33 Bible Verses about Good Works

You yourselves know the story which spread through all Judea, how, beginning form Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed-- The story, I mean, of Jesus of Nazareth, and how God consecrated him his Christ by enduing him with the Holy Spirit and with power; and how he went about doing good and curing all who were under the power of the Devil, because God was with him.

What follows, then? Are we Jews in any way superior to others? Not at all. Our indictment against both Jews and Greeks was that all alike were in subjection to sin. As Scripture says-'There is not even one who is righteous, Not one who understands, not one who is searching for God!read more.
They have all gone astray; they have one and all become depraved; there is no one who is doing good-no, not one!' 'Their throats are like opened graves; they deceive with their tongues.' 'The venom of serpents lies behind their lips,' 'And their mouths are full of bitter curses.' 'Swift are their feet to shed blood. Distress and trouble dog their steps, And the path of peace they do not know.' 'The fear of God is not before their eyes.'

Did, then, a thing, which in itself was good, involve Death in my case? Heaven forbid! It was sin that involved Death; so that, by its use of what I regarded as good to bring about my Death, its true nature might appear; and in this way the Commandment showed how intensely sinful sin is. We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am earthly-sold into slavery to Sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I am so far from habitually doing what I want to do, that I find myself doing the very thing that I hate.read more.
But when I do what I want not to do, I am admitting that the Law is right. This being so, the action is no longer my own, but that of Sin which is within me. I know that there is nothing good in me-I mean in my earthly nature. For, although it is easy for me to want to do right, to act rightly is not easy. I fail to do the good thing that I want to do, but the bad thing that I want not to do-that I habitually do. But, when I do the very thing that I want not to do, the action is no longer my own, but that of Sin which is within me. This, then, is the law that I find-When I want to do right, wrong presents itself! At heart I delight in the Law of God; But throughout my body I see a different law, one which is in conflict with the law accepted by my reason, and which endeavors to make me a prisoner to that law of Sin which exists throughout my body.

Let us never tire of doing right, for at the proper season we shall reap our harvest, if we do not grow weary. Therefore, I say, as the opportunity occurs, let us treat every one with kindness, and especially members of the Household of the Faith.

You have heard that it was said--'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' I, however, say to you that you must not resist wrong; but, if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also; And, when any one wants to go to law with you, to take your coat, let him have your cloak as well;read more.
And, if any one compels you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to him who asks of you; and, from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away. You have heard that it was said--'Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy.' I, however, say to you--Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, That you may become Sons of your Father who is in Heaven; for he causes his sun to rise upon bad and good alike, and sends rain upon the righteous and upon the unrighteous. For, if you love only those who love you, what reward will you have? Even the tax-gatherers do this! And, if you show courtesy to your brothers only, what are you doing more than others? Even the Gentiles do this! You, then, must become perfect--as your heavenly Father is perfect.

But to you who hear I say--Love your enemies, show kindness to those who hate you, Bless those who curse you, pray for those who insult you. When a man gives one of you a blow on the cheek, offer the other cheek as well; and, when any one takes away your cloak, do not keep back your coat either.read more.
Give to every one who asks of you; and, when any one takes away what is yours, do not demand its return. Do to others as you wish them to do to you. If you love only those who love you, what thanks will be due to you? Why, even the outcast love those who love them! For, if you show kindness only to those who show kindness to you, what thanks will be due to you? Even the outcast do that! If you lend only to those from whom you expect to get something, what thanks will be due to you? Even the outcast lend to the outcast in the hope of getting as much in return! But love your enemies, and show them kindness, and lend to them, never despairing. Then your reward shall be great, and you shall be Sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the thankless and the bad. Learn to be merciful--even as your Father is merciful.

Lastly, you should all be united, sympathetic, full of brotherly love, kind-hearted, humble-minded; never returning evil for evil, or abuse for abuse, but, on the contrary, blessing. It was to this that you were called--to obtain a blessing! 'He who would enjoy life And see happy days-- let him keep his tongue from evil And his lips from deceitful words,read more.
Let him turn from evil and do good, Let him seek for peace and follow after it; For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And his ears are attentive to their prayers, But the face of the Lord is set against those who do wrong.' Who, indeed, is there to harm you, if you prove yourselves to be eager for what is good?

Therefore, I say, let those who suffer, because God wills it so, commit their lives into the hands of a faithful Creator, and persevere in doing right.

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

What credit can you claim when, after doing wrong, you take your punishment for it patiently? But, on the other hand, if, after doing right, you take your sufferings patiently, that does win the approval of God.

It is better that you should suffer, if that should be God's will, for doing right, than for doing wrong.

Do not wonder at this; for the time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice, And will come out--those who have done good rising to Life, and those who have lived evil lives rising for condemnation.

But love your enemies, and show them kindness, and lend to them, never despairing. Then your reward shall be great, and you shall be Sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the thankless and the bad.

Hard-hearted and impenitent as you are, you are storing up for yourself Wrath on the 'Day of Wrath,' when God's justice as a judge will be revealed; For 'he will give to every man what his actions deserve.' To those who, by perseverance in doing good, aim at glory, honor, and all that is imperishable, he will give Immortal Life;read more.
While as to those who are factious, and disobedient to Truth but obedient to Evil, wrath and anger, distress and despair, Will fall upon every human being who persists in wrong-doing- -upon the Jew first, but also upon the Greek. But there will be glory, honor, and peace for every one who does right-for the Jew first, but also for the Greek, Since God shows no partiality.

Urge upon those who are wealthy in this life not to pride themselves, or fix their hopes, on so uncertain a thing as wealth, but on God, who gives us a wealth of enjoyment on every side. Urge upon them to show kindness, to exhibit a wealth of good actions, to be open-handed and generous, storing up for themselves what in the future will prove to be a good foundation, that they may gain the only true Life.

Now in a large house there are not only things of gold and silver, but also others of wood and earthenware, some for better and some for common use. If, then, a man has escaped from the pollution of such errors as I have mentioned, he will be like a thing kept for better use, set apart, serviceable to its owner, ready for any good purpose.

My Brothers, what is the good of a man's saying that he has faith, if he does not prove it by actions? Can such faith save him? Suppose some Brother or Sister should be in want of clothes and of daily bread, And one of you were to say to them--"Go, and peace be with you; find warmth and food for yourselves," and yet you were not to give them the necessaries of life, what good would it be to them?read more.
In just the same way faith, if not followed by actions, is, by itself, a lifeless thing. Some one, indeed, may say--"You are a man of faith, and I am a man of action." "Then show me your faith," I reply, "apart from any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions." It is a part of your Faith, is it not, that there is one God? Good; yet even the demons have that faith, and tremble at the thought. Now do you really want to understand, you foolish man, how it is that faith without actions leads to nothing? Look at our ancestor, Abraham. Was not it the result of his actions that he was pronounced righteous after he had offered his son, Isaac, on the altar?

Who among you claims to be wise and intelligent? Let him show that his actions are the outcome of a good life lived in the humility of true wisdom.

'He who would enjoy life And see happy days-- let him keep his tongue from evil And his lips from deceitful words, Let him turn from evil and do good, Let him seek for peace and follow after it; For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And his ears are attentive to their prayers, But the face of the Lord is set against those who do wrong.'

God has power to shower all kinds of blessings upon you, so that, having, under all circumstances and on all occasions, all that you can need, you may be able to shower all kinds of benefits upon others.

At Jaffa there lived a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which is in Greek 'Dorcas'--a Gazelle. Her life was spent in doing kind and charitable actions.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always been obedient in the past, so now work out your own Salvation with anxious care, not only when I am with you, but all the more now that I am absent. Remember it is God who, in his kindness, is at work within you, enabling you both to will and to work.

Then you will live lives worthy of the Master, and so please God in every way. Your lives will be fruitful in every kind of good action, and your characters will grow through a fuller knowledge of God; You will be made strong at all points with a strength worthy of the power manifested in his Glory--strong to endure with patience, and even with gladness, whatever may befall you; And you will give thanks to the Father who made you fit to share the lot which awaits Christ's People in the realms of Light.

For we are God's handiwork, created, by our union with Christ Jesus, for the good actions in doing which God had pre-arranged that we should spend our lives.

If, then, a man has escaped from the pollution of such errors as I have mentioned, he will be like a thing kept for better use, set apart, serviceable to its owner, ready for any good purpose.

Everything that is written under divine inspiration is helpful for teaching, for refuting error, for giving guidance, and for training others in righteousness; so that the Servant of God may be perfect himself, and perfectly equipped for every good action.

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 God's will is this--that you should silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing what is right.

Passing on, Jesus went into their Synagogue, And there he saw a man with a withered hand. Some people asked Jesus whether it was allowable to work a cure on the Sabbath- -so that they might have a charge to bring against him. But Jesus said to them: "Which of you, if he had only one sheep, and that sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath, would not lay hold of it and pull it out?read more.
And how much more precious a man is than a sheep! Therefore it is allowable to do good on the Sabbath." Then he said to the man. "Stretch out your hand." The man stretched it out; and it had become as sound as the other. On coming out, the Pharisees plotted against Jesus, to put him to death.

On another occasion Jesus went in to a Synagogue, where they was a man whose hand was withered. And they watched Jesus closely, to see if he would cure the man on the Sabbath, so that they might have a charge to bring against him. "Stand out in the middle," Jesus said to the man with the withered hand;read more.
And to the people he said: "Is it allowable to do good on the Sabbath--or harm? to save a life, or destroy it?" As they remained silent, Jesus looked round at them in anger, grieving at the hardness of their hearts, and said to the man: "Stretch out your hand." The man stretched it out; and his hand had become sound. Immediately on leaving the Synagogue, the Pharisees and the Herodians united in laying a plot against Jesus, to put him to death.

On another Sabbath Jesus went into the Synagogue and taught; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely, to see if he would work cures on the Sabbath, so that they might find a charge to bring against him. Jesus, however, knew what was in the their minds, and said to the man whose hand was withered: "Stand up and come out into the middle." The man stood up;read more.
And Jesus said to them: "I ask you, is it allowable to do good on the Sabbath--or harm? to save a life, or let it perish?" Then, looking round at them all, he said to the man: "Stretch out your hand." The man did so; and his hand had become sound. But the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were goaded to madness, and consulted together what they could do to Jesus.

Jesus was teaching on a Sabbath in one of the Synagogues, And he saw before him a woman who for eighteen years had suffered from weakness owing to her having an evil spirit in her. She was bent double, and was wholly unable to raise herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said: "Woman, you are released from your weakness."read more.
He placed his hands on her, and she was instantly made straight, and began to praise God. But the President of the Synagogue, indignant that Jesus had worked the cure on the Sabbath, interposed and said to the people: "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come to be cured on one of those, and not on the Sabbath." "You hypocrites!" the Master answered him. "Does not every one of you let his ox or his ass loose from its manger, and take it out to drink, on the Sabbath? But this woman, a daughter of Abraham, who has been kept in bondage by Satan for now eighteen years, ought not she to have been released from her bondage on the Sabbath?" As he said this, his opponents all felt ashamed; but all the people rejoiced to see all the wonderful things that he was doing.

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man who had been blind from his birth. "Rabbi," asked his disciples, "who was it that sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither the man nor the parents," replied Jesus; "but he was born blind that the work of God should be made plain in him.read more.
We must do the work of him who sent me, while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world." Saying this, Jesus spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he said, "and wash your eyes in the Bath of Siloam" (a word which means 'Messenger'). So the man went and washed his eyes, and returned able to see. Upon this his neighbors, and those who had formerly known him by sight as a beggar, exclaimed: "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?" "Yes," some said, "it is"; while others said: "No, but he is like him." The man himself said: "I am he." "How did you get your sight, then?" they asked. "The man whom they call Jesus," he answered, "made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me 'Go to Siloam and wash your eyes.' So I went and washed my eyes, and gained my sight." "Where is he?" they asked. I do not know," he answered. They took the man, who had been blind, to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and gave him his sight. So the Pharisees also questioned the man as to how he had gained his sight. "He put clay on my eyes," he answered, "and I washed them, and I can see." "The man cannot be from God," said some of the Pharisees, "for he does not keep the Sabbath." "How is it possible," retorted others, "for a bad man to give signs like this?" So there was a difference of opinion among them, and they again questioned the man; "What do you yourself say about him, for it is to you that he has given sight?" The Jews, however, refused to believe that he had been blind and had gained his sight, until they had called his parents and questioned them. "Is this your son," they asked, "who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he can see now?" "We know that this is our son," answered the parents, "and that he was born blind; But how it is that he can see now we do not know; nor do we know who it was that gave him his sight. Ask him--he is old enough- -he will tell you about himself." His parents spoke in this way because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that, if any one should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, he should be expelled from their synagogues. This was why his parents said 'He is old enough; ask him.' So the Jews again called the man who had been blind, and said to him: "Give God the praise; we know that this is a bad man." "I know nothing about his being a bad man," he replied; "one thing I do know, that although I was blind, now I can see." "What did he do to you?" they asked. "How did he give you your sight?" "I told you just now," he answered, "and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Surely you also do not want to become his disciples?" "You are his disciple," they retorted scornfully; "but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses; but, as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." "Well," the man replied, "this is very strange; you do not know where he comes from, and yet he has given me my sight! We know that God never listens to bad men, but, when a man is god-fearing and does God's will, God listens to him. Since the world began, such a thing was never heard of as any one's giving sight to a person born blind. If this man had not been from God, he could not have done anything at all." "You," they retorted, "were born totally depraved; and are you trying to teach us?" So they expelled him. Jesus heard of their having put him out; and, when he had found the man, he asked: "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" "Tell me who he is, Sir," he replied, "so that I may believe in him." "Not only have you seen him," said Jesus; "but it is he who is now speaking to you." "Then, Sir, I do believe," said the man, bowing to the ground before him; And Jesus added: "It was to put men to the test that I came into this world, in order that those that cannot see should see, and that those that can see should become blind." Hearing this, some of the Pharisees who were with him said: "Then are we blind too?" "If you had been blind," replied Jesus, "you would have had no sin to answer for; but, as it is, you say 'We can see,' and so your sin remains.