Counterfeits and Christians

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:14)

There are several tools that we are given to acquire discernment. Today I want to briefly look at three tools that are imperative for the discerning Christian to develop.

The first is the most obvious, and that is the Word of God. If we are to think Biblically, we must be able to look through Scripture for our answers. We have fairly exhaustively discussed the need to know Scripture; but I wanted to make an additional point…

Real Seal

Counterfeit Seal

I have heard many sermon illustrations about the United States Secret Service training their agents to spot counterfeit bills. It is often reported that they only look at the real ones; handling “truth” to the point of absolute familiarity with it, thus making it simple to spot error. While this has some aspects of reality, it is not entirely accurate. In training, they DO look at and handle real money on a consistent basis; however, they usually do it in conjunction with a comparison of fake money.

Example: “On a genuine bill… The counterfeit seals may have…” (secretservice.gov) 
It is imperative for Christians to know God’s truth; but this does not mean that there is no place for addressing specific falsehoods by critically studying them. Remember that not every person you meet believes the Bible as the authoritative truth, so being able to point out the falsehoods is an important tool as well; but subjective to the Scripture.

For Christians to effectively recognize falsehood, they must also be willing to use the common sense that God gives to them; "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil." (I Thessalonians 5:21-22)- As Paul was writing to the Church at Thessalonica, he gave a simple 4 step plan to determine behavior; TEST, TAKE, TOSS, THINK. Test to see what is good, Take the good, Toss the bad, Think about how it all looks.

Finally, consider our Scripture text; when you exercise, you are performing repetitive motions in an effort to build muscle and endurance. Exercising discernment means we are USING IT consistently in order to strengthen it. Does that mean you will always have all of the answers? Of course not; this is where the final tool, Counsel, comes from. There are numerous Biblical mandates given to get counsel from others; some great Bible verses to consider are; “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14) also there is “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.” (Proverbs 19:20) And another "Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established." (Proverbs 15:22)

As I mentioned earlier; these are just three of the many tools God gives us; but are likely the most important ones for the Christian to have. Ask yourself; what does YOUR toolbox look like? Does it have at least these three?

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”

―Richard P. Feynman