Fraud

Recently, I've learned about counterfeit guitars. Someplace in China is manufacturing cheap guitars and selling them in the US as American made instruments from American manufacturers. The Gibson Les Paul is probably the most frequent counterfeit. They look nice, but there are tell-tell signs that it is not an original. It looks the same, yet there are subtle but noticeable differences. An expert can tell in an instant, but to the untrained eye, one may not be able to tell and may be fooled. The unusually low price is a beginning point.

The apostle Paul warns about Judaizers, people who claimed that one must keep the law of Moses as well as believe in Jesus in order to be saved. They were adding to what God required for salvation, thus making a counterfeit salvation.

There are those who still believe and teach the same, but there are others who teach this or that as well as faith in Christ is what saves or makes one faithful.

For instance:

• One must keep the "spiritual disciplines"
• One must never miss church, or communion, or ....
• One must tithe without fail
• One must ________________ (you fill in the blank)

We must beware of counterfeit faith. It does not hurt to know what these "extra" teachings are, but it is essential that we know what the Bible actually says.

There is a special branch of the governement that watches for counterfeit money. Flooding the country with counterfeit money could ruin our economy and most Americans wouldn't know counterfeit from real. I wouldn't. But there are some who are trained to be able to identify counterfeit money at sight. Their preparation is not examining counterfeit money, there are too many variations and possibilities, and they could blend together and fool the best trained federal men. They study the real thing. They examine US tender, real money and become so familiar with it that when they see a counterfeit bill, they are able to recognize the difference.

The Word of God, is the real thing. It is clear on what is necessary for salvation, it is clear on what it means to be faithful, it is clear on what we must know. The safe and sure way to recognize counterfeit doctrine and teaching, relating to the Church, the Bible, and Christ, is to know the Word of God which he has revealed and is found in the pages of the Bible.

Psalm 33:3 The best instrument you have is your heart!