What are some things people commonly think are in the Bible that really aren't?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Many widely held beliefs—like "God won’t give us more than we can handle" or "asking Jesus into your heart"—are not actually found in the Bible. Some traditions, such as wedding customs or ideas about hell, have cultural roots, rather than biblical ones. Others, like views on slavery, pacifism, and alcohol, require careful interpretation of Scripture, rather than assumptions. Even sayings that sound spiritual can mislead if they're not grounded in biblical truth. Recognizing these misunderstandings invites us to study God’s Word more carefully and live by what it truly says.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Wedding rings/unity candle/veil: There are very few modern wedding practices that resemble weddings in Bible times, and the Bible does not particularly endorse any of the ceremonial customs of the wedding itself, other than that the bride and groom live together afterwards. The gift of a ring to the bride most likely started as a symbol of the dowry or dower related to the marriage. The gift of a ring to the groom was a clever marketing ploy designed by jewelry dealers. The tradition of the bride and groom lighting a single candle with each of their own is a much more recent innovation, starting in the 1900s. It's a symbol of the two becoming one, but the unity candle is not found in the Bible. The veil is found in the Bible, although it was not necessarily exclusive to weddings. Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah because she was covered with a veil (Genesis 29:21–25), but his mother wore one when she met his father (Genesis 24:65), so the veil was not unique to the wedding ceremony.
• Slavery is sin: Kidnapping is sin (1 Timothy 1:8–10; Exodus 21:16). Chattel slavery, in which one person owns another as property, is absolutely prohibited. But there are other situations that look like slavery that the Bible does not condemn. Indentured servitude, wherein someone sells their work for a period of time to pay off a debt, is not sin (Leviticus 25:39–40). Agreeing to work as a servant for room and board is not sin (Deuteronomy 15:12–15). In the Old Testament, sending a girl in an arranged marriage to her future family to be raised until she was old enough to marry was not sin (Exodus 21:7–11). None of these things were ideal, and such servants were to seek their freedom, if possible (1 Corinthians 7:21–24), but if the servanthood was intended to provide for the poor, it was not sin (Deuteronomy 15:11–14).
• Pacifism/all killing is sin: The unfortunate translation of the sixth commandment in the King James Version has led to a lot of confusion regarding such things as military service and self-defense. More correctly, the commandment is "You shall not murder," not "kill" (Exodus 20:13 [ESV]). The Mosaic Law allowed killing in self-defense (Exodus 22:2–3). Jesus, who lived under the civil law of a non-Israelite nation, taught submission to that law to the point of voluntarily submitting His right to self-defense and teaching His followers to do the same (Matthew 5:38–39; 26:52–53). But He did not condemn soldiers who killed under the authority of an established government (Luke 7:2–9; Matthew 8:5–13), and He did not condemn self-defense against private aggressors (Luke 22:36–38).
• Satan lives in hell, and demons will torment sinners in hell: For those of us who grew up on Saturday morning cartoons, it may come as a surprise that Satan does not rule hell or lead his demons to torment those who are banished there. The Bible does not say that Satan has been to hell yet. Jude 1:6 says, "And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day." So there are some demons in a pre-hell holding tank—perhaps those who mated with human women in Genesis 6:1–4—but hell was created for the punishment of Satan and the demons (Matthew 25:41), not as a kingdom for them to rule. Until Satan is judged and thrown into the pit forever, he spends his time between heaven (Job 1:6–12) and earth (1 Peter 5:8).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Jesus condemns homosexuality: Jesus never directly mentions homosexuality in the gospels. This has led some to assume that Paul later imposed stricter moral guidelines than Jesus did. However, the difference in emphasis has a cultural and contextual explanation. Jesus primarily preached to Jewish audiences (Matthew 15:24), among whom homosexual behavior had long been condemned based on the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13). It wasn’t a prominent issue in that cultural setting. Instead, Jesus affirmed the divine design for marriage, referencing Genesis when He said, “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife'” (Mark 10:6–7). This affirms heterosexual marriage without directly addressing homosexuality. In contrast, Paul ministered extensively in Greco-Roman cultures, where homosexual practices were widespread. Therefore, Paul directly addressed such behavior in passages like Romans 1:26–27, 1 Corinthians 6:9–10, and 1 Timothy 1:9–10. Both Jesus and Paul tailored their messages to their audiences, and both upheld God’s design for human sexuality, consistent with the broader biblical witness.
• Jesus condones homosexuality: That doesn't mean to say that Jesus condoned homosexuality. He was quite specific that any sex outside of a marriage between a man and a woman was sin (Matthew 19:4–5; Mark 7:21). To claim otherwise is to twist the words of God to justify sinful behavior.
• God won't give us more than we can handle: There is a popular contemporary song that claims God will not give us more than we can take and will not let us break. This is a gross misinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 10:13, and it is not found anywhere else in the Bible. God, indeed, regularly gives us more than we can "handle," whether that means mental overload (getting anxious), emotional overload (crying), or even physical overload (injury or death). What God promises is that we will not be exposed to any situation in which we absolutely must sin. He also promises to be present with us. This is a poignant reminder that God is much more interested in our holiness than our comfort—as well as a conviction that we should be, too.
• Relying on government for morality: There is a subset of the Christian church that believes Christians are responsible for bringing God's law to secular governments. Some are convinced that when Christians are the primary influence over the world, Jesus will return. Others believe their country "should" be a godly country that follows the Bible and reaps God's blessing in return. The former is a misinterpretation of end times prophecy. The latter has misinterpreted a Christian's place in the world. Neither view is found in the Bible. John 18:36 says that Jesus's kingdom is not of this world; John 17:14 says His followers are not of this world. Christians are certainly called to use their influence to encourage others to obey God's Word—even by enacting parallel civil laws if possible—but we are not to rely on the government for the enforcement of biblical standards.
• Drinking alcohol is sin: This issue has been hashed out many times. The Bible does not prohibit anyone from drinking alcohol except for those taking a specific vow (i.e., Samson, John the Baptist). The Bible does say we are not be drunk (Ephesians 5:18), and that elders (1 Timothy 3:3), deacons (1 Timothy 5:23), and respectable older women (Titus 2:3) should not drink too much wine, which some interpret as not drinking alcohol on a regular basis. There are good reasons for modern believers to abstain from alcohol if they so choose, but the Bible does not require it.
• Asking Jesus into your heart/the sinner's prayer: The Bible does not tell us we must ask Jesus into our heart to be saved (Romans 10:9–10; Acts 16:31). Neither does it spell out a specific prayer we need to say (Ephesians 2:8–9). It is the Holy Spirit that comes to indwell a new believer, not Jesus (John 14:16–17; Romans 8:9–11), but asking Jesus into our hearts is a decent metaphor (Ephesians 3:17). It means that Jesus's words will be the source of our beliefs and the motivation of our actions (Colossians 3:16; John 14:23). The sinner's prayer is a guideline that covers the basics of a decision to follow Christ (Luke 18:13–14; Acts 2:21). It is not a magic formula; it's just a convenient tool to describe to what a new believer is committing him or herself (Titus 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

When we discover that some ideas we’ve long accepted as biblical aren’t actually in the Bible, it should stir us to become more discerning, thoughtful readers of God’s Word. It’s easy to let tradition, culture, or catchy phrases shape our theology, but God calls us to test everything against Scripture (Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:16–17). Knowing the difference between biblical truth and man-made assumptions helps us grow in spiritual maturity and avoid being misled. It also reminds us to be gracious with others, recognizing that we’re all growing in our understanding. Most importantly, it calls us to a deeper dependence on God’s Word as our authority—not just in what we believe, but in how we live.

UNDERSTAND

• We need to be discerning of what is actually in the Bible.
• Misunderstandings often come from culture, misunderstanding, or oversimplified theology.
• Scripture—not assumptions—must be our standard for truth.

REFLECT

• How do you currently distinguish between biblical truth and traditions or sayings that aren’t actually in Scripture?
• What steps should you take to make sure what you believe is actually in God’s Word?
• How can you grow in relying more on Scripture itself, rather than popular phrases or church customs?

ENGAGE

• What challenges arise when traditions or cultural ideas become confused with biblical teaching, and how can we address them together?
• How does recognizing what isn’t in the Bible shape our approach to studying Scripture and living out our faith?
• How can we encourage each other to be more discerning and humble in our understanding of God’s Word?