COUNTERFEIT or LEGIT?
- UnstoppableRevKev
- Aug 29
- 3 min read
📖Scripture: “...so that the authenticity of your faith... may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” –1 Peter 1:7
🔎Reflection: It's common knowledge that counterfeiting is a crime. People who counterfeit building materials for airplanes and buildings put the lives of others at great risk. Counterfeiting currency/money faces felony charges and jail time. Since that's true about material stuff... how much more of a crime is it to counterfeit faith? God's word reveals that counterfeit faith is a crime/sin against God and that the penalty is death, i.e., eternal separation from God. To know the truth and continue in rebellion or counterfeit faith is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which the Bible reveals as the unforgivable sin (Matt 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-29, and Luke 12:10)!
There's an age-old question: "Why does God allow suffering?" The objective answer from Scripture is that it reveals whether our faith is authentic (from God) or counterfeit (from anywhere else). Legit faith produces praise, glory, and honor for Christ. The counterfeit variety of “faith,” however, produces lip service, entertainment-driven worship, and man-centered religion. God's WORD even calls prayers that bubble up from disingenuous faith "an abomination" (Prov 28:9). In fact, Scripture reveals that "...anything that does not come from faith is sin" (Rom 14:23), and "the wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23).
To be “around” Jesus isn’t the same as being known by Him (Matt 7:23). Judas walked with Christ for three years; he was near Jesus yet betrayed Him for the price of a slave (John 13:27). Many churches today inoculate and encourage attendees with counterfeit faith through entertainment and religious familiarity rather than transformative divine grace through the WORD of God. Authentic praise arises not from circumstances (good or bad) but from hearts and lives that are perfectly content regardless of transient, temporal, fleeting circumstances. The faith of the saints is refined in trials and anchored by Christ alone.
The Apostle Paul considered all else skybalon—dung—compared to knowing Christ (Phil 3:8). The church that embraces biblical truth will be marked not by fickle consumerism but by costly discipleship, joyful endurance, and Christ-centered worship. At the Second Coming, the day of the revelation of Jesus Christ, only faith tested and proved genuine through the Refiner’s fire, will remain.
🤺Action: The WORD of God calls us to test and examine the authenticity of our worship. The problem is that the human heart is deceitful above all things (Jer 17:9) and beyond cure… apart from divine intervention. Our hearts are so deceitful, in fact, that apart from the grace of the Holy Spirit, we will even convince ourselves into believing our faith is genuine. That’s why we always need to compare whatever we’re calling faith and obedience to the objective standard of God’s WORD.
That’s why we need the Holy Spirit to convict and correct us. That’s why the WORD of God is the Alpha & Omega; it determines what we can objectively know, practice skillfully, and be guided by daily! Authentic praise is the manifestation of Christ in us. Withdrawal, withholding, wandering, mindless routine, religious performance, and spiritual convenience all expose counterfeit faith. If/where the Holy Spirit convicts and corrects, repent of counterfeit worship and pursue wholehearted devotion to Jesus as a member of His Body & Bride.
🙏Prayer: Glorious LORD, please expose anything counterfeit in my heart and replace it with authentic faith, worship, and praise. Help me to rejoice, leaning into Your grace, as you refine me into useful material for Your praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, the God of my salvation!
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Blessings & love,
Kevin M. Kelley
Pastor
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