Confirmation Bias: Are Your Beliefs Blocking God's Truth?

Confirmation bias happens when someone believes something and only looks for proof that they are right instead of checking if they might be wrong. The Bible warns about this because it keeps people from seeing the truth. God has spoken His Word—the Gospel, what He has sworn by Himself—and it does not change. But many people ignore what He has actually declared and instead believe something else just because it feels right to them. The Bible says, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Think about that. If God has already sworn what will happen, does your belief change it? If He has declared the end from the beginning, do your opinions matter? Or are you simply believing what you want to be true?

But how does this happen? Have you ever met someone who refuses to believe the truth, even when it's right in front of them? No matter how much proof they are shown, they won’t change their mind. Instead of listening, they only look for more reasons to defend what they already believe. That is confirmation bias. It is when someone stops seeking truth because they think they already have it.

Jesus warned about this. He told the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and yet they testify about Me. But you are not willing to come to Me so that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40). They studied the Scriptures, but they had already decided what they believed. When the truth was right in front of them—when Jesus Himself stood before them—they refused to accept it. They weren’t rejecting truth because they didn’t know Scripture. They were rejecting truth because they thought they already knew everything they needed to know.

That should terrify you.

Because if the Pharisees, who studied Scripture daily, could be blinded by their own beliefs—how much easier is it for you to be trapped in the same deception?

This is exactly what happens when people refuse to let go of their own ideas and instead twist Scripture to match what they already believe.

The Bereans did the opposite. The Bible says, “The Bereans were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (Acts 17:11). Instead of assuming they were right, they checked the Scriptures to see if what they were hearing matched the Gospel, the Word that God had sworn. They weren’t looking to prove themselves right—they were looking for the truth. That is the only way to escape confirmation bias.

So the question is, do people today do this? Or do they assume that what they have been taught is correct and ignore what the Scriptures actually testify to? Paul warned about this when he said, "I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!" (Galatians 1:6-8).

Many people believe something different than what God has actually sworn because they have accepted a gospel that is not the one God declared. But God does not change what He has sworn to fit what people want to believe. "Do not add to His words, or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar." (Proverbs 30:6).

Imagine someone reading a Bible verse, but instead of accepting what it says, they ignore it or try to explain it away because it doesn’t match what they’ve always been told. They refuse to let God’s sworn Word—the Gospel—correct them because it would mean admitting they were wrong. That is exactly what happened to the Pharisees, and it is still happening today.

But if someone never lets what God has sworn correct them, how will they ever learn the truth?

The Gospel is the Word of God—what He has declared from the beginning and sworn by Himself. "Look to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return—That to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance." (Isaiah 45:22-23).

This is not something people get to redefine or twist to match their own ideas. It is God’s promise—what He has declared will happen, and it cannot fail.

But confirmation bias makes people resist this. They accept a different gospel because they have already made up their minds. They listen to teachers who tell them what they want to hear. But “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12). That is why testing everything against what God has actually sworn is so important. If what someone believes does not match exactly what God has declared from His own mouth, then they are believing something false.

Jesus made it clear that God’s sworn Word—the Gospel—would be fulfilled when He said, “And as for Me, if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to Myself.” (John 12:32). This is how every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, exactly as God declared in Isaiah 45:23.

God’s purpose is unstoppable, and it will be fulfilled in Christ.

What if you've been wrong your whole life? Would you have the courage to let God's sworn Word correct you? Or would you cling to what you've always believed—even if it meant rejecting the truth?

This is not about opinions or tradition. It is about standing by exactly what God has declared from His own mouth. "For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding." (Proverbs 2:6). If someone truly wants the truth, they will seek it with all their heart. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13).

But those who refuse to let go of their own ideas will never see it—just like the Pharisees who rejected Jesus even when He stood before them.

God has already sworn it. It will happen. Nothing can stop it.

The only question is—when that day comes, will you stand by His Word, or will you be found standing against Him?