Would you know a counterfeit bill if you saw one? Unless it was the proverbial $3 bill, I know I wouldn't! Because counterfeiters are very sophisticated these days and though there are always mistakes—wrong color, texture, paper type, watermarks, symbols, etc.—if you had to obtain and study each variant, it would be a nearly impossible and never-ending task.

But if you were trained by the FBI, you wouldn't often be fooled. They use a method that makes most counterfeits stand out like that $3 bill, no matter what the differences may be.

And what is the basis of this clever scheme? To simply study the real thing! A great deal of their schooling is spent memorizing every square millimeter; every nuance of color and texture; every mark and symbol on actual bills. Then, even if they don't spot the actual mistake right away, because they've spent so much time with the genuine article, something that's fishy will look and feel—well, fishy!

There's a lesson here for Christians. The Bible tells us that Satan himself can appear as an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14) and deceives many. And we are to beware of the "'commandments of men" (Mark 7:7), "false teachers" (Matthew 7:15) and "heresies" (1 Corinthians 11:19, King James Version). But how? By searching out and studying every false doctrine and heresy out there? Like the search for counterfeiter's mistakes, that would be a nearly impossible and never-ending task.

Instead, we should take a leaf out of the pages of the FBI and study the real thing—the Bible, the very Word of God. In Acts 17:11 the Bereans were commended for they "…searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." We're told to "be diligent [study, King James Version] to present yourself approved to God" (2 Timothy 2:15); and to "prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

I don't know about you, but I simply don't have time to read all kinds of treatises on other people's beliefs to see if they're true. The Bible says that in the end times many shall be deceived (Matthew 24:5, 11). Knowing the truth—studying the genuine article—is the only way to be prepared for counterfeits!

Keep your nose in the Bible—know it, love it, be sure of the truth of it—then when you encounter falsehoods in any guise, you will recognize the fake.