Spotting a Counterfeit
Illustration★★★★Some time ago, the United States government was studying counterfeits in the United States. They were training bank tellers to identify counterfeit money. So they brought bank tellers from throughout the country to Washington D. C., for a two week course in how to detect a counterfeit.
During that two week period, the tellers spent hours and hours studying money. They studied 5-dollar bills, 10-dollar bills, 20s, 50s, and 100- dollar bills. How many counterfeit 10-dollar bills did they study? Not one!
How many counterfeit 100s did they study? Not one. You may wonder: How can you possibly teach bank tellers to detect counterfeit money without studying one counterfeit: They studied the genuine 5, the genuine 10, the genuine 20. They learned their textures; they studied the intricate engraving in the portrait pictures; they mastered the shades and tones of color; they looked at every symbol on them.
They proved that if you understand the genuine, you can spot a counterfeit very easily.
The point
Bank tellers learn to identify counterfeit money by thoroughly studying genuine currency; similarly, understanding the genuine Gospel helps us recognize false teachings.