The West Side church of Christ

“The Bible says. . .” These words often precede a well-known saying or proverb used to impart a bit of wisdom or win an argument. The problem is that what follows “The Bible says” is sometimes not the Bible at all. There are several sayings that are commonly attributed to the Bible that are not actually in the Bible and in some cases actually teach the opposite of the Bible. Let’s examine a few of these sayings.

First up: “God helps those who help themselves.” This saying dates all the way back to the 6th century BC where it is found in Aesop’s fable Hercules and the Waggoner. It is often attributed to Benjamin Franklin (c.1736) who was a deist in his youth. A deist is one who does not believe God plays an active role in man’s life. To a deist, if man is not able to help himself, man is completely hopeless. The Bible tells a different story. Jeremiah 17:5 tells us the one who trusts in mankind is cursed. Proverbs 14:12, 16:25, and 28:26 all teach us that trusting in ourselves and our ways is the path to destruction. God has a deep interest in helping mankind. In fact, we are told that while we were helpless, ungodly, and enemies of God, God sent Christ to die for us (cf. Romans 5:6-10). This saying also flies in the face of numerous Bible passages teaching that God is present and active in our lives today (Matthew 18:20, 28:20, Romans 8:28, James 1:5, 1 John 5:14-15).

Second up: “moderation in all things.” This saying likely originated with Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean although its usage is different than even his original intentions. He was striving to teach people to find that happy medium between two extremes (e.g., the mean between cowardice and rashness is courage), but today this saying is frequently used to say that all things are fine (whether healthy, unhealthy, or even sinful) as long as they are practiced in moderation. The Bible, however, puts a different spin on this saying. Paul, while comparing the training of athletes to Christian living, encourages us to exercise “self-control in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25). We are to discipline ourselves and remove everything from our lives that is not fitting to Christianity. The reason we exercise such self-control is to prevent ourselves from being disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Third: “cleanliness is next to godliness.” The exact origins of this phrase are unknown. This phrase is used to say that cleanliness is second only to godliness in importance. The Bible holds a different opinion, however. While not condemning cleanliness, God’s word says our focus should be elsewhere. In Mark 7:14-23, Jesus explained it is not what is outside the body that defiles us, but what comes from inside us. This discussion is on the heals of the disciples being condemned by the Pharisees and Scribes for eating with unwashed hands. Paul, talking of bodily discipline, said it was only of little profit (since it only applies to this life), but godliness was profitable for all things (1 Timothy 4:8). The same would apply to cleanliness. It has some profit, but we should not give too much focus to it; it certainly ranks nowhere near godliness in its import. The real cleansing we need is spiritual not physical (cf. John 15:13, 2 Corinthians 7:1, Ephesians 5:26-27, James 4:8, 1 Peter 3:21-22, 1 John 1:9). Also note that in 2 Peter 1:5-8, it is perseverance and brotherly kindness that are next to godliness; cleanliness doesn’t even make the list. The overall message of the Bible is that nothing should get in the way of service to God including an over-emphasis on cleanliness (or a lack of it for that matter).

The Bible is often misquoted. We need to make sure what we think the Bible says and teaches is what it actually says and teaches. When we hear the words “the Bible says,” we should make sure the Bible actually says it (cf. Acts 17:11). Remember: “All that glitters is not gold” (which, by the way, is Robert Frost not the Bible).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 at 1:23 pm and is filed under Bulletin Articles.