I recently quizzed my congregation on their knowledge of the Bible by asking them which of the following sayings are direct quotes from Scripture:
1. Moderation in all things.
2. Spare the rod, spoil the child.
3. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
4. God helps those who help themselves.
5. Money is the root of all evil.
6. Cleanliness is next to godliness.
7. This too shall pass.
8. God works in mysterious ways.
9. The eye is the window to the soul.
10. The lion shall lay down with the lamb.
11. Pride comes before the fall.
What do you think? Which are directly from the Bible and which are not? You will find the answer as the first comment to this post.
Theologically Speaking 
Actually, none of the sayings in the post above are directly from the Bible. Isn’t it interesting how so many of them are often quoted as though they are from the Bible? Some are based upon principles found in Scripture, but are not direct quotes. Others are actually contrary to what the Bible teaches.
You can click each of the sayings in the post and it will take you to blueletterbible.org for an explanation of where each of the sayings originates.
Nuts! I guessed 3 and 10 were real.
#3 is very close to:
“do to others what you would have them do to you” is found in the NIV in Matthew 7:12. That’s awfully close. I’m counting #3 is good for me. 😀
And #10 I’ve just heard so many times, I thought I might have read it in Rev. Apparently not. After looking at your linked site up there and a few others, it serves as a good reminder to look things up regularly.
Thanks, Tim!
Ben:
Yeah, you kind of hit on the point I was using this for in my sermon. Sometimes something may sound right and true, but we need to make sure we are truly standing on God’s word. Slight deviations can lead us far away if we are not careful.
Very interesting. The only one that I thought was possible was the lion and the lamb, but upon reflection I realized that I had looked for that before and I only found the passage about the wolf and the lamb.
Is this trend of using these phrases (which I’m sure that I have used at least some of them) because we have become pharisees and go beyond what is written? Or is this just us latching on to something catchy that appeals to our idea of what life should look like?