He recommends reading the entire New Testament specifically to learn “everything we can about the kingdom life” and compare it to our lives; if early Christians assumed disciples would shape life directly by Jesus’ commands and apostolic exhortations, how does that challenge how many Christians today use the New Testament?
Another way to ask: If you read the whole New Testament to learn how to live in God’s kingdom and compare it to your life, what might you need to change? How does this challenge the way many Christians today use the New Testament?
Direct Answer
Bercot’s recommendation challenges a casual or merely informational use of Scripture; he treats the New Testament as a direct blueprint for the kingdom life that exposes gaps and demands surrender.
Support from Transcript:
He states, “No self-examination is complete until we’ve held up our lives to the lights of God’s Word.”
He instructs reading “the entire New Testament… with a different purpose… To learn everything we can about the kingdom life and compare it to our own lives.”
He points to Jesus as the model: “Jesus lived a perfect kingdom life. What are things we see in His life that are lacking in ours?”
He emphasizes commands and exhortations: “What commands and exhortations does the New Testament give about the Christian life?”
He urges active engagement: highlight passages or “keep a notebook… to list these passages,” then “re-examine our lives in light of all the passages we’ve read.”
Discussion Follow-ups
What happens if we read the New Testament expecting it to change our behavior rather than merely confirm our beliefs? Which commands or patterns of Jesus’ life do we tend to admire without imitating?
