) “maintain a clear distinction” between Scripture and application; (2) “never equate…applications with sin”; (3) never use rules as the basis for who is a “brother or sister.”
  • Cape dress example: legitimate application of modesty, but crossing the line if you act like Scripture requires that exact dress.
Discussion Follow-ups The question asks for personal church experience, which the transcript doesn’t provide—only principles and examples. Which of Bercot’s three safeguards would most reform your church culture right now?

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