To Identify Counterfeits, Study the Real Thing

Have you ever encountered counterfeit money? To my knowledge, I haven’t. But maybe that’s because I’m not a trained expert. I’m relatively familiar with U.S. currency, but I’m sure that if someone were to give me Canadian dollars or Euros, I’d be hard-pressed to know with certainty I wasn’t holding fake money. 

How do you become expert in spotting counterfeit cash? Here’s something you might not know: You don’t develop the necessary expertise by spending time examining bogus money. No, the skill for identifying counterfeits comes from knowing in detail what the real thing looks like.

 

That’s how Federal agents are trained. Their training spans a week or more, but for nearly the entire time they study only bona fide bucks. Literally, it’s money manufactured in “good faith,” without fraud of deceit. The agents study the most minute details – numbers, letters, fonts, paper quality, special markings, and everything else that makes each denomination distinctive. They become so familiar with it, it’s like staring at the backs of their hands. 

 

Only at the end of the training do the agents get to examine counterfeit money. By that time, because they’ve gained such intimate knowledge of what genuine currency looks like, when they see the counterfeits, they stand out as the proverbial sore thumb. It’s like those have been printed in a totally different color, with fonts and numerals having no resemblance to the real thing. Like Monopoly money.

 

It’s probably like that in learning to distinguish pricey products like Coach purses, Rolex watches, artwork and jewelry from cheap knockoffs and replicas. Experts know the genuine article so well, the counterfeits can be spotted immediately.

 

Have you ever considered that spiritual truth can be recognized the same way? We live in a time when we can be confronted by many religious counterfeits, all purporting to be the true path to God. With all the conflicting messages in our diverse society, how can we know which is right – and which are wrong?

 

The answer is simple: We need to invest the time and energy necessary to study and get to know the real thing as thoroughly as possible. Then the counterfeits will be easily identifiable.

 

Recently, I spent considerable time interacting with a friend about a “church” he was very enthused about, to the extent that he felt I needed to check it out myself. I’d never heard of this particular movement, but from the start I sensed something wasn’t right. 

 

I’ll not specify the identity of this “church,” but like many false religions it presents some claims that at first seem similar to what the Bible teaches. However, upon closer examination there are dramatic differences, clear contradictions to what God has revealed about Himself – and us – in the Scriptures.

 

During his missionary journeys, the apostle Paul encountered many spiritual counterfeits. In some settings he and those accompanying him were warmly welcomed, while they faced strong opposition in other places. On one trip, after a lengthy stay in Thessalonica, Paul and his band of brothers went to Berea. There they met a group of shrewd listeners who understood the process for distinguishing the genuine from the counterfeit.

 

We’re told, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). These were people well-acquainted with the Scriptures, and even though what Paul and the others taught sounded good, they were cautious to check the veracity of their claims. 

 

As a result of their diligence, “Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men” (Acts 17:12). They had determined that what Paul was teaching about Jesus Christ – how He had fulfilled the ancient predictions about the Messiah – aligned with the revered Torah and prophetic writings.

 

Speaking about the end times, Jesus Himself warned against “counterfeiters” who would seek to deceive both believers and non-believers. He said, “Many will come in My name and say, ‘I am He!’ and they will lead many astray…. And if anyone says to you at that time, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There He is!’ – do not believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect” (Mark 13:5-6,21-22).

 

Many people who follow Jesus, including numerous Bible scholars, believe we are nearing the promised “end of the age” and the return of Christ. Of course, folks have believed this since His resurrection and ascension. But without question, we’re one day closer to it than we were yesterday. 

 

No one knows for sure when that will be, but as the apostle Paul admonished believers in Thessalonica, “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Thieves don’t announce their arrival beforehand, and Jesus isn’t obligated to broadcast the exact day and time of His return.

 

All we know, as we study and trust the Scriptures, is He definitely will come back so we need to be prepared. As the apostle John wrote, “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come…. Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist – he denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:18,22).

 

We’ve been warned: Many counterfeits are coming, and some are already among us. We need to be wise and discerning – and the best way to do that is by being like the Bereans, studying the Scriptures to see if what we see and hear is true.

Beware of Counterfeits

Have you heard about how Federal agents are trained to spot counterfeit money? I did some research and verified the story is true: The agents are brought in for several days – even as long as a week – and spend more than 90 percent of the time inspecting…real currency.

Our susceptibility to counterfeits depends on
how well we know the real thing.

They examine elements of the genuine article methodically and meticulously, things like portraits and other artwork, Federal Reserve and Treasury seals, borders, serial numbers and paper quality. Agents pour over real money from every possible angle. They learn its details until it’s as familiar to them as their own hands.

Only then, after many hours of examining and becoming intimately acquainted with bonafide currency, are they introduced to counterfeit money for their consideration.

Knowing the real McCoy so well, the fake cash stands out as if printed on pink paper with red ink. (Of course, in a sense, the Federal government does print paper with red ink – but that’s a topic for some other time.)

Sadly, our world surrounds us with counterfeits. Expensive-looking watches, knock-off purses and shoes, high-end fashions and high-tech devices are often foisted on naïve consumers who think they’re getting a bargain. Instead, they’re receiving mere copies, falsified replicas of the real deal. Even romance has its counterfeit these days, with TV and the movies masquerading raging hormones and lustful motives as “true love.”

There’s an important principle to be learned here. To be capable of spotting a counterfeit, it makes sense to know the genuine article very well.

This is as true in the spiritual realm as anywhere. Some make the claim, “All religions are the same.” Others would say, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, just as long as you’re sincere.” These views sound reasonable – until we compare counterfeits with the stuff of genuine faith.

Are we to assume Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and whatever other belief system you want to toss into the discussion are all essentially the same? They are alike in one respect – a shared conviction that even though we live in a material world, it has a very real spiritual dimension. After that, however, comparing them side by side reveals considerable – and irreconcilable – differences.

For the disciple of Christ, it’s helpful to know these differences. But even more important is having a clear understanding of what we believe – and why. The key is being so familiar with the Word of God, the Bible – just as Federal agents are familiar with genuine currency – that pretender belief systems become obvious.

In fact, Jesus assured His followers, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:31-32). He promised we could know THE Truth, not someone’s opinion of what the truth should be.

The book of Acts offers an excellent example of the attitude to have when confronted with new spiritual claims: “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Another translation says they “searched the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (New American Standard).

In other words, these fervent truth-seekers from Berea knew the Scriptures extremely well, and as the apostle Paul taught in the synagogues, they would diligently compare what he said with what they knew to be true from the holy writings passed down through the centuries. “Accept no counterfeit!” might have been their motto.

The question is, are we in danger of being seduced by counterfeit teachings? The only way we can avoid this is to spend time studying, examining, meditating on and absorbing the real thing. Then, when faced with the counterfeit, we can recognize it and dismiss it for what it is.

Why are some people seduced by a Coach purse replica, a fake Rolex, or a counterfeit $20 bill? Because these look close enough to the actual item to deceive. But if you know the real thing, you can identify the counterfeit easily.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).