Verifiable Truths

 

Sanctify them in the truth; your Word is truth. John 17:17

 

I am frequently reminded that not every book in a Christian bookstore is God-honoring or scripturally sound.

In the same way, not everyone in our pews on Sunday morning is a born again Christian. Many people pray the “sinner’s prayer,” start attending church, and going to small groups, but never get a real understanding of the Word of God.

That issue is even more likely to be true with the wider audience we “meet” on social media sites. Not everyone who claims Christianity is a Christian.

God alone gives the gift of faith, determining who will be saved. Even among His followers, no one is able to whole-heartedly live or speak for Him without an understanding of what His Word says.  The only place to get that is from our own study of God’s word and a good, Bible preaching, church. Without these, any growth in faith will be slow and shallow.

In order to be sanctified in the faith, we must be growing in knowledge, understanding, and practice of the Bible.  A Christian who never grows past the basic understanding of salvation brings little, if any, glory to God or has much to offer to others in the way of discipleship or biblical advice.  

Many people right now are pontificating on social media about all of the recent turmoil in our nation. Some have names we recognize and reputations we trust. Others are people claiming to be speaking for Christ. Some claim He is the problem.

As Christians, we must be like the Bereans of Acts 17. Paul and Silas had gone to Berea and were teaching in the synagogue there. Verse 11 says, Now, these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Even the teaching of Paul and Silas was checked against the scriptures. Is what we are hearing the Truth? Are they people who know God’s Word, His Law? Fruit comes from those who abide in Christ. Are we willing to do the research to know who someone is before we share their thoughts or spread their teaching…including mine?

Like the Bereans, we can be more  noble. They wanted to verify what they believed with scripture, protecting themselves and those they would teach from anything less than the Truth of the scriptures. We can do the same.

Let’s be careful out there in the land of social media. Everything shared there can be verified – or dismissed –  by taking it to the one place of Truth – God’s True Word.