Counterfeit Christians...

"Beware of false prophets,' Jesus warned, "who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." – Matthew 7:15.

Once someone asked, "How can you tell if a preacher is a fake-healer, or if a Christian is not for real?”

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At one time there was a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest being held. An always the practical joker, the real Chaplin decided he would enter.

After deliberating long and hard, the judges unwittingly awarded the real Charlie Chaplin the third prize behind two impostors."

So, you often can't tell the fake from the real by outward appearances.

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Pharisees were the religious elite of Jesus' day. They knew the Bible cover to cover. They knew their doctrinal teachings by heart. They had all the outward trappings of religiosity, but for many of them it was an outward show. Furthermore, they loved their doctrines more than they loved people and used them to control people.

Jesus not only knew the same Scriptures, but he was real and saw through these religious play-actors—and didn't mince words with them regarding their phoniness.

Sad to say, there is no shortage today of play-acting teachers, phony religious leaders, counterfeit Christians, and those who love their religion more than they love people—and use their religion to control people. In some countries some even use their religion to force people to convert to their religion and torture or kill those who fail to convert.

So how can we tell the false from the real?

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Mary Jackson-Medrek said, "I work in a bank and one time I was reading about counterfeit bills (notes).

The story said that FBI agents don't study counterfeit bills to learn how to spot one. They study real bills and know them so well that they can spot a phony a mile away."

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That's what we should do as Christians. Study God's word so that if we hear something that isn't right, we can spot it immediately!"

Like Jesus, we also need to be real ourselves, know the Scriptures, and know what a real Christian is so well that we will also be able to spot a phony a mile away.

The Bible is the only Book whose Author is always present when it is read – Read it daily and…

Stay Blessed!