Do you remember the classic spy thriller scene where the hapless protagonist sets down a briefcase full of priceless jewels at an airport or train station, only to pick up a different but similar-looking briefcase next to him? Before he knows it, the evil villain who planted the counterfeit has absconded with his treasure.

I call this to mind because it reflects one of Satan’s most persistent strategies for weakening Christians’ allegiance to Christ. He substitutes a counterfeit version of what we treasure, of what God calls us to, and of what God says to us. Satan did this to Adam and Eve after God created them as His image bearers (Gen. 1:27). In effect, Satan suggested that they rely on their own wisdom to assess what was good or evil (see 2:17). They were called to be “like God” by mirroring His righteousness and holiness on earth, but the tempter lured them to be “like God” in a counterfeit sense, telling Eve that by eating of the forbidden tree, she and Adam could be “like God, knowing good and evil” for themselves (3:5). Instead of imitating God as beloved children by submitting to His word, our first parents usurped God’s prerogative to define what is good. In this, Adam and Eve imitated the father of lies rather than their Father in heaven.

After the fall, Paul reminded the Corinthians that Satan still presents counterfeits. He warned that false teachers were proclaiming “another Jesus than the one we proclaimed,” offering “a different gospel” from the one they received in faith (2 Cor. 11:4)—and in that offer they were being duped. The Apostle warned that “as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning,” the believers at Corinth could be easily “led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (v. 3).

Where does Satan entice believers with counterfeits today? Everywhere. In the wider world, the devil rejoices over the redefinitions of love, tolerance, inclusion, and affirmation that threaten to lead Bible-believing Christians astray. The temptation is especially strong for young believers to “ally” themselves to the latest cultural movement. But even mature Christians are not immune from picking up the wrong briefcase. Satan entices churches to indulge moral laxity as a false imitation of God’s grace or to implement harsh and unloving discipline in the name of righteous zeal. Christian husbands can be tempted to counterfeits of sexual intimacy on their phones, while wives can fall for imitations of the perfect life on social media or in magazines. Only constant exposure to what is genuine, holy, and true in God’s written Word will enable us to spot and flee from the counterfeits that Satan places in our path.

Praise God that by His grace we can escape Satan’s capture through the gift of repentance (2 Tim. 2:26). But beware: even though by His cross Christ has defanged the devil, he still prowls around for a meal (1 Peter 5:8). Let us heed Scripture’s warning to not be “ignorant of his designs” (2 Cor. 2:11).