"Knowing God – Counterfeit or Authentic Christianity?"

And this is life eternal, that they might KNOW THEE the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. - John 17:3

And ye shall KNOW THE TRUTH, and the truth shall make you free. - John 8:32

I was watching a program on TV the other night on frauds and fakes. In one part of the show they were trying to verify the authenticity of a painting. If authentic, the painting would be worth $2 million. They performed all the scientific tests to verify the age of the paint and canvas, etc., matching the time period of a particular famous painter, and from all data, it matched. But to make absolutely sure it was the famous painter’s painting, they called in a specialist who had seen and studied EVERY known painting by this particular painter to see if he believed it was authentic. He had studied the artist’s paintings for 40+ years. He walked in, and in just a couple seconds, he said, “it’s not authentic”. He then proceeded to devaluate the painting with his expertise. He said, “it’s like knowing your wife’s handwriting”. He continued by saying, “this is not the work of that painter!”

This specialist could tell it was counterfeit, NOT because he studied counterfeits, but on the contrary, because he KNEW the painter’s authentic paintings. So it is with God’s Word. If we KNOW the AUTHENTIC GOSPEL, we will be able to spot the COUNTERFEIT GOSPEL (Gal. 1:6,7).

Do you KNOW our God of the Bible so well as to be able to tell His authentic Gospel from a counterfeit Gospel?

Can you tell if someone is misinterpreting the Bible because it does not match the character of God as revealed through the Bible?

Let me encourage you to get to know the God of the Bible through accurate study of the scriptures and through time in prayer. If you think your God seems like a different God than others reveal Him to be, make sure you are hearing from a credible source (scriptural) and make sure “your personal views” aren’t getting in the way.

If you’re not sure if you really know the authentic from a counterfeit gospel, get in a good Bible-believing church and spend personal time in the Word and prayer.

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