During the California gold rush (1848), there were many men whose hearts leaped with joy when they found gold, only to discover that what they had really uncovered was “fool's gold.” It was called that, not only because it lacked the necessary qualities of gold, but because it fooled the novice. The assayer would have difficulty in convincing a novice that his discovery was not the real thing. However, just because the finder believed that his discovery was real, he could very rarely sway an assayer's judgment to give him any money.On the other hand, an experienced gold digger could easily determine the validity of a find with just a glance. He had learned through experience, to differentiate between real gold and fool's gold. He was never afraid to have his claim tested, and he wasn't going to waste his time digging for worthless metal.
Asking some people to test the validity of their religious convictions, seems to almost be an insult to them. Though their soul's condition may be based on a false estimation of value, they are satisfied to be deceived with a religion of “fool's gold” (see Galatians 1:8-9). They seem to think that because they believe it to be so, then it must be so (contrast – Proverbs 16:25; Psalm 25:8-10).
For something of much greater value than gold (Matthew 13:45-46), one can hardly afford to accept a system of faith deficient in power to save (Romans 1:16-17). Let’s not be “carried about with every wind of doctrine,” but be honest searchers of “the faith” (gospel system of faith – Acts 17:11; Ephesians 4:13; Romans 10:17).
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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