Ever heard this quote?
“Federal agents don’t learn to spot counterfeit money by studying the counterfeits. They study genuine bills until they master the look of the real thing. Then when they see the bogus money they recognize it.”
To be honest, it has always sounded a little fishy to me. For one thing, I’m generally skeptical of supposed “did you know” facts, and this particular one always felt a little too convenient for whoever was using it at the moment to be true. For another, I’ve most frequently heard it from those on the other side of the argument from me.
According to Tim Challies though, it turns out to be true (at least in Canada, anyway) [Part 1|Part 2].
However, the applications Challies draws are a little more subtle than one might expect. For instance, he doesn’t come to the same isolational conclusion that the illustration is often used to defend. After all, the feds are still responsible to detect counterfeits; it’s their method of preparation that the quote is actually addressing—first thoroughly internalize the characteristics of truth, and error becomes self-evident.
As Challies emphasizes, the parallel is more specific than to the church as a whole. Just as individuals are responsible to make sure that the currency they accept is genuine, individual believers are to develop and exercise biblical discernment in defense of sound doctrine and righteous living. Challies notes the illustration’s insight into how to properly develop that discernment: “The more we know about God’s character, God’s ways, and God’s Word, the greater the contrast will be between truth and error.”
Of course, an illustration such as this can clearly be taken too far—doctrine by analogy is always a very bad idea—but it’s often instructive to explore the ramifications of well-founded illustrations. It seems this one passes that test after all.
