Counterfeit

A law enforcement official once showed me a counterfeit $100 bill. I looked at it, felt it, and held it up to the light. It was masterfully made, and very, very similar to an authentic $100 bill.

But it was still counterfeit.

It was still a fake.

It still had no value.

It still was worthless.

It's the same thing when we talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There's the authentic gospel, and then there are a whole lot of counterfeits out there in the world that look and feel like the real thing, but which are not.

There are lots of counterfeit ministries, churches, and pastors out there, pushing a counterfeit gospel that says that God is nothing more than a genie in a bottle to be used for our pleasure and to grant all of our earthly wishes, or that Jesus is our slave instead of our master, or that the church only exists for the young, the cool, the healthy, the wealthy, the successful, or the stylish.

It's all counterfeit.

It may look and feel authentic, but it's not.

1 Timothy 6:3-10 (NKJV) talks a lot about false teachers, and how they "teach otherwise", do "not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ", and how they reject "doctrine which accords with godliness." Paul says that in actuality they are "proud", "know nothing", and are "men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain." Paul says that we are to withdraw ourselves from such false teachers.

They are counterfeit. In Matthew 7:23 (NKJV), Jesus says that He will say to such false prophets, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!"

Withdraw yourselves from ministries, churches, and pastors that practice such lawlessness. They are not authentically presenting the true gospel of Jesus Christ. They are counterfeit, and of no value, just like the fake $100 bill I saw.