Discussion Questions

The chapter claims someone can “live by all of the standards established by a church or society and yet be disobedient to Christ”; what does that imply about God’s priorities in judging obedience, and where do you see the temptation in your own life to treat “approved” behavior as a substitute for Christ’s actual commands? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What does it say about what God cares about if someone can follow all church or social rules but still disobey Jesus? Where are you tempted to think “approved” behavior is enough instead of obeying Jesus’ real commands?

David Bercot points out omissions in even “beneficial and comprehensive” rules of life (war, oaths, head coverings); how should a serious Christian respond when their church standards are silent about specific New Testament teachings that feel culturally awkward or costly to practice? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What should a serious Christian do when their church rules don’t mention a clear New Testament teaching that feels awkward or costly to follow? How do you respond without just ignoring it?

When Jesus highlights “justice, mercy, and faith” as weightier matters—and Bercot adds that love is weightier still—what would it look like for a congregation to take those inner realities as seriously as external standards, without turning “heart issues” into a new form of performative rule-keeping? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If justice, mercy, faith, and love matter most, what would it look like for a church to take those seriously along with outward rules? How can we avoid turning “heart issues” into a new set of things to show off?

The chapter warns, “we should never imagine that our standing with God is assured just because we comply with our church’s standards”; what are the modern evangelical equivalents of that false assurance, and how do they function similarly even when a church has few formal standards? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What are today’s evangelical ways people feel “safe with God” even if they aren’t really obeying Christ? How can that happen even in churches with very few official rules?

Bercot says standards “tend to become lax over time,” noting Methodists didn’t revise Wesley’s standards but “simply ignored them”; what mechanisms cause that kind of slow-motion disobedience in a church, and how could early Christians—who assumed obedience was normal—have responded differently? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Why do churches slowly stop following their own standards without officially changing them? How might early Christians—who expected obedience—have handled that kind of drift?

The examples of Apollotus refusing baptism to charioteers/gladiators and Wesley forbidding buying smuggled goods raise the issue of time-bound standards; how do you discern the difference between (a) deleting obsolete standards and (b) “modifying standards to fit the ever-changing dictates of the world,” especially on today’s hot-button issues? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can you tell the difference between dropping a rule that no longer applies and changing rules just to match the world’s values? How would you use that on today’s controversial issues?

The Quaker “plain language” story shows how a rule meant to destroy class distinction can later become quaint and miss its point; what church practices in your context might have started as a protest against worldliness or pride but now function mainly as identity markers? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What church habits around you may have started to fight pride or worldliness but now mostly just show who “belongs”? What do you think their original point was?

In the Yoders’ portrait—prayer meeting attendance but little private prayer, conspicuous head covering but lack of submission/love, grudges and gossip, expensive lifestyle that technically fits the rules—what does this reveal about how easily religious systems can mask spiritual death, and what warning signs should a church look for that its standards are producing “obedient relationship with the church” without intimacy with Christ? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What do these examples show about how religious rule-keeping can hide a dead spiritual life? What signs should a church watch for that people are obeying the system but not close to Christ?

Bercot says our “primary relationship and loyalty is to Christ himself,” yet we should also have a “healthy, supportive, and submissive relationship” to the church; where is the line between submissiveness that aids discipleship and submissiveness that becomes a way to avoid personal obedience to Jesus? JumpstartAnother way to ask: When does submitting to church leaders help you follow Jesus, and when does it become an excuse not to obey him personally? Where should the line be?

The chapter urges viewing church standards as a “minimum level of Christian conduct” and forming a personal rule of life that includes prayer/devotion and inner matters like love, mercy, kindness; what would a concrete, Scripture-shaped personal rule of life look like for someone in your group this month, and how can the group encourage it without breeding individualism or a “holier than thou” spirit? JumpstartAnother way to ask: What could a simple, Bible-based personal plan for this month look like (prayer, devotion, and things like love and kindness)? How can the group support it without people competing or acting “holier than thou”?