There are SO many words and catchphrases that Christians use today that they think are in the Bible but the Bible doesn't say them and are not really in the Bible at all. In fact, Christians often quote these more than they quote the actual words of the Bible!
BUT FIRST – A SHORT QUIZ
One of the words below does not belong on the list. Can you guess which one?
- Morality - Quality
- Rapture - Trinity
- Immaculate - Fryingpan
- Logic - Responsibility
- History - Christianity
If you said “Fryingpan”, you are correct! Fryingpan is the only word on this list that is found in the Bible. It appears twice – Leviticus 2:7 and Leviticus 7:9. As for the rest of the words on this list, they are not EVEN ONCE in the Bible.
I am amazed to hear from Christians, and those who believe they are Christians, thing like “The Bible says this or that” or “The Bible is clear about this or that”. These people who say that know the Bible have likely never read the book and have gotten their knowledge from what others have told them.
This is the first in a series regarding events, words and saying that people attribute to the Bible, but are actually nowhere to be found in God’s Word.
"God won't give you more than you can handle."
Wrong. God will give you WAY more than YOU can handle. Paul even expressed this from his own experience: For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant or our trouble which came to us in Asia, that were pressed out of measure, **above strength**, insomuch that we despaired even of life (2 Corinthians 1:8, KJV, emphasis mine)
God WILL give us more than WE can handle; but God WON'T give us more than HE can handle. If you have the Holy Spirit living in you, God can do great things through you that you could not do on your own.
"Just follow your heart"
Wrong. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (KJV)
To "just follow your heart" would be to just follow your emotions, which are constantly changing, and are never stable. Scripture calls us to be "sober minded" and "grounded." We should not "just follow our heart." We should always follow Jesus, even if our heart tells us otherwise.
"When God closes a door, He opens a window"
Wrong. When God closes a door, sometimes he locks the door and boards up the windows. There is no guarantee he will "open a window" for you. He might want you to recognize you have been in the right house all along and you need to stay there for a while!
When Christians say this, they think that even if God stops the whole plan, He will still allow part of the plan to succeed. Sure. This may be the case. But often it is not. Sometimes God wants you not to take that job, opportunity, relationship, or whatever either through a door or a window.
Sometimes God just wants you to be still (Psalm 46:10), stay put and follow Him right where you are, just like the Apostles, who desired to minister to the world, but were told by Jesus to stay put for a certain time in Acts 1:1-8.
"Let go and let God"
Wrong. God has no obligation to kick you off the couch and do your responsibility for you. Christians often use this phrase when they are in a situation that they feel they cannot handle or don’t want to handle and use it as a crutch to stop acting. But Scripture tells us we are 100% responsible to do our part, while God is 100% responsible to do His part.
Got a problem at work? You still have to do your part to resolve it.
Relationship problem? You still have to do your part to resolve it.
A grand vision you are afraid of? You still have to do your part to accomplish it. As J.I. Packer says, “The Christian’s motto should not be ‘Let go and let God’ but ‘Trust God and get going.’”
“Hate the sin, love the sinner”
Wrong. Although this a biblically-sounding phrase, it is not actually in the Bible. Augustine inferred this in 424 A.D by writing “with love for mankind and hatred for sins.” Mahatma Gandhi loosely quoted this in his writings in 1929, “Hate the sin and not the sinner.” It is being used more frequently in recent years, often by Christians who believe that this saying somehow makes the rejection of the LGBTQ+ community more palatable. We are to hate sin – especially our own. And we are to love other people. The “hating sin’ part is coming under fire more and more today as we see more people defining themselves by their sin and resent the guidelines God has given in His Word.
Instead of quoting catchphrases and making people believe they are in the Bible, we should actually study our Bibles and quote Scripture in context. Quote Scripture, not catchphrases.
Think as a Berean! (Acts 17:10-11)
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the comment section below. Additionally, if you found this article to be helpful, please share it with others who may also benefit from it.
Rob Harley, an accomplished accountant with over four decades of experience, is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, who has dedicated his life to studying and sharing the message of salvation. With degrees in Accounting and Christian Education & Administration, he has led impactful Bible studies for diverse age groups for over 25 years, while nurturing a strong faith-based family in Central Florida.
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