3. Counterfeit Christianity: The Bible And...
A Quick Guide to Coin Counterfeiting
Speaking of counterfeiting, did you know there is a way to counterfeit precious metal coins? This is how to do it. First, you start by minting coins that are as pure as possible. Get people to trust and use these precious coins. To prevent people from shaving the edges, you put ridges on the sides to easily detect it.
To get around ridged edges, you have to debase the coins. You mix the pure coins with cheap metal. The amount of precious metal that took to make one can now make two or more coins. Eventually, people will catch on, and the merchants will raise their prices. It's not that the value of goods and services went up; it's that the value of the coins you initially used went down. This, by the way, is how inflation first started back in the Roman Empire.
Debasing the Pure Faith
Counterfeit Christianity is like debasing pure coins. Often what starts as Biblical Christianity slowly, over time, becomes Counterfeit Christianity. The debasement begins whenever human beings mix impure human teaching to the inerrant and infallible Bible.
Counterfeit Religions
Some religions are 100% counterfeit coins. There's no precious metal in them. The sacred writings of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Paganism are like that. There's nothing of eternal value in any of these religions or any like them. While atheists and humanists claim not to have sacred texts, it is obvious to see they esteem some writings above others, but one thing is sure, they do not adhere to the self-attesting Bible.
Mormons have the Bible and the Book of Mormon. JW's, the Bible and the Watchtower. Islam recognizes parts of the Bible and the Quran. Judaism has the Tanakh and other books such as the Talmud but outright reject the New Testament's precious metal. These, and religions like them, are counterfeits.
Are All Counterfeits?
But what about various expressions of Biblical Christianity? For example, Methodists have Wesley's 52 Standard Sermons. Calvinists hold to Calvin's Institutes of Christian Religion. Roman Catholics believe in the Apocrypha and the Pope speaking ex-cathedra. These are just a few examples of various expressions of Biblical Christianity. But are they Counterfeit Christianity?
The beauty of the Bible is that it is self-authenticating. It claims to be the sole arbiter of Truth. The Bible claims to be God's objective self-revelation to humanity. Biblical Christianity takes God at His own word that He has spoken through the Bible. This means that true Christians check everything they think, believe, feel, and experience against the objective Truth in the Bible.
The Refining Power of Scripture
The refining power of the Bible is the Spirit’s continual purification of what we believe. Biblical Methodists are willing to ditch anything in Wesley's sermons that are contrary to Scripture. Biblical Calvinists are eager to do the same with Calvin. Biblical Roman Catholics will dare to jettison anything that does not align with Scripture and thus fulfill the Reformation's challenge. This is true with every “brand” of Christianity, whether it is a denomination or a church centered on a particular emphasis.
The courage to refine our beliefs with the Bible's fire is what sets Biblical Christianity against Counterfeit Christianity. Christians have expressed this through the Latin phrase "Sola Scriptura," which means Scripture alone. That little phrase encapsulates the heart of Biblical Christianity.
Sola Scriptura
As Biblical Christians, we do not stand on our own authority. Individually we do not have the corner market on truth. Our authority stands or falls on the Truth communicated through the self-attesting Christ of the Bible. If we or anyone else speak something that is contrary to the Bible, then what we are promoting is the "Bible and…". Do not believe me or anyone else if what we say does not line up with the clear teaching of the Bible.
