67 Bible Verses about ethics, incentives towards

For the authorities are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you like to live without being afraid of the authorities? Then do what is right, and you will receive their approval. For they are God's servants, working for your good.

"Appoint judges and civil servants according to your tribes in all your cities that the LORD your God is about to give you, so they may judge the people impartially.

in accordance with what the Law says, and in accordance with the verdict that will be handed to you. You must not deviate from the verdict that they declare to you either to the right or to the left. If a man presumptuously disregards the priest who is serving the LORD your God there or the judge, that person must die so you will purge evil from Israel.

"When there is a conflict between individuals, let them come to court to judge the case, decide who is innocent, and condemn the guilty person.

"Defend the poor and the fatherless. Vindicate the afflicted and the poor. Rescue the poor and the needy, delivering them from the power of the wicked.

First of all, then, I urge you to offer to God petitions, prayers, intercessions, and expressions of thanks for all people, for kings, and for everyone who has authority, so that we might lead a quiet and peaceful life with all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, read more.
who wants all people to be saved and to come to know the truth fully.

For the Lord's sake submit yourselves to every human authority: whether to the king as supreme, or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

Because if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive people their offenses, your Father will not forgive your offenses."

""Why did you despise what the LORD has promised by doing what is detestable in his sight? ""You struck down Uriah the Hittite with a battle sword. ""You took his wife to be your own. ""You killed him with the sword of the Ammonite army. ""Therefore the sword will never leave your household, because you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'

"How blessed are those who are merciful, because it is they who will receive mercy!

because the way that you judge others will be the way that you will be judged, and you will be evaluated by the standard with which you evaluate others.

This is how my heavenly Father will treat each one of you unless you forgive your brother from your hearts."

For the one who has shown no mercy will be judged without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

"Look! You fast only for quarreling, and for fighting, and for hitting with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and have your voice heard on high.

Stop bringing useless offerings! Incense is detestable to me, as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations. I cannot stand iniquity within a solemn assembly. As for your New Moons and your appointed festivals, I abhor them. They've become a burden to me; I've grown weary of carrying that burden. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I'll hide my eyes from you. Even though you pray repeatedly, I won't listen. Your hands are full of blood, your fingers drenched with iniquity."

Then they come to you as a group, sit down right in front of you as if they were my people, hear your words and then they don't do what you say because they're seeking only their own desires, they pursue ill-gotten profits, and they keep following their own self-interests.

"Talk to everyone in the land, as well as to the priests. Ask them, "When you were fasting and mourning during the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, were you really fasting for me?

"How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your mint, dill, and cummin, but have neglected the more important matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

"How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, spices, and every kind of herb, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These are the things you should have practiced, without neglecting the others.

They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.

Instead, your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God, and your sins have concealed his face from you so that he won't listen.

Do not cast me from your presence; do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

Were I to cherish iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not listen to me.

They will go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.

"Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not listen to them. In fact, he will hide his face from them at that time, because they were so wicked in what they were doing."

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.

The person who sows through human means will harvest decay from human means, but the person who sows in the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit.

"But if you don't obey the LORD your God and faithfully carry out all his commands and statutes that I'm giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you and overwhelm you:

Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. All of them are lovers of bribes and are runners after gifts. They don't bring justice to orphans, and the widow's case never comes up for review in their court." Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies, the one who is Israel's Mighty One, declares: "Now I'll get relief from his enemies and avenge myself on his foes.

You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don't you? Stop deceiving yourselves! Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,

For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of the Messiah, so that each of us may receive what he deserves for what he has done in his body, whether good or worthless.

So put to death your worldly impulses: sexual sin, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). It is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.

Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light,

Of course not! How can we who died as far as sin is concerned go on living in it?

He died for all people, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for the one who died and rose for them.

Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old nature with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new nature, which is being renewed in full knowledge, consistent with the image of the one who created it.

So be imitators of God, as his dear children. Live lovingly, just as the Messiah also loved us and gave himself for us as an offering and sacrifice, a fragrant aroma to God.

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery.

I therefore urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, for this is the reasonable way for you to worship.

I am not commanding you but testing the genuineness of your love by the enthusiasm of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Although he was rich, for your sakes he became poor, so that you, through his poverty, might become rich.

He gave himself for us to set us free from every wrong and to cleanse us so that we could be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good deeds.

This is how we have come to know love: the Messiah gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers.

Do not neglect to do good and to be generous, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.

So whether we are at home or away from home, our goal is to be pleasing to him.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.

For our appeal to you does not spring from deceit, impure motives, or trickery. Rather, because we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, we speak as we do, not trying to please people but God, who tests our motives.

Now then, brothers, you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, as in fact you are doing. We ask and encourage you in the Lord to do so even more.

Whatever we request we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his Holy Place? The one who has innocent hands and a pure heart; the person who does not delight in what is false and does not swear an oath deceitfully.

To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

For it is love that I seek, and not sacrifice; knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Isn't this the fast that I have been choosing: to loose the bonds of injustice, and to untie the cords of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Isn't it to share your bread with the hungry, and to bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him with clothing, and not to raise yourself up from your own flesh and blood?"

To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices."

A religion that is pure and stainless according to God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows who are suffering, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Then my Father will love him, and we will go to him and make our home within him.

"Now Israel, what does the LORD your God desire from you? Only this: fear him, walk in all his ways, love him, serve him with all your heart and in all your life, and observe his commands and statutes that I'm commanding you today for your own good.

LORD, who may stay in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy mountain? The one who lives with integrity, who does righteous deeds, and who speaks truth to himself. The one who does not slander with his tongue, who does no evil to his neighbor, and who does not destroy his friend's reputation.read more.
The one who despises those who are utterly wicked, but who honors the one who fears the LORD, who keeps his word even when it hurts and does not change, who does not loan his money with interest, and who does not take a bribe against those who are innocent. The one who does these things will stand firm forever. A special Davidic Psalm.

The person who conquers will inherit these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son.

You are to pursue justice and only justice so you may live and possess the land that the LORD your God is about to give you."

Moreover, all these blessings will come upon you in abundance, if you obey the LORD your God:

He will be like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither. He will prosper in everything he does.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD grants grace and favor; the LORD will not withhold any good thing from those who walk blamelessly.

For this is what the LORD says: "Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and soon my deliverance will be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this, and the person that holds it fast, who observes the Sabbath without profaning it, and restrains his hands from practicing any evil.

Then you'll call, and the LORD will answer; you'll cry for help, and he'll respond, "Here I am.' "If you do away with the yoke among you, and pointing fingers and malicious talk; if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the needs of afflicted souls, then your light will rise in darkness, and your night will be like noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in parched places, and they will strengthen your bones; and you'll be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.read more.
And your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; You'll raise up the age-old foundations, and people will call you "Repairer of Broken Walls,' "Restorer of Streets to Live In.' "If you keep your feet from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable; and if you honor it by not going your own ways and seeking your own pleasure or speaking merely idle words, then you will take delight in the LORD, and he will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; and he will make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob, your father. "Yes! The mouth of the LORD has spoken."

so that your fasting will not be noticed by others but by your Father who is in the hidden place. And your Father who watches from the hidden place will reward you."

Instead, when you give a banquet, make it your habit to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then you will be blessed because they can't repay you. And you will be repaid when the righteous are resurrected."