The Belt of Truth

Fact Checkers and Pinocchios

With the election just a few weeks away, the political ads are ramping up as we prepare for “the most important election of our lifetimes” according to both parties. Of course, it’s really the most important because it’s the next election. There are big issues at stake as each candidate makes the argument for why their solutions are the correct solutions for our nation. Each candidate is also making statements about the other candidate - some true and some false.

And so some in the media have taken the initiative to provide fact checking services - and yet sometimes I wonder who is checking the fact checkers? But that’s a discussion for a different context.

The Washington Post periodically grades the truthfulness of candidate’s statements based on a certain number of “Pinocchios” as a fun and entertaining way of analyzing those statements. According to their website, here is how they grade statements:

Pinocchio - “Some shading of the facts. Selective telling of the truth. Some omissions and exaggerations, but no outright falsehoods. (You could view this as "mostly true.")”

Pinocchios - “Significant omissions and/or exaggerations. Some factual error may be involved but not necessarily. A politician can create a false, misleading impression by playing with words and using legalistic language that means little to ordinary people. (Similar to "half true.")”

Pinocchios - “Significant factual error and/or obvious contradictions. This gets into the realm of "mostly false." But it could include statements which are technically correct (such as based on official government data) but are so taken out of context as to be very misleading.”

Pinocchios - “Whoppers” - outright lies.

They also have grades like Geppetto’s checkmark for statements that are completely true, the “upside down” Pinocchio for a flip flop; and the bottomless Pinocchio for the person who is lying or has incorrect facts and knows it - but keeps saying things repeatedly.

It would be nice to be able to have real time fact checks on everything - but that seems nearly impossible - and may even still be subject to interpretation as much as fact checkers try to be factual.

All of these Pinocchios and Factcheckers are ultimately trying to get to one objective - truth.

What is true?

So often truth has been personalized in our society as my truth or your truth - but does that really make it true?

The Armor of God: The Belt of Truth

This week as we continue to look at the armor of God we come to Belt of Truth - as it’s described in some translations.

Ephesians 6:14 ESV

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Last week, we considered briefly the idea of truth as something that provides some security - but I think it’s also something that provides protection. We often think of belts as something that secures our pants or provides a place to hold things - phone, mic transmitters, etc.

This phrase “having fastened on the belt of truth” could literally be translated:

having girded the waist of you with truth

This “girding” is more than just a belt - it is protection. One translation talked about “encircling.” Last week, when I talked about the first century soldier - I probably deserved 1 Pinocchio - I was a bit incomplete in my description. You see a first century soldier would not only have a belt but would have something protecting himself from his waist to his thighs - almost like a protective skirt that would surround him. So this girding and encircling is more than just something to hold a sword - it’s a protection.

So the Apostle Paul pairs this metaphor with truth - encircling ourselves with truth.

What is the truth that he is talking about?

Again - context is key. We need to look back to other sections of this book (the book of Ephesians) to get a better understanding of what he is talking about, but we can also look some to the whole of Scripture to understand this more.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul seems to be talking about truth in three very helpful ways.

First of all, he presents this truth as...

The Truth We Know (or should know)

This shows up first in the first chapter of the book. If you remember, a couple of weeks ago we glanced at the first chapter to consider some of what we have in God, some of the strength that we can find in Him. Look at what it says in...

Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Paul takes us right to the gospel - calling it the Word of truth. The gospel is truth. But what is the gospel?

The word “gospel” literally means good news.

To some, the gospel has become a modifier as a means of attaching good news to something. We have the prosperity gospel, the liberation gospel, gospel centered work, gospel centered discipleship, the gospel project, and more.

What is the truth of this good news?

Essentially, the gospel is the good news that God sent his son into the world, miraculously born of a virgin, to live a perfect life and the die a death that he did not deserve in order to be the substitute for the wrath that we we justly deserve. This salvation is available to everyone - Jews and Gentiles.

Paul, in Ephesians chapter 2 reminds these Gentiles of this salvation, of the love of God.

Ephesians 2:1–9 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Friend - if you have not yet responded to this gospel - I pray that you would do so today. Confess your sin to the Lord and trust in what God has done for you through Jesus Christ.

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

But the truth of this salvation, the truth of the Gospel, this word of truth, is not simply words spoken like some mindless mantra - this is saving faith - given by God - and then sealed with the Holy Spirit (as it says in verses 13 and 14).

Beloved - find confidence in this truth - you have been sealed by the Spirit. There is nothing that can remove you from God’s hand.

Romans 8:35–39 ESV

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Beloved - encircle yourself in this truth. Find security, protection, confidence in the truth of the Gospel.

We could dive deeper into other elements of the New Testament in understanding this truth more fully - but I pray that you KNOW that you have been called by God into a relationship with Him for eternity, saved by God through Jesus Christ, and sealed by God through the Holy Spirit - for all eternity.

In addition to discussing the truth that we should know, the Apostle Paul showed the Ephesians and us...

The Truth We Live Out

A couple of weeks ago we discussed the general outline of the book of Ephesians - chapters 1-3 seem to contain indicatives - things that are true about us and then chapters 4-6 seem to contain imperatives - instructions on how we should live in light of those truths. So the last half of this book really dives into the practical.

In Chapter 4, the Apostle Paul seems to be laying out a foundation for the instructions that he will give in very practical ways to us in chapter 5 and 6 as he addresses husbands and wives, children, employer/employee relationships.

In chapter 4 he also contrasts the deception in which people outside of the Kingdom live. It seems that the Apostle Paul is challenging us to...

Live out this truth in knowledge (Eph. 4:17-24)

Ephesians 4:17–24 ESV

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

If we were to walk around Whalen Commons or put up a post on the town Facebook feed and ask about what it means to be saved or what it takes to have eternal life - I would guess that the people who don’t scoff at believing in God would respond by saying that we have to be good, that we have to be sincere in believing whatever we believe and that will earn us enough rewards or credits to get into eternity. For most people - if there is life after death - access to that state is based on some sort of a scale - good works verses bad works. And yet, what are those works? Do certain things outweigh others?

I think this is a bit of the futility and ignorance that Paul is talking about in this passage. But now, as followers of Christ, the truth we live out is the truth that we find in Jesus. We will see this a bit more next week when we consider the breastplate of righteousness.

We must continually be immersed in God’s Word in order that we might gradually be transformed - putting off our old way of living and thinking, and being renewed in how we think which then is reflected in how we live.

Life in Jesus Christ should make a difference in the way that we live - how we treat others - how we speak. We won’t be perfect, but we can gradually be made more like Christ renew our minds in His Word.

But I think he is also charging us to encircle or protect ourselves as we...

Live out this truth in love and light and wisdom (Eph. 5:2, 8, 15)

Let me encourage you to take time this afternoon to re-read Ephesians 5:1-20 and reflect on these.

When we protect ourselves by walking in love - we live the way Jesus lived - showing the love and grace of God to others. Walking in love is a selfless act. Paul contrasts this with the greedy and immoral nature of our old way of living and how selfish that is.

Ephesians 5:2 ESV

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

When we encircle ourselves with the truth by walking in light - we support what is good and right and true. Eph. 5:8

Truth likes light.

Deception likes darkness.

Truth is unashamed.

Deception is mired in shame.

When we gird our lives by living out the truth of Jesus Christ by walking in wisdom - we make the most of what God has entrusted to us - our time, talents, minds.

Ephesians 5:15–16 ESV

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

So, we’ve seen that Paul, in talking about encircling our waists with truth - he shared the truth we should know about the gospel and the truth that we should live - in knowledge, love, light, and wisdom.

Finally, Paul addressed...

The Truth We Speak - in Love

As you know, several men are gathering each week to discuss the book Disciplines of a Godly Man. This coming week, we’re talking about the discipline of Integrity. In the opening pages of this chapter, the author - R. Kent Hughes - addresses a survey that was taken of Americans that revealed just how deceitful and untruthful we are. One part of the survey revealed:

“Ninety-one percent [of Americans] confessed that they lie regularly - at home and at work. In answer to the question “Whom have you regularly lied to?” the statistics included 86 precent to parents and 75 percent to friends.” (p. 155).

Hughes’ comments reveal that we are a deceitful people.

But why do we feel the need to lie to one another?

Sadly, the survey revealed that Christians are not that much different than the rest of the population. But that should not be.

The Apostle Paul addresses the truth we speak - especially to one another- as brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul contrasts the way it is with the world with the way that it should be with Christ...

Ephesians 4:15–16 ESV

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

He continues a bit later in that chapter...

Ephesians 4:25 ESV

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

When we speak truthfully, we have no reason to cover anything up.

When we speak truth, we edify the body of Christ, strengthen our bond, help each other grow in maturity.

When we speak lies - we tear down ourselves and each other, reveal our immaturity, and ultimately weaken our defenses.

I do get it that sometimes it’s difficult to speak the truth - there are times when the truth hurts. It hurts to have to give someone honest feedback about something that is near and dear to his or her heart. It hurts to truthfully confront someone about sin or respond to their repentance. The truth hurts - sometimes.

But Paul adds this caveat - in love. Speaking the truth in love reveals your concern for the person to whom you’re speaking or the issue about which you’re conversing. Speaking the truth in love softens the blow of truth’s blunt force. Speaking the truth in love elevates long term growth over the short term discomfort.

Beloved, we need to speak the truth in love to one another.

Closing thoughts

Truth is a valuable and vital part of the armor of God. God deals in truth and reveals his word in truth.

As we engage in the real war we wage...

Be reminded of the truth of the gospel - your salvation in Jesus Christ

Live a truthful life that has been transformed by knowledge, that lives in love, the reveals light, and is executed with wisdom.

Speak truthfully in love with one another.

By encircling ourselves in truth in these ways, the enemy will not have a way to undermine our witness or weaken our faith.

(possibly read part of Screwtape Letters)

Let’s pray