The Original Fact Checker by Craig Ruhl

One Sunday, many years ago, my wife, Karen, and I attended a church near our new home for the first time. While getting seated for the morning worship service, I noticed that many of the congregation had brought their Bibles into church with them. The rack in the back of the pew in front of us had enough Bibles and hymnals for the number of people seated in our row, and I presumed that was true for all the pews in the church. I wondered why people brought their own instead of using the ones provided. It occurred to me that maybe people liked to use different versions, and they wanted to highlight or make notes in their personal Bible.

The choral worship portion of the service ended. As we sat back down, the pastor took his place behind the podium he would preach from. Opening his Bible, he told us he would read the day’s scripture verse to prepare for the sermon he would deliver. Looking up, he told us that before starting he wanted us all to take our Bibles out, locate the chapter and verse and prepare to follow along as he read. I heard the rustling sounds of books being opened and pages being leafed through. After a few moments, the pastor read the verses, pausing for emphasis, and then ending in prayer. What happened next took me by surprise. The pastor held his closed Bible aloft in his outstretched hand. He explained why we should bring our personal Bible to church with us. To my surprise, the first reason he gave was that we, as Christians, need to be careful about the information we receive. The example he gave was the Bible passages he had just read. Most of us assume that the pastor or minister leading the service knows what he or she is talking about and they are using correct biblical text in their teaching. We were told that it is our responsibility to confirm that what we are hearing is true and the only way to do that is to look it up for ourselves. He explained the need for us to make notes on what he shared and taught in his sermons. The purpose of doing this was not just to have a record we could go back to; it provided reference points that we could look up later and verify for ourselves. This was feeling more like a college class than the church services I knew while growing up. What an eye-opener for me. A pastor is telling me I should be fact-checking his sermons and then teaching us how to go about it.

Fast forward to today. The church is different for us this year with a pandemic virus curtailing our gathering inside a physical church building. We gather instead in front of our computer screens, tablets, or cell phones to watch and listen to church services. Karen and I have our Bibles open on our desks while we worship digitally with our church. Our pastor sends out sermon notes in advance with key scripture verses highlighted and areas to make notes. This makes it simple to follow along in our Bible as he preaches and teaches. We take this open Bible practice further by using our Bibles daily when we pray, read devotionals, and follow a daily scripture reading plan. Karen uses a study Bible which adds the benefit of explanation and provides context. Since both of us write, edit, and publish Christian content, we constantly refer to our Bible to make sure we are not going astray.

Various translations of the Bible offer the same message but often use wording that makes it easier to understand and relate. Be careful, there are some “versions” that distort truths and may camouflage a non-Christian agenda. When in doubt about a certain Bible version, check with your pastor or a trusted church leader. The original King James Bible is always a good place to start and is the one my family always had at home and my early church ministers taught from. Karen and I now use the New King James Version or New International Version because the wording is easier for us to understand and relate to. As an alternative to a paper Bible, there are many good Bible software programs and applications available for the computer and mobile devices. We have seen many worshipers in the church who use a tablet or cell phone app instead of a Bible. The important thing is to look it up for yourself, so you know what you are learning is the truth.

There is a lot of misinformation being shared in our society, and much of it concerns our Christian faith. If you use any of the social media platforms so popular today, you will see instances of abuse of scripture quotations and biblical teachings. From verses taken out of context to outright misrepresentation, what we read can not only be misleading but damaging too if we believe it without verifying the facts. It is our responsibility to discern right from wrong and what is the truth from falsehoods. We are also not to further the misrepresentation and untruths by sharing or passing that information to others.

On social media, I frequently see a post that someone questions as not being correct. There are several “fact checking” sources often cited when refuting the original post. Ironically, even those sources are suspect at times. We are all familiar with the “Fake News” frenzy that has pervaded our society. With so much information that just isn’t correct or true, it’s a wonder we can tell up from down or in from out.

How are we to be discerning and wise about what to believe? Pray. Prayerfully ask for the wisdom and discernment to know and understand what God wants us to know and what He would have us do. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide us. We can use our Bible to verify that what we are reading or being told is Biblical truth. We need to be diligent in studying scripture and applying what we learn to what the world is telling us.

The Whole Armor of God is the scripture found in Ephesians 6:10-20. We are told in verse 11, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may stand against the wiles of the devil.” (NKJV)

One of the 6 items of armor mentioned in this passage is, “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17b (NJKV) This is the basis for us to use when confronted by the devil’s lies. Jesus used this armor whenever he was being tempted by the devil. As our pastor taught us, keep your Bible at hand and learn to check for truthfulness using God’s word.

“And the devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.’”

But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Ephesians 4:3-4 (NKJV)

This verse says it best, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31 NKJV)

God gave his instructions to his people long before any dictionary, encyclopedia, or online fact-checker. It is all contained in your Bible and always will be the last word.