Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in

Jumpstarter 8 of 10

Ideas to help restart your discussion
The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down  /  Chapter 15, Has Anyone Done This in Real Life  /  Discussion Questions
All Questions
Question 8
“The banner… wasn’t ‘God and country.’ It was ‘God or country.’” How does that either/or framework expose divided loyalties in the church today, and where do you feel the pressure to blend kingdom loyalty with national identity in ways the chapter would call impossible?
Another way to ask: If it’s “God or country,” how does that reveal mixed loyalties in churches today? Where do you feel pressure to mix loyalty to God’s kingdom with national identity in a way this chapter says can’t work?

Direct Answer The transcript’s either/or framework exposes divided loyalty by insisting you cannot serve both God’s kingdom and earthly national agendas at the same time. It highlights pressures Christians feel to merge faith with patriotism, even though Bercot argues a disciple must transfer full allegiance to God’s kingdom.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot states plainly: “The banner of Jesus’ disciples wasn’t ‘God and country.’ It was ‘God or country.’”
  • He explains the heart issue: “Either a person’s heart is entirely devoted to God’s kingdom, or it’s devoted to the kingdoms of this world.”
  • He applies Jesus’ principle: “We can’t have a divided heart or serve two masters.”
  • He says “Earthly patriotism has no place in God’s kingdom,” making blending loyalties unacceptable.
  • He describes a transfer: the love Jewish Christians once had for Judea “was now transferred to the kingdom of God.”
Discussion Follow-ups Where does church life subtly reward patriotic signaling more than kingdom obedience? What would it look like for your “love of country” to be transferred, as Bercot describes, without becoming cynical or hateful?

Jumpstarter 8 of 10
Back Questions Next