Evangelical Leaders Sort True Gospel From Gimmickry

I had someone recently compliment me on my “absolutely gorgeous diamond ring”.

“Thanks!” I said. My thumbnail absentmindedly flicked the band on the underside of my finger, and I smiled.

I figured when I bought it for $25 that I probably wouldn’t go around advertising to anyone that it was just a cubic zirconia set in sterling silver unless they asked me. It looked real, and those who didn’t know much about jewelry would never know the difference.

But if I were to list the same ring for sale, and I listed it as white gold and a real diamond and priced it for several hundred dollars, I could be charged with felony fraud depending on how much money was involved.

Unfortunately, many ignorant or unscrupulous people do try to pass off fakes for the real thing. There are facsimiles for almost everything – jewelry, furniture, clothing and accessories, paintings, etc. – and it’s really sad when the one who buys it thinking it’s one thing only to find out it’s not what they thought at all. We love when someone finds they’ve got a real treasure that they dug out of the trash, but we’ve also seen that infamous Antiques Road Show and the crestfallen look on the antique collector’s face (after they paid a few hundred or thousand dollars for what they thought was a steal) when the appraiser sucks the air in through his teeth, start off saying, “There are so many good fakes out there…” and they suddenly realize how much money they wasted on a fake.

The same can be said of Christianity. There are so many different ‘versions’ of Christianity out there sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s orthodox and what’s not. Doctrine DOES matter.

Can you tell the real thing from a fake? Well, not everyone is a theologian, but there are some trustworthy teachers out there that can point out the good ones and the bad ones based on the standard of the Word of God.

For more information on how they can help you make head or tails out of all the religious noise out there, check this out:

Evangelical Leaders Sort True Gospel From Gimmickry

And for those of you who are wondering about a message or requirement at a church that just doesn’t sit right and you want to ask, is that even in the Bible?? Check this great DVD resource out:

The Marks of a Cult: A Biblical Analysis with Eric Holmberg

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