6 Christian Sayings That Are Not In The Bible
When you build a house you need a strong foundation. Similarly, when you are growing your faith it needs to be founded in something. The Bible is the foundation in which we build our faith. It’s not just where we learn about God, it’s where we meet him. It’s not the only place we can grow our faith, but it is the foundation. The problem is many we have many common sayings that are not in the Bible.
Some of the Christian sayings below are not true. Others have an element of truth, but are just not helpful. But these are things the Bible doesn’t say.
Let’s take a look at 6 Christian sayings that are not in the Bible.
Christian Sayings That Are Not In The Bible
My goal with this list isn’t to make you feel bad if you’ve recently said one or believe one of these. And I also don’t think we should use this list as a weapon to beat others down. Rather, I think we should examine the things we say and what we believe in order to see if they align with the Bible. When we believe things the Bible doesn’t say we aren’t building our faith on a solid foundation. And my hope is that this list causes you to reflect on where your beliefs are founded.
With that in mind let’s jump into the 6 Christian sayings that are not in the Bible.
1. The Bible Says It, That Settles It
Maybe you’ve heard this statement or this similar one: The Bible has the answer, what’s the question?
Besides being a lazy approach to reading the Bible, this is not the purpose of the Bible. The Bible is not a book of answers. Of course there are answers in the Bible. What I’m saying is the primary purpose of the Bible is not to answer all our questions.
What the Bible does is much better. The more I read and study the Bible I realize it’s more of a journey rather than a destination. It’s a journey that reveals to us who God is and who we really are.
N.T. Wright puts it this way: “We read scripture in order to be refreshed in our memory and understanding of the story within which we ourselves are actors, to be reminded where it has come from and where it is going to, and hence what our own part within it ought to be.” (Scripture and the Authority of God)
This Christian sayings is just not true, yet I hear it all the time. It’s one of those things the Bible doesn’t say, but many Christians believe.
For more read: The Bible Is Not A Book Of Answers
2. God Wants Me To Be Happy
We elevate the value of happiness way above healthy levels in this country. Being happy is not bad, in fact I’d say it’s a good thing. But when we make a good thing an ultimate thing ultimately it becomes destructive. And we’ve made being happy an ultimate thing.
Does God want us to be happy? Yes… BUT. Not at the sacrifice of what is most important. God is more concerned with our holiness rather than our happiness. In other words, God is more concerned with our relationship with him and with those around us.
Too often we use our happiness as an excuse to get away with something we shouldn’t be messing with. God wants you to be in a right relationship with him and he wants you to love those around you. Will there be happiness there? Sure, at times. But as in any relationship, there will be struggles and difficulties as well. Happiness should not be our top concern.
3. Heaven Gained Another Angel
This Christian saying is often said after someone passes away as some kind of comfort. Not only is this not true, humans will not turn into angels, it is also not helpful.
I know most people that say this probably don’t even believe it. It’s just something that comes out when you don’t know what else to say in a difficult situation. So, let me give you something better to say. Nothing.
Your presence is SO much more impactful than the words you say. When you are with someone grieving just sit with them. Avoid sayings like this one and just let your presence be felt.
4. God Won’t Give Me More Than I Can Handle
I used to tell myself this whenever I was tempted to sin or facing something difficult. I’d tell myself this only to give in to temptation a moment later or throw in the towel the next day. What I’ve realized is most of my life I am not capable of handling.
You have more than you can handle. You cannot do it. But God can.
There will be things in your life that are more than you can handle, but it’s not more than God can handle. God doesn’t call us to a life that we are capable of living. He calls us to a life that we are only capable of living with Him.
In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says come to me when you are tired and burdened. Your burden is too much, you cannot handle it by yourself. Jesus wants to take on the burden so together you can live as he intended.
This Christian saying has caused a lot of damage to people’s faith. It’s one of the most dangerous things on this list of Christian sayings that are not in the Bible.
For more check out: Jesus Wept (and why we should too)
5. Sin Is Missing The Mark
Sin is much more than making a mistake or missing the mark. It’s willingly choosing to enter a union with something, or someone, other than God. And through our sin, we have entered into a union with death and the results are everywhere.
Shane Wood describes this moment 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.”
To redeem humanity, to restore union with his creation, God entered into our union with death. He honored our choice by becoming one with flesh and embraced the consequences that came with it. He took on the wages of sin and death… And conquered sin, death itself. The union with death that once held us captive no longer has power over us. He didn’t just die for our mistakes (He did that too). He broke the bonds of our union.
For more read: What Is Sin? (why it’s more than just missing the mark)
6. Everything Happens For A Reason
I see this saying used after life takes an unexpected turn or tragedy strikes. The problem is it’s just not true.
We are grasping at straws trying to make sense of a confusing and out of control world. The truth is, in this world crap happens. Life is hard. People die. Relationships end. Our health deteriorates. And God is not up there causing these things to happen.
I know I just painted a rather bleak picture. And while I do not believe everything happens for a reason, I do believe that God takes the mess of this world and gives it reason. I have seen it time and time again. God takes the worst of situations and turns it into something beautiful. God takes our mess and points us to the hope in Christ.
Everything doesn’t happen for a divine reason. God isn’t causing everything to happen. However, he does give reason and hope in every situation.
Here’s the bottom line of this article. Our beliefs need to be rooted in the Bible. These are 6 things the Bible doesn’t say. Though they may sound good, these are Christian sayings that are not in the Bible. They aren’t rooted in anything. They are hollow and empty. Instead, we should base our life on what God has said.
I’d love to hear from YOU! Which of these Christian sayings do you hear the most? What would you add to the list? Share your thoughts below!
Don’t forget the many times that folks say, “My (father /spouse, etc)______________ is looking down at this touchdown/ graduation / achievement, etc.” No scripture supports this even though it “sounds nice,” just as the other untrue Christian sayings did.
“Looking down from heaven . . ” (to clarify)!
Actually in Job 14 scripture says the exact opposite. I can’t quote it word for word, but basically Job says when I am dead if my children accomplish great things I won’t know about it or if they do horrible things I won’t know about it.
‘God won’t give you more than you can handle” is a misquote. God won’t allow us to be TEMPTED beyond what we can handle. It’s a subtle misquote, but profound in its effect.
My pet peeves are people who say that when you do x, you make baby Jesus cry, and if you do y then Jesus feels like you’re personally sticking another thorn into his head. With the first one, Jesus is clearly no longer an infant. So nothing I do now can make baby Jesus cry. Jesus wasn’t omniscient as a baby! Heck, it wasn’t until he was baptized by John the Baptist and was reunited with the Holy Spirit that he seemed to gain ANY of his supernatural knowledge back.
With the second, I’m pretty sure God himself cannot suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, which is the only way that anything any of us do could make him feel like that, as he is CLEARLY no longer being crucified. And now that he is ascended back to heaven, he has the full power that his fullness of deity in glorified flesh provides, which means that Jesus is NOT having bloody flashbacks to his torture PRIOR to his crucifixion every time a Christian does something bad!
The Bible says that we grieve the HOLY SPIRIT when we do works according to the sinful desires of our flesh. It says NOTHING about our sin grieving Christ, let alone to what extent it might, nor does Paul even hint to such a thing! It is the HOLY SPIRIT that is grieved when Christians sin!
Tying it to Baby Jesus crying, or Jesus suffering, seems to just be a legend that Christian parents have devised to guilt their children into behaving.
I am teaching abused teen girls about truth so was looking for popular sayings that were not true or were partial truths. God helps those who help themselves is a partial truth. I have to be true to myself. All roads lead to one God- not for salvation but for judgment for sure. God will accept me if I am sincere.
You say God is not up there causing these things to happen in this world.? You might want to look at Daniel 4:35, Isaiah 45:7, Isaiah 46:10, & Romans 8:28 just for starters. You think God is not in control of these things? You severely under estimate the awesomeness, power, & sovereignty of almighty God, the creator & supreme Lord & ruler of heaven & earth as well as the entire universe. He is the alpha & omega, from eternity past everlasting to eternity future everlasting. You are reducing him to human like levels. His ways are above our ways, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He is not merely an observer of things happening on this earth. He ordained everything according to the councel of his own will before the course of humanity began. He is the cause, we are the effect. It’s not the other way around as you are suggesting. Nothing occurs to God. Nothing surprises him. He did not simply look into the future to see what would happen & then react to it, he orchestrated what would happen with everybody & every thing in every moment. There is nothing than humankind can think of that God can’t do. God does everything to his good pleasure. He has a purpose for everything. He is not human as we are, he is God!He is the great I AM.
I think there’s a little misunderstanding. I’m not talking about God’s omnipresence/omnipotence. I’m not trying to reduce him to human levels. When I said God isn’t causing everything to happen I didn’t mean that he couldn’t. He has the power and authority to do whatever he wants. But that doesn’t mean that he is the direct cause to why everything happens. For example… If I get cancer tomorrow that doesn’t mean that God caused it. It could just be because I didn’t take care of myself. Or because I was exposed to something that caused it. Or it could just be the happenstance of life.
I don’t think God is caught off guard. He knows everything that’s going to happen. However, I don’t think he’s the cause of it. I don’t think he’s creating car crashes, diseases, relationships to fall apart, investments to go south, etc… He’s not the puppet master pulling the strings. He could. But a lot of the bad that happens is just the result of the fallen world we live in.
The point that I’m trying to point to in this article is that when someone dies and the response they get is “well everything happens for a reason” that’s a damaging thing to say in that moment. And I don’t think it’s true. Sure, God knew it would happen. And I suppose it’s possible he could have caused it and certainly he allowed it to happen. But it could just be they died because of the fallen world we live in. God isn’t causing everything to happen. However, he does give reason and hope in every situation.
Did you read the scriptures I included in my message? I should have indicated KJV because I don’t know what the other “versions” say. I don’t have a clue what you base your beliefs on about God not being in control of his creation & everything that happens in it. Evidently, you believe God created everything & everybody & just sits back & watches what happens & then reacts to things if he wants to. God purposes everything & the bible bears this out, it is not my opinion. If you happen to not believe what the bible says about election & predestination, then I can see why you believe as you do. If you happen to believe in the Arminian free will doctrines, then I can see why you believe as you do. Exactly what scriptures do you use to substantiate your belief that God is not in control of this world & everything that happens in it? I am not trying to pick a fight with you, & please excuse me if I seem harsh, I don’t mean to. I’m not trying to disrespect you. But I do believe that perhaps you should rethink & re-study these topics. Please don’t underestimate the sovereignty of God.
Between Arminianism and Calvinism I would lean more towards free-will. However, I would not consider myself an Arminian. I find labels such as those not very useful and they just create division.
It would seem we are on different ends in this aspect of our theology. Which is fine, I don’t seek to convince Calvinists of free-will. I’ve been involved in many debates over this subject and they have all been fruitless and neither side budges. I could throw in some Bible verses that support free will, but I suspect you already know them and are ready to argue why they don’t support that. There’s 1000s of articles and blog posts on other sites that detail that very well. I’m not interested in debating that.
And ultimately my point in this blog post was not about Arminianism/Calvinism. It was about how damage can be done when we throw out cliche sayings without thinking through how the person we are talking with hears them. Whatever side you are on, I would still say telling someone who just lost a loved one that “everything happens for a reason” is a damaging thing to say. Even if it’s true. What they need in that moment is comfort. When Lazarus died Jesus didn’t give some rational… He wept. We should too.. That’s my point in this article.
I respectfully decline to enter into a debate. I know you aren’t trying to pick a fight. But even if we talk in love neither one of us will be convinced to change their mind. And since it’s not a core issue to the faith, at least in my beliefs, I choose grace.
And I am not a Calvinist, but the inspired Word of God was written long before John Calvin was born. We could discuss, not debate, free will vs free grace, but I’m not looking to do that. I could give you many many verses (they are literally all through the bible) of scripture supporting free grace, but I won’t. I was initially looking for all the sayings I could find that many people use as quotes from the bible that actually aren’t quotes from the bible. That’s how I found your article among others. I will say this; Everyone who is or will ever be saved & given eternal life from God has heard the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believeth. Their spirit has been quickened by the Holy Spirit. They have Holy Spirit conviction of their sins. They have been given the gifts of faith & repentance by God which they exercise unto believing on Jesus Christ as their personal Lord & savior & turning from their sins. They are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. No man can conjure up saving faith within himself, he is spiritually dead. He must first be born from above of the Holy Spirit. There are none who seek after God, no not one. There are none righteous, no not one. There is no “sinners prayer” in the bible. You cannot make yourself believe. It is a man made falsehood that anyone can simply say a prayer to God, apologizing for their sins & telling Him that you trust Jesus. God has to change the hearts of men & bring their spirits alive before they can trust & believe. That is a supernatural, Godly exercise with all whom are saved. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. One can only do that with the divine saving grace of God.
My problem with your viewpoint is if God did everything and is responsible for everything and made all the decisions then what IS SIN?
Thanks for this, God help us.
Your article is interesting but it would be more helpful if you had Bible verses to substantiate what you wrote. I like spending my time reading what fellow believers write because it helps with spiritual growth because we all get a different revelation from one verse.
There’s only two points I didn’t include scripture. There were “God wants me to be happy” and “heaven gained an other angel”. The reason I didn’t include scripture is because those sayings aren’t in the Bible. Therefore I couldn’t include scripture.
The other 4 include scripture either in my breakdown OR they link to an article I wrote that breaks down the scripture. I always try to show where I’m pulling my theology from. But I do sometimes miss a point here or there.
Interesting.
This is a very wise away and thinking God bless you and your family
I know I know we’re not supposed to share this with media but can I share it with one person my cousin who has recently returned to the Lord
Wonderful article Jeffrey, I read one of your articles last month and couldn’t find it later to share.
So, I’m happy I found this article today, and I subscribe today so I can keep up with your articles.
So, here is a couple of sayings people abuse.
1. Judge the sin, not the person
2. Cleanliness is next to godlessness
I totally agree! One thing I’ve always thought, is if we could handle the struggles, the heartaches, then we wouldn’t need God. I need Him 24/7. As far as “Heaven gained another angel”, I think God already has all the angels he needs…..God bless you!
Karen
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!