One of the most striking features of this decade is the slow but certain death of cultural Christianity. By that I mean there was a time when you could say you were a Christian, spout off a few cliché “biblical” phrases, and people shook your hand and said “God bless you, brother.” But that time is coming to an end as we realize that many people have mistakenly believed they were Christians for one wrong reason or another.

Cultural Christians are becoming easier to spot due to their use of clichéd statements that have no foundation in Scripture. We’ve all heard these statements come out of the mouth of church-goers at one time or another. We’ve probably even said one or two ourselves.

Statements like “cleanliness is next to godliness” and “God won’t give you more than you can handle” have been used so often that many people believe they are biblical and can be found somewhere in the Bible. When you mention that such phrases are man-made and have no root in Scripture you will be met with confused looks and questions. But, like many things that came out of cultural Christianity, these, and other statements are simply…wrong.

A recent article listed “9 Unbiblical Statements Christians Believe.” As I read through the article I couldn’t help but recall conversations with friends that have used each statement. And, as one might expect, these phrases appear often on social media either as a post or as a response to a friend.

So what are some of the statements used often by Christians despite the fact that they are not biblical? The list includes:

1. God helps those who help themselves. Actually, God is looking for us to die to self and put our faith solely in Him (Matt. 16:24).
2. God wants me to be happy. I would defy anyone to cite a single verse that says God wants us to be happy. I can recall verses where God desires us to be holy, or to be obedient. I can even recall verses telling us to be filled with joy; something altogether different than happiness. Did anyone find that verse where God says He wants us to be happy?
3. We’re all God’s children. This just makes me cringe. While we are certainly all God’s creation, only those who have been called and accepted Jesus Christ as Savior can claim to be a child of God. Telling another person they are God’s child when they have not believed on Jesus for their salvation is wrong, no matter how good the intention, it’s wrong (Romans 8:15-16; 1 John 3:10).
4. Cleanliness is next to godliness. As a neat freak, I wish this was true. It’s not.
5. God won’t give you more than you can handle. Actually there is many times in life when life itself is more than we can handle. That’s the point. If God doesn’t give us more than we can handle we have no need for Him. I don’t know about you, but I need God to get through each day; which is exactly how He created us.
6. We all worship the same God. As politically incorrect as it may be, the truth is that we don’t worship the same God. There is only one name under Heaven that has the power to save, that name is Jesus Christ. All others, Buddha, Mohammed, Ra, or Mother Earth have no ability to save (Acts 4:12).
7. Bad things happen to good people. Jesus made it clear that there is none good but God (Mark 10:18). That being the case the things that happen in our lives are less about us being good or bad and more about living in a fallen world filled with sin.
8. When you die, God gains another angel. No, He doesn’t. Humans do not become angels in Heaven. The number of angels was fixed at their creation and has never been altered. Stop telling people their loved one is now an angel in Heaven. Just stop.
9. We’re all going to the same place when we die. Only those who willfully ignore the Bible’s teachings on hell could possibly say this. For the person that has put his or her faith in Jesus eternity in Heaven awaits. For the person that has rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ an eternity in hell awaits (Luke 16:19-31).

Which of these statements are you guilty of using?

Resolve today to stop using these unbiblical statements so that you are not guilty of misleading anyone. Remember to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) to those that use these and other erroneous statements. The Bible is to be used to correct false theology (2 Tim. 3:16), not spread it.

What other statements have you heard used by Christians thinking they were biblical when they are in fact false?