{"id":4818,"date":"2013-11-08T08:08:24","date_gmt":"2013-11-08T08:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=4818"},"modified":"2013-11-15T10:21:00","modified_gmt":"2013-11-15T10:21:00","slug":"what-the-bible-says-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/what-the-bible-says-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Bible Says…Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week<\/a> we started looking at some of the phrases people quote \u2018as scripture\u2019 that can\u2019t actually be found anywhere in the Bible. You can probably guess, what with this article being called Part 2, that we\u2019re doing more of the same here.<\/p>\n

Cleanliness is next to godliness<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

No, Jesus did not say this in the Sermon on the Mount, nor in any of his teachings recorded in the Gospels. This Bible misquote might have its root in James 4:8: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” But let\u2019s be clear about this: salvation is through Grace by Faith, and not by having a lovely bubble-bath.<\/p>\n

Spare the rod, spoil the child<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This could very well be a paraphrase of Proverbs 13:24, but the statement doesn’t really exist in any translation of the Bible. The Bible verse actually reads: “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” So it still sounds a bit Draconian to our modern ears, but it at least ushers us out of the realms of child abuse.<\/p>\n

Samuel Butler, a 17th century British poet, actually coined the phrase “spare the rod and spoil the child” in his satirical poem, “Hudibras”. I\u2019m sure he was a joy to be around. Also probably quite predictable at Cluedo, too.<\/p>\n

Money is the root of all evil<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This misquote is not too far off from the actual verse, found in 1 Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Interestingly, this particular Bible verse recently won the award for \u2018Thing least likely to be heard during a Joel Osteen sermon\u2019.<\/p>\n

God will never give you more than you can bear<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

This common phrase appears to be a misinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” So the verse is not about external factors, but about personal temptation. During times of huge temptation, it\u2019s important to understand that Jesus has defeated the sin we are prone to. We can abide it, not because of our own self-control, but because of surrender to His love.<\/p>\n

All things work together for good<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The big question, of course, is \u2018What things work together for whose good?\u2019 Romans 8:28 reads in full: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”<\/p>\n

This is basically a faux-biblical version of \u2018it\u2019ll all work out in the end\u2019, which of course is demonstrably false \u2013 just look at Game of Thrones! Not everything that happens is for the best, not everything that happens is God\u2019s will, and God never says that everything\u2019s going to be all right. If that were the case, Jesus could have taken that holiday home in Crete that we mentioned last week. The sister phrase to this is equally vague and simpering: \u2018Everything happens for a reason.\u2019 I agree, but how often is that reason the right reason? It\u2019s just verbal silage.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, this modest collection of phrases will help us all understand the common misconceptions that come up when we start quoting scripture, and will help us to challenge errors where we see them.<\/p>\n

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