Warning: Why Christians Should Stop Saying These 5 Expressions

There are common clichés and expressions that Christians automatically utter that are really not Biblical. You might have heard of these expressions or even have said it yourself without knowing that it does not reflect the teachings of the Bible. This is a very important subject that we must all know because the tongue is a very powerful tool. Jesus Christ said that we will either be justified or condemned by our words (Matthew 12:37).

I know there are a lot of expressions or clichés that we consider being Christian. But for this time being, let me share with you five of them.

1. Good luck

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, luck means “the things that happen to a person because of chance: the accidental way things happen without being planned”. Out of goodwill, we might wish someone good luck for them to succeed in a task or an endeavor they are about to take.

However, should we, as Christians, say good luck to someone else?

For one, it is definitely not a good idea to give the credit to luck when good things happen to us. Our blessings come from God and not from luck. James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

As believers in Christ, we must not rely on luck or chance. Our confidence must be in God. While it is true that God can just let things take its natural course, He has the prerogative to direct our lives according to His will IF we allow Him.

So definitely, instead of saying good luck, why not say, “may God bless your plans”? Praying for God’s blessings is surely MORE powerful than praying for luck.

2. Your loved one is in heaven now

I commonly hear this during funerals and when someone dies. Because of the desire to comfort one another, Christians tend to conclude things that we really don’t know the answer to.

First of all, Jesus Christ, Himself, said that no one has ascended into heaven (John 3:13). Even David, who was known to be a friend of God, has not ascended to heaven (Acts 2:34). So we can conclude that every time we say that our loved one is in heaven already, we are actually telling a lie.

So how can you comfort one another when someone dies? The Apostle Paul has this to say:

I Thessalonians 4:13-18: “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

We can comfort one another with the fact that Jesus will one day return here on earth. Those who have lived and died will have the hope that they will be resurrected and given the chance to be part of the Kingdom of God.

3. Oh my God!

This expression is so common that even non-Christians utter it. However, reducing God into a mere expression is something that we, Christians, must not do. God commanded that we must not use His name in vain (Exodus 20:7).

The expression Oh my God shows disrespect, insolence, and rudeness toward our Creator. He is the God and Supreme Ruler of the vast universe and using His name in vain is a blasphemous act.

We must revere, respect, and venerate God with all our hearts and minds. Saying “Oh my God” and all its other forms are unchristian. So keep in mind that God always listens to us. We must honor God in all we do including the things that we say.

4. Just believe Jesus and you’ll be saved

This is the most popular statement most Christians try to say when converting other people. However, this statement is very shallow and superficial. Yes, the process of salvation starts in believing and accepting Jesus Christ in our lives. But to say that that is all that we have to do to be saved is surely inaccurate.

James said that even the demons do not just believe in God, but they tremble (James 2:18)! If belief in God is all it takes to attain salvation, then we have demons in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus said that a Christian life is never easy. As a matter of fact, the Apostle Paul said that “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

Jesus recognizes that anyone who decides to follow Him should take up their cross – a symbol of hardships and struggles in life (Matthew 16:24).

Belief in God and Jesus Christ must be coupled with WORKS. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES the will of My Father in heaven.”

5. We should not judge

Christians have become timid and fearful because of the many persecutions that they may suffer for standing up for the truth. Because of the fear of offending others, we rather choose to shrink back in our comfort zone and hide our lights as Christians.

For this reason, the phrase, “We should not judge” has been thrown around. Christians would argue that we must not judge one another even if they are clearly demonstrating an immoral behavior. But is it really wrong to judge?

The misunderstanding comes from Matthew 7:1 where Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged”. The problem is that people tend to stop right there and not reading the context of the verse. If one should read the rest of the verse, we will read:

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Jesus Christ gives the reason why we must not judge. The standards we use to judge will also be used to judge us. He further explains that we must first judge ourselves before judging the behavior of other people. Judging other people must be done with the knowledge that we, too, are imperfect human beings. We are all sinners. It is just that we sin in different ways.

So should we really judge? The answer is yes. Jesus Christ said, “Do not judge according to appearance; but judge with righteous judgment”. With the help of scripture we can determine whether a particular behavior is sinful or not. We can conclude that homosexuality, fornication, adultery, murder, stealing, and coveting are all sins. Why? Because the Bible tells us so.

Judging and condemning are different. We can judge but not condemn. We need to love the sinners and hate the sin. We are not in the position to determine whether a person will be saved or not. This is the prerogative of God.

Conclusion

We, Christians, must be mindful of what we say, think, and do. We are called to live a higher standard of morality. We are to aim for perfection just like our Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Therefore, let us examine the words that come from our mouth because the words that we say reflect what’s in our heart (Luke 6:45).

Finally, let us all take heed what the Apostle Paul said when it comes to our words:

Ephesians 4:29: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

22 thoughts on “Warning: Why Christians Should Stop Saying These 5 Expressions

  1. This is interesting and you bring up some good points. I certainly agree with #3 and #4! There is so much more to fully understanding what Jesus has done that foes beyond just believing in him. I am not sure if I agree with you on #2 or #5, however, I am glad you gave detailed reasons for why you said what you said. All five of these are definitely new things for me to think about!

    • Hi Mw152, thanks for dropping by and for your comment. I know #2 and #5 can be a bit complicated and I just summarized my points. I would have gone to give too much detail but that would be for next topics. 🙂

  2. I followed the link to this post with dubious expectations. However I think you are right on with these points. For quite some time I’ve tried to avoid saying “Good Luck” supplanting the expression with something like “I wish you success.”

    The last point is particularly relevant now in consideration of the pope’s “judgment” of Donald Trump that has been in the news. I think the statement by the pope was twisted and misconstrued by the media–something I suspected from the first reporting. We should be discerning of the behavior of others especially when there is an obvious problem. To make a judgement on another’s personal status in relation to God is not right since this is the domain of God’s judgement–we might make a speculation on our observations, but I think it would be wrong to openly declare whether someone is right or not right with God.

    We judge all the time even when we think we are not. It’s often the proper way to make decisions that involve other people. If I make a judgement call on another person it is not to condemn, but to make the right decision on how I should deal with this other person.

    Good thought-provoking topic.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

    • Hello Arlee! Thanks for your comment. I believe that is better than saying good luck. I haven’t read much about that news. I think our judgment should be coupled with love and the understanding that we are also sinners. Determining whether a behavior is morally wrong or right would help us become a better Christian.

  3. Reason #2 I agree that people should not necessarily say the deceased is now in heaven but not for the reasons you stated. You quoted Jesus in John 3:13, saying, no one has ascended to heaven. At the time Jesus made that statement, no one had, because Jesus,
    who would be the first to ascend, had not yet ascended, himself. Since Jesus has led the way,
    we see in 2 Cor 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Paul also
    said in Philippians 1:21, to die is gain.
    In 1Thess. 4:13-18, the bodies of the dead that have died in Christ will be reunited with their
    spirits/souls that went to heaven previously. That is when they shall receive their new incorruptible bodies of 1Cor 15:52.

    #4 The statement that belief coupled with works is needed for salvation goes against what
    Ephesians 2:8,9 say. For we are saved by grace and not by WORKS, lest any man should boast. Salvation is a Gift. If you have to work for it it becomes a debt that is owed to you.
    Peace and love

    • Hello Kenneth,

      Thanks for stopping by.

      About your comment, Jesus means what He said. He is the only one who has ascended to heaven. Remember that the Gospels were written AFTER Christ’s death. This means that Jesus is already in heaven when John 3:13 was written. To say that when Jesus was resurrected and other saints followed is not biblical. Acts 1:34, an incident long after Christ’s resurrection, tells us that David did not ascend into the heavens. 🙂

      Nowhere in II Cor 5:8 proves that people go to heaven when they die. Paul is simply telling that being present in the Lord, which is not literal.

      Again, if you read again Phil 1:21, it cannot be used as a proof of people going to heaven.

      I Thess 4:13-18 does note tell us that we have immortal souls that go to heaven when we die. The Bible plainly tells us that the dead know nothing (Eccl. 9:5). The truth is that the spirit will return to God and not our consciousness (Ecc. 12:7). The bible repeatedly compared death to sleep, an unconscious state (I Cor 15:21).

      If you want to learn more, please request your free copy of What Happens after Death:

      http://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/what-happens-after-death

      About #4. Remember James said that faith without works is dead (James 1:17).
      Does Paul and James contradict themselves? Of course not. Paul is battling those Jews who claim that their works can earn them salvation. While James are dealing with Christians who only boast about their faith. They stand side by side.

      In fact, Paul seeing that he might be misunderstood added in Ephesians 2:8-9, he added in verse 10:

      “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

      Most Christians stop reading at verse 9 of Ephesians 2. But they must continue reading until verse 10 to get the bigger picture.

      I wrote an article about this. I hope you give time to read it:

      http://becomingchristians.com/2013/08/08/saved-by-faith-or-works-did-james-and-paul-contradict/

      It is true that we cannot earn salvation through our works but it is EQUALLY true as well that we cannot earn salvation without works.

      • Real works are the natural result of a genuine faith in Jesus Christ along with sincere repentance (which causes one to follow Christ instead of sin), they always go hand on hand. Oftentimes, to many people, the idea of “works” are a result of our carnal self attempting to gain favor from God by doing things that the Holy Spirit is not leading us to do. In that sense, those particular “works” are dead and have no value in the eyes of God. Those “works” will be burnt up as stubble and hay in the end. Real works come from the Holy Spirit and lead back to the Holy Spirit. These are the “refined gold” that has value and will remain forever. Faith is a type of work as well. Sarah and Abraham trusting God for the promise they were given..waiting and suffering for it..all the while this waiting that produced suffering, causing the carnal nature to die off..is a “work”. That is much harder to do than volunteering in a soup kitchen or donating money (although if the heart is sincere because of what the Holy Spirit has done in us, those works are true works). True works are what causes true spiritual regeneration in Christians and are the result of that regeneration. And regeneration comes from being in a relationship with Christ. It all goes hand in hand.

      • God can see the intent of our hearts. We don’t do our works to earn salvation, but rather we do it because we love God and we want to follow His will in our lives.

      • Hello Joshua,

        In regard to my comment on Jesus’ ascension; When John wrote 3:13 he was quoting what Jesus said before his death. There is no mention on my part, that other old testament saints followed. It appears you may be making a wrong assumption. By the way, there is no Acts 1:34.

        2 Cor 5:6 tells us that if we are absent from the body (by death) we will be present with the Lord, which would mean being in heaven.

        If you continue reading Phil 1:21-25, you may realize that Paul is making the distinction between departing
        the flesh and going to be with the Lord.

        1 Thess 4:13-18 is referring to what is commonly called, the “Rapture of the Church”; not about anyone dying
        and of course those that leave this earth will no longer have any knowledge of what goes on here.

        1 Cor 15:21 has nothing to do with sleep and death.
        “”For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.”

        It’s James 2:17; not 1:17 and remember also that James said in verse 1: 21 that Abraham was justified by works, when actually Abraham was justified by faith, Gen 15:6, years before Isaac was even born.

        The good works spoken of in Eph 2:10 are referring only to the only works that count are the works performed AFTER one has attained salvation.

        We cannot earn salvation no matter how many works we do because salvation is a gift and if a person has to work for it it becomes a wage that is owed. Salvation is not given because of what we do but because of what Jesus did for us.

      • Hello Kenneth,

        Why can’t we accept what Jesus really meant in John 3:13? He said, “No ONE has ascended into heaven.” Again, we can’t get any clearer than that.

        I’m sorry, I gave the wrong verse. It should be Acts 2:34: “For David did not ascend to heaven.”

        What does this tell us? It tells us that no one has ascended into heaven. Since this was written about 30 years after Christ’s death, both Acts 2:34 and John 3:13, it clearly tells us that no one really went up to heaven after their death. I hope we take away the veil of deception from our face and see the PLAIN TRUTH!

        If people are already in heaven, isn’t it irrational for God to resurrect the saints again? Clearly, something is wrong. For what?

        We read in John 5:25, Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.

        Where are the dead? Are they in heaven? They are in the grave! They are not in heaven playing harps as what some people believe.

        II Corinthians 5:6 should not be interpreted as being literally with the Lord in heaven because if this is what it means that it will directly go against clear scripture. II Corinthians 5:6 tells us:
        So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. I don’t see any mention of the dead being with God. This is a weak argument.

        Phil 1:23 read:
        For[c] I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

        Sobered by the possibility of dying, and weary of the stresses of life, Paul acknowledged that he would welcome the rest death brings in some ways. Since all conscious thought ceases upon death (Ecclesiastes 9:5), and the righteous remain in the grave until their resurrection at the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16), he would “be with Christ” in his next waking moment. However, recognizing the need for his continued service to the church at Philippi, Paul believed that he would not die before seeing the members there again.

        Some try to contort this scripture to say that Paul expected to go to heaven to “be with Christ” the instant that he died. But it says nothing of going to heaven. Further, interpreting Paul’s words this way would conflict with the rest of Scripture, which reveals that Christians do not go to heaven upon death. (Ucg.org explanation)

        I Thessalonians 4:13-18 is a huge, huge topic. However, that passage only says the saints will meet Jesus on the clouds but not heaven. Please read this for further explanation: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/does-the-bible-teach-a-secret-rapture

        This is the full verse, I Corinthians 15:20-21:

        20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

        That verse simply tells us that in death, we are like asleep.

        This is where we agree. We cannot earn salvation. No righteous act can erase our past mistakes and sins. That’s why Christ died for us. However, it is also equally true that we can’t have salvation without works. It is the right response to the sacrifice of our Savior. After we are forgiven through grace, we are not to continue with our sin but rather do the good works that reflect our commitment to God.

        Again, Kenneth. I know you are a sincere Christian. However, it is time that we become sincerely RIGHT with our belief. Open your eyes. People going to heaven after their death is unbilical and goes contrary to the proper timing of God’s plan of salvation. I hope you give time to request and read this booklet: http://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/what-happens-after-death

        May God lead us all to truth and repentance.

  4. Thank you, Brethren, for sharing these very necessary messages. May God continue to richly bless you and yours, Amen.

  5. This information was very helpful as I have been studying this recently. Thank God for the correction.

  6. @Joshua, thank you very much for sharing this very heart – changing message about the expressions we Christians should stop saying. I absolutely agree with the #5 points you mentioned and even the comments you shared with Kenneth. About FAITH, I also recommend 1Corinthians 15:2 (NIV), “By this gospel you are saved, IF YOU HOLD FIRMLY to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, YOU HAVE BELIEVED IN VAIN.” This verse complements with Matthew 7:24 (NIV), ” Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into PRACTICES is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” and Matthew 7:21 (NIV), “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the only the one WHO DOES THE WILL of my Father who is in heaven.”

    All the above verses contribute to what James said that “…Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by ACTION, is dead…..” James 2:14-26 (NIV) and they really support what A.Paul said in Ephesians 2:8-10 that we are saved by the grace of God through FAITH in Jesus Christ and not by works however, we are created for GOOD WORKS in Christ Jesus.

    Simply, FAITH comes by hearing the message through the word about Christ (Romans 10:17), and after believing we are expected to bear fruits that are GOOD WORKS in Christ Jesus. And whoever does not bear the fruits (GOOD DEEDS) will be thrown into the fire (John 15:1-6).
    GOOD DEEDS without FAITH can not save anyone but, we received the SALVATION by the GRACE of God through FAITH and, faith is accompanied by GOOD DEEDS to be alive.

    • Thank you so much for your comment, Theoneste. I would agree. Our faith should be accompanied with works. That’s the proof of our faith. Hope to hear from you more in our future posts. 🙂

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