Jessie Vigil of Las Vegas, New Mexico, has a unique automobile. He customized his Ford Mustang (seen at right) to replicate the police cars seen in the movie, Transformers, citing his seven-year-old son's love for the blockbuster film.
According to New Mexico State Police, what Mr. Vigil has done with his car is not illegal as long as he doesn't "act like a police officer."
Even though Vigil may not actually be trying to impersonate an officer of the law, there are some who find it advantageous to do so in the perpetration of crimes. Quite a few criminals have taken advantage of unsuspecting citizens by adequately passing themselves off as members of a law enforcement agency.
How is it these men convince motorists and pedestrians of their supposed status as law officers? Are they successful in carrying out these schemes by flashing a flimsy toy badge or donning a cheap imitation of a real uniform?
When successful in carrying out their cruel and heinous acts, these criminals are able to do so because their badges, uniforms, and flashing blue lights are so convincing -- so close to the real thing that the minute differences are virtually undetectable to the average citizen. That is what makes these individuals so dangerous. The penalty for impersonating an officer is stiff, but probably ought to be even more severe.
There is an important spiritual parallel in thinking about how this deception is accomplished. How are individuals convinced that a religious group or organization is "from God" when, in fact, they do and teach that which is not congruent with the Scriptures? Many times, the answer lies in what we observed in the impersonation of police officers.
These groups establish their legitimacy by sticking very close to the teaching of the Bible, thus piggybacking on the authority the name of Christ carries. However, an up-close examination of a given group may reveal some doctrines and practices that have no Biblical foundation. The Bible speaks of certain groups or individuals that may "disqualify you" (Colossians 2:18). These groups do so by doing that which is "according to human precepts and teachings" (Colossians 2:22). The final analysis of organizations such as these is that...
...these have indeed an appearance of wisdom...but they are of no value...
Colossians 2:23, ESV
Just as a criminal with evil intentions -- who looks for all the world exactly like a law officer -- can have deadly consequences, so too can aligning oneself with a church or other religious body that has only an "appearance" of wisdom and truth. Appearance only goes so deep. If we would invest more time in honest investigation of what our particular church or group teaches and how it accords with the word of God, there would be drastic changes in the world of religion.
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