5 Christian Phrases That Aren't in the Bible

We often don’t understand what the Bible represents. It’s a huge part of the Christian faith and is the framework for everything we know about God. It was God’s way of communicating with us and provides us with His exact truths and promises. However, as Christians we have created phrases that aren’t actually from the Bible and speak them as they are truth. The fact that so many Christians believe these statements to be Biblical really speaks to our misunderstanding of the Bible. Instead of researching scripture to back up these claims, we continue to say these phrases in our daily lives without second thought. They have become a part of the Christian culture which can cause confusion and make non-Christians misinformed about what the Word of God really is. Here are the most popular unbiblical statements that Christians tend to say, and what the Bible actually says about them.

1. Everything Happens For a Reason

Many people think that this is actually a verse directly from scripture. However the closest verse is Ecclesiastes 3:1 that says “To everything there is a season” which does not mean the same thing. During tragedies, we tend to say this phrase in an effort to make someone else feel better. Christians do anything to try and explain God logically, but as Deuteronomy 29:29 says “The secret things belong to the Lord.” We simply are not going to understand everything that God does nor have a clearly defined reason. There are experiences in life and questions we have that God will not give an answer to, and that is okay.

2. It's Not My Place to Judge Another Person

It is true that in Matthew 7:1 Jesus says “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” However most people do not continue to read the verses that follow. Jesus is saying that we cannot point out the flaws in others until you have handled your own flaws first. We can understand the shortcomings of others as long as we also acknowledge our own. Many Christians decide to use this as an escape clause so that they do not have to deal with difficult situations. When we see a friend who is in a struggling marriage, we say it’s not our place to judge because we are too scared to intervene. As Christians, it is our job to come into these instances and help. We can show them God’s love through our support. As long as you do not go in with a prideful or egotistical attitude, God will be able to work through you to help others.

3. God Won't Give You More Than You Can Handle

Our entire life is actually too much for us to handle. We learn through going through our lives and handling hardships that we cannot carry the burden of being in a fallen world alone. We have to come to Christ and surrender to Him to get through this life. Everything is more than we can handle, however nothing is more than Jesus can handle. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.” These words of agonizing pain show us that even the disciples experienced periods of life that were beyond their ability to handle. If we choose to come to God, He will help get us through and give us rest (Matthew 11:28).

4. We Are All God's Children

People who say this are slightly mistaken. What they are really trying to say here is that God created everyone on earth. God is the Father in the sense that He formed us and gave us life, but unless we choose to give our life to Him we are not yet His children. God is a relational being and needs us to come to Him. When we accept that Jesus sacrificed His life for us and welcome that into our hearts, we then can become His children the way the Bible explains. In Romans 8:15-16 it says “But you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

5. Heaven Must Have Needed Another Angel

When someone passes away, we try and tell their family and friends anything that will make them feel more at peace. Many people will say that “God must have needed another angel in Heaven” but this cannot be true. Humans are humans and angels are angels, and God does not convert the dead into angels. Angels are completely separate beings that are messengers and servants of God to us on Earth. In addition, this line of thinking implies that whenever a job opening in Heaven is available, God will come down to earth and pick off someone to place in His angel workforce. This is a direct contradiction of what scripture says about angels.