38 Bible Verses about ethics, incentives towards

A good action has nothing to fear from Rulers; a bad action has. Do you want to have no reason to fear the Authorities? Then do what is good, and you will win their praise. For they are God's servants appointed for your good. But, if you do what is wrong, you may well be afraid; for the sword they carry is not without meaning! They are God's servants to inflict his punishments on those who do wrong.

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings should be offered for every one, especially for kings and all who are in high positions, in order that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in a deeply religious and reverent spirit. This will be good and acceptable in the eyes of God, our Savior,read more.
whose will is that every one should be saved, and attain to a full knowledge of the Truth.

Submit to all human institutions for the Lord's sake, alike to the emperor as the supreme authority, and to governors as the men sent by him to punish evil-doers and to commend those who do right.

For, if you forgive others their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also; But, if you do not forgive others their offences, not even your Father will forgive your offences.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.

For, just as you judge others, you will yourselves be judged, and the measure that you mete will be meted out to you.

So, also, will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each one of you forgives his Brother from his heart."

For there will be justice without mercy for him who has not acted mercifully. Mercy triumphs over Justice.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law--justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first.

But alas for you Pharisees! You pay tithes on mint, rue, and herbs of all kinds, and pass over justice and love to God. These last you ought to have put into practice without neglecting the first.

They profess to know God, but by their actions they disown him. They are degraded and self-willed; and, as far as anything good is concerned, they are utterly worthless.

And do not grieve God's Holy Spirit; for it was through that Spirit that God sealed you as his, against the Day of Redemption.

For he who sows the field of his earthly nature will from that earthly nature reap corruption; while he who sows the field of the spirit will from that spirit reap Immortal Life.

Do not you know that wrong-doers will have no share in God's Kingdom? Do not be deceived. No one who is immoral, or an idolater, or an adulterer, or licentious, or a sodomite,

For at the Bar of the Christ we must all appear in our true characters, that each may reap the results of the life which he has lived in the body, in accordance with his actions--whether good or worthless.

Therefore destroy all that is earthly in you--immorality, uncleanness, passions, evil desires, and that greed which is idolatry. These are the things on account of which the Wrath of God comes,

Try earnestly to live at peace with every one, and to attain to that purity without which no one will see the Lord.

For, although you were once in Darkness, now, by your union with the Lord, you are in the Light. Live as 'Children of Light'- -

Heaven forbid! We became dead to sin, and how can we go on living in it?

And that he died for all, so that the living should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose for them.

Never lie to one another. Get rid of your old self and its habits, And clothe yourselves with that new self, which, as it gains in knowledge, is being constantly renewed 'in resemblance to him who made it.'

Therefore imitate God, as his dear children, And live a life of love, following the example of the Christ, who loved you and gave himself for you as 'an offering and a sacrifice to God, that should be fragrant and acceptable.'

I entreat you, then, Brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, for this is your rational worship.

I am not laying a command upon you, but I am making use of the earnestness shown by others to test the genuineness of your affection. For you do not forget the loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ--how that for your sakes, although he was rich, he became poor, so that you also might become rich through his poverty.

For he gave himself on our behalf, to deliver us from all wickedness, and to purify for himself a People who should be peculiarly his own and eager to do good.

We have learned to know what love is from this--that Christ laid down his life on our behalf. Therefore we also ought to lay down our lives on behalf of our Brothers.

Never forget to do kindly acts and to share what you have with others, for such sacrifices are acceptable to God.

Therefore, whether in our home or absent from our home, our one ambition is to please him.

Children, always obey your parents; for that is pleasant to see in those who belong to the Lord.

Our appeal to you was not based on a delusion, nor was it made from unworthy motives, or with any intention of misleading you. But, having been found worthy by God to be entrusted with the Good News, therefore we tell it; with a view to please, not men, but God who proves our hearts.

Further, Brothers, we beg and exhort you in the name of our Lord Jesus to carry out more fully than ever--as indeed you are already doing--all that you have heard from us as to what your daily life must be, if it is to please God.

and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we are laying his commands to heart, and are doing what is pleasing in his sight.

And to 'love him with all one's heart, and with all one's understanding, and with all one's strength,' and to 'love one's neighbor as one loves oneself' is far beyond all 'burnt-offerings and sacrifices.'"

That religious observance which is pure and spotless in the eyes of God our Father is this--to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the world.

"Whoever loves me," Jesus answered, " will lay my Message to heart; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.

He who conquers shall enter into possession of these things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my Son.

That he may not be seen by men to be fasting, but by his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.

No, when you entertain, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; And then you will be happy indeed, since they cannot recompense you; for you shall be recompensed at the resurrection of the good."