6 Things Jesus Never Said (but Christians believe)

Few people have been as quoted as Jesus. Just about everyone uses Jesus’ words to show how He supports a view they hold. But the popularity of Jesus’ words has led to more than a few people misquoting Him. Often it’s not that His words are intentionally misquoted, rather they are taken out of context. We insert our own bias and fail to look at what Jesus was actually saying. All this leads us to believe things that Jesus never said.
When we read the Bible out of context we can make it say pretty much anything we want. And that’s what many have done. Too often the context of Jesus’ teaching is ignored in order to support an ideological, political, or moral view. This leads to views that are diametrically opposed to the Kingdom Jesus came to establish. And that needs to change.
So, let’s look at 6 things Jesus never said but that Christians often believe.
Things Jesus Never Said
I would encourage you as you read this list of things Jesus never said to use this as a mirror and not as a weapon. What I mean is it’s easy to see the faults in others but miss our we miss the mark. I don’t intend for this list to be used to beat other people down. Rather, I hope this illuminates areas of your life that don’t align with the Bible and what Jesus taught.
With that in mind, let’s dive in. Things Jesus never said:
America First (Nationalism Is Okay)
Nationalism: a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups. Merriam-Webster
Nationalism: identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations. Oxford Dictionary
Increasingly I hear Christians loudly and proudly proclaim their nationalism. The problem is I can’t reconcile the above descriptions with the Gospel. The two just aren’t compatible. The call of Christians is to place others’ needs above their own. Nationalism does the opposite.
Now, I’m not saying you can’t support your country or that you can’t love where you live. What I am saying is that as a Christian your ultimate allegiance isn’t to the flag your country flies. It’s to God. And there will come a point where what’s in the nation’s best interest is contrary to what God says is best. In those times you have to choose who’s first in your life.
Jesus established a Kingdom that has no borders and is full of people of all nationalities. The Bible makes clear we are citizens of another Kingdom (Ephesians 2:19-22) and that our mission is global (Matthew 28:19-20). Our allegiance is not ultimately to the success of the country we live in. It can’t be.
A huge conflict of interest arises when a Christian supports nationalism. As a follower of Jesus, you cannot value your country to the exclusion or detriment of another. That’s the opposite of the Gospel. The belongs on the top of the list of things Jesus never said.
For more check out: How Christians Should Respond In A Time Of Political Division And Nationalism
Your Sin Isn’t THAT Big Of A Deal
We often view our sin as a simple mistake. We just missed the mark. Not really a big deal. But that’s not how Jesus dealt with sin. After all, He left heaven and willingly went to the cross to pay the price for our sin. Would Jesus do that if sin wasn’t a big deal?
We greatly downplay the seriousness of sin. But it’s consequences for us are dire.
Shane Wood describes this in his book Between Two Trees like this, “When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they were not merely disobeying a command, although indeed they were. They were not just committing an indiscretion, although indeed they did. The action was more dire, the result more severe. For sin is willful union with something or someone other than God.”
Our sin has brought us into union with death. We are one with death. We are on a course for eternal separation from God. Sin is more than a simple mistake.
That’s why Jesus took the drastic action He did. He was determined to restore His creation back into a right relationship with Him. Jesus took sin seriously. It’s by what He did that we have the hope we have. We don’t need to be burden by our sin, but we also shouldn’t take it lightly. The things Jesus never said certain include how many of us view the sin in our life.
For more about sin, check out my aritcle: What Is Sin? (why it’s more than missing the mark)
That Person Got What They Deserved
Karma is an increasingly common belief in western culture. Even many Christians believe in some form of karma. The belief in karma certainly belongs on this list of things Jesus never said because Jesus played by a different set of rules.
Karma says you get what you deserve. Jesus says I will give you what you need.
That’s what grace is. Grace is getting what you need, not what you deserve.
The reality is we all deserve death. That’s what we chose. Through our sin, we have willfully chosen something other than God. We deserve, by our own choice, death. But by God’s grace through the work of Jesus, we receive what we need and He takes what we deserve.
When Jesus encountered people that had sin in their life, He didn’t write them off because they “deserved” it. Instead, He showed them grace. And before you go leave a comment… Yes, He also told them the truth. But His grace was felt before His truth was heard.
As Christians, we should leave behind karma and instead embrace the grace and truth of Jesus. It’s one of the things Jesus never said and that we shouldn’t believe.
I Will Bless You If You Pray Hard Enough
Now there’s a little truth in this. God will bless us. But often we think of a blessing as getting something we want. If I just pray hard enough for this job, marriage, health, money, or whatever then God will have to give it to me. If I just believe and ask enough. If I just name it and claim it.
This belief has caused immense harm. I’ve seen people walk away from their faith because this is what they were taught, but then realized it wasn’t true. Imagine being the parent that was told if they just prayed enough and had faith their child would be healed. But what does that mean when their child dies? Their faith crumbles.
Jesus never taught us to pray like this. Yes, we should ask for our needs and our wants. But He taught us to pray ultimately for God’s will not our own. And let’s not forget that when Jesus asked through the anguish of sweating blood for a different path than the cross, God said no. That was the path He had to endure.
Here’s how Jesus did teach us to pray: What We Can Learn From The Lord’s Prayer
The same will be true for us. Yes, God wants to bless us. But not the way that many of us may want. We will still have tough roads and difficult days. The promise of the Gospel isn’t an easy life, rather one in which we do not have to walk alone.
I Will Make Your Life Easy If You Follow Me
Things Jesus never said: Following me will be easy.
For decades most living in the western world have had a pretty good life. We enjoy many modern conveniences, have money (at least compared to the world), and enjoy religious freedoms. I know there are exceptions, but the average Christian has it made in the shade.
But that’s not the case for many Christians around the world. Many face daily struggles and persecution because of their faith.
Following Jesus isn’t the promise of an easy life. He actually promised the opposite. He promised that His followers would face struggles and challenges. We follow a crucified savior who’s commanded to us is to pick up our cross and follow him. That’s not the calling of an easy life. It’s a call to a life on mission.
God never promised an easy life. He promised He’d be with us and give us what we need to get through it. God won’t make our life easy, but He will give it meaning and purpose.
Alright, last on the list of things Jesus Never said:
I will Answer Your Prayers On Your Terms (and fast)
We often approach prayer like a kid sitting on Santa’s lap. We give God a list of perceived needs and wants. Fully expecting that He will understand and give us exactly what we ask if we just pray hard enough and keep asking. But that’s not the purpose of prayer.
Prayer isn’t getting from God, it’s about connecting with God.
That’s not to say God doesn’t care about our needs, He does and we should tell Him what’s on our heart. But we shouldn’t miss the primary purpose of prayer, it’s about connecting with God.
Again just look at Jesus. In the garden, He asked that the difficult path ahead of Him would be removed. But it wasn’t. He didn’t get what He “wanted”. Instead, He got what we needed. Through that prayer, He was strengthened to go through what lay ahead of Him.
Don’t use prayer to get what you want. Use it as a way to connect with the creator of the universe.
This list of things Jesus never said shows it’s easy to take Jesus’ words out of context and make them say something they don’t. We do it all the time. But in doing so we’ve ended up with many twisted and often dangerous views. These things that Jesus never said have caused great harm to our faith and our witness to those around us.
When we read Jesus’ words we need to put aside our own bias and read what He said in context. Look at the verses before and after and see what He’s really saying. Let the Bible change you rather than twisting it to support views. It’s better that way and will lead to a growing and flourishing faith. It’s time to leave behind these things Jesus never said and instead pursue the real Jesus.
For more about reading the Bible in context check out: Stop Taking The Bible Out Of Context (and what to do instead)
I want to hear from you! What would you add to this list of things Jesus never said?
I HAVE A BOYFRIEND WHO IS A CHRISTIAN WHO WATCHES PORNOGRAPHY AND I TOLD HIM TO KNOW DO IT. HE LISTENS TO PEOPLE’S LIES ABOUT THEIR SEXUAL BEHAVIOR. HE LISTENS TO THE WRONG PEOPLE. HE HANGS OUT WITH DRUG ADDICTS AND DOESN’T TELL THEM TO STOP DOING DRUGS AT HIS PLACE. HE HANGS OUT WITH SEXUALLY IMMORAL PEOPLE AND SOMETIMES HE HANGS OUT WITH CHRISTIAN PEOPLE. HE STOPPED SMOKING FOR A LITTLE BIT BUT NOW HE HAS STARTED SMOKING AGAIN AND HAS MANY PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF HIS SMOKING LIFESTYLE. HE WAS PROMISCOUS MOST OF HIS LIFE AND HE DID NOT REPENT OF IT. HE LIVED WITH A COUPLE OF WOMEN AND BROKE UP WITH THEM BECAUSE HE SAID IT WAS ALL THEIR FAULT. BUT SOME OF IT WAS HIS FAULT AND HE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE IT. HE WAS LIVING IN SIN WITH THEM THAT IS WHY IT DID NOT WORK OUT. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH HIM ANYMORE. I TRIED TO HELP HIM MANY TIMES AND SOMETIMES HE THANKS ME AND SOMETIMES HE DOES NOT. I PUT IN MANY PRAYER REQUESTS FOR HIM TO HELP HIM AND HE WAS HELPED A LITTLE BIT I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO FOR HIM ANYMORE SHOULD I STILL PRAY FOR HIM AND SPEAK IN TONGUES.
How true it is- everyone loves Jesus as long as it is on THEIR terms. One of the many gross beliefs in “christianity ” is that Jesus taught and preached a moral and pious life on earth. There is not one word of His nor in Scripture to support that misconception. Jesus taught and preached only the Kingdom of God and life after death. “My Kingdom is not of this world” – so why would Jesus teach that which He was no part of? The world is all an “I do” of rules, laws, etiquette, and appearance. The Kingdom exists strictly by the God’s divine principles and absolutes in which God is always in total control of all things.
Jesus did tell of helping and being good to people on Earth and being judgemental on Earth.
Jesus never said go make Christian’s! The disciple never used the word but believers of Christ have coined this as faith in God but it’s clear evidence that Christianity is a religion of man. As ambassador of the faith, and kingdom builders we are sons and daughters of God as Christ often told us. Christianity is now the head of all world religion and the sad reality is God never called for religion but relationship. In the western world every interpretation of Christianity mean follower’s of Christ when Christianity origin actually means mockery of those who follow Christ. Matthew 7:21-23 Christ rebukes and cast off many who believed they were in right standing of God. Christianity breed Nationalism and pride. Christianity has excepted paganism into the church with a Santa Claus type spirit which Christ hated.
Most of this is feel-good crap that is more to lecture the kinds of people the author doesn’t like. Don’t read the cherry-picked thoughts of a biased, flawed person. Read the Bible.
You are right. I am a very flawed person. More than I realize.
Here is another scripture that many quote wrong: 2Cor 5:6-8 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight.(H) 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.(I)
Is 2 Cor. 8 taken out of context? People quote it as saying, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” It does not say that: it says we would PREFER to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. ! So, am I reading this wrong. Because it says as long as we are here on earth in our bodies, we are away from the Lord, but when I leave this body I WILL BE with the Lord? I’m so confused. Because I also thought that when you die it’s like going to sleep. And you remain that way until the resurrection. That you no nothing. And that when you finally wake up it’s going to feel like you’ve only been asleep for seconds. It was explained to me like when you are put to sleep for surgery how they have you count back from 10 and tell you you’re about to go to sleep, and then, to the one that was put to sleep, is being woke up and it seems like only seconds have went by, although, it’s been hours. Or like going to bed at night falling asleep and sleeping for 6 to 8 hours and waking up having no recollection of even being in the world for those 6 to 8 hours. I would prefer to be with the Lord the minute I shut my eyes for the last time on this earth. Close my eyes here, and open them in Heaven with Jesus.
You can email me at Susieqx3@aol.com
Thanks!
I am blessed by reason of your article, and I know many serious seekers of the truth who are prepared to study their Bibles with an open mind devoid of prejudice will agree with all the points you treated. Christianity as practiced today is but a shadow of the real way. Mundane minded men have crept into our fold and have made it a social club or a cult. Thanks for yielding your services to building of the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May receive the reward of the faithful servants. Remain blessed.
I have tried to promote and use the idea of prayer as a conversation with God. When we have a conversation with a friend, we don’t get all pious and formulaic. We talk. This is what I think prayer should be. In particular, it means you get to say things, while also letting God say things. You need to listen too.
Just my two cents worth.
This was a great article. Thank you
this is false
What would you say is false?
Ues
Great article. I especially love what you said about sin. It is indeed not just a simple mistake. So many people are not aware of its ramifications. Thank you for highlighting that fact. May God continue to bless your ministry.
Thank you for reading!
Christ DID say, “Whoever does not take up his cross daily, cannot be My disciple! This is the only Xtian Way. Your good article
is much too soft on Comfort. 2,000 years of sainnts have given us countless examples, such as 106,300 clergymen and more than 12 million laity, martyred by the Communists, starting with the ever-memorable St. John of Khonstadt! Today Comfort takes more souls to perdition than anything else, leading to lusr, gluttony, anger and the rest!