30 Bible Verses about Outward Appearance

By the fruit of their lives you will know them. Do people gather grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, too, every sound tree bears good fruit, while a worthless tree bears bad fruit. A sound tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a worthless tree bear good fruit.read more.
Every tree that fails to bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Hence it is by the fruit of their lives that you will know such men.

There is no such thing as a good tree bearing worthless fruit, or, on the other hand, a worthless tree bearing good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. People do not gather figs off thorn bushes, nor pick a bunch of grapes off a bramble. A good man, from the good stores of his heart, brings out what is good; while a bad man, from his bad stores, brings out what is bad. For what fills a man's heart will rise to his lips.

Let your light so shine before the eyes of your fellow men, that, seeing your good actions, they may praise your Father who is in Heaven.

You must assume either that both tree and fruit are good, or that both tree and fruit are worthless; since it is by it's fruits that a tree is known. You brood of vipers! how can you, evil as you are, say anything good? For what fills the heart will rise to the lips. A good man, from his good stores, produces good things; while an evil man, from his evil stores, produces evil things.read more.
I tell you that for every careless thing that men say, they must answer on the 'Day of Judgment.' For it is by your words that you will be acquitted, and by your words that you will be condemned."

It is by your bearing fruit plentifully, and so showing yourselves my disciples, that my Father is honored.

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."

But the man's face clouded at these words, and he went away distressed, for he had great possessions.

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with the results of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed look fair outside, while inside they are filled with dead men's bones and all kinds of filth.read more.
It is the same with you. Outwardly, and to others, you have the look of religious men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin.

Beware of false Teachers--men who come to you in the guise of sheep, but at heart they are ravenous wolves.

But the Master said to him: "You Pharisees do, it is true, clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you yourselves are filled with greed and wickedness. Fools! did not the maker of the outside make the inside too? Only give away what is in them in charity, and at once you have the whole clean.

Men of this stamp are false apostles, treacherous workers, disguising themselves as Apostles of Christ! And no wonder; for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of Light. It is not surprising, therefore, if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of Righteousness. But their end will be in accordance with their actions.

Such prohibitions appear reasonable where there is a desire for self-imposed service, and so-called 'humility,' and harsh treatment of the body, but are of no real value against the indulgence of our earthly nature.

Do not neglect to show hospitality; for, through being hospitable, men have all unawares entertained angels.

When a man receives circumcision on a Sabbath to prevent the Law of Moses from being broken, how can you be angry with me for making a man sound and well on a Sabbath? Do not judge by appearances; judge justly."

All this was said within hearing of the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, and they began to sneer at Jesus. "You," said Jesus, "are the men who justify themselves before the world, but God can read your hearts; and what is highly esteemed among men may be an abomination in the sight of God.

You judge by appearances; I judge no one.

You look at the outward appearance of things! Let any one, who is confident that he belongs to Christ, reflect, for himself, again upon the fact--that we belong to Christ no less than he does.

My Brothers, are you really trying to combine faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord, with the worship of rank? Suppose a man should enter your Synagogue, with gold rings and in grand clothes, and suppose a poor man should come in also, in shabby clothes, And you are deferential to the man who is wearing grand clothes, and say--"There is a good seat for you here," but to the poor man--"You must stand; or sit down there by my footstool,"read more.
Is not that to make distinctions among yourselves, and show yourselves prejudiced judges?

You say 'I am rich and have grown rich, and I want for nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked!

"You," said Jesus, "are the men who justify themselves before the world, but God can read your hearts; and what is highly esteemed among men may be an abomination in the sight of God.

Of those who are thought somewhat highly of--what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not recognize human distinctions--those, I say, who are thought highly of added nothing to my Message.

I will also put her children to death; and all the Churches shall learn that I am he who 'looks into the hearts and souls of men'; and I will give to each one of you what his life deserves.

While all the people were listening, Jesus said to the disciples: "Be on your guard against the Teachers of the Law, who delight to walk about in long robes, and like to be greeted in the streets with respect, and to have the best seats in the Synagogues, and places of honor at dinner. These are the men who rob widows of their houses, and make a pretense of saying long prayers. Their sentence will be all the heavier."

Therefore, when you do acts of charity, do not have a trumpet blown in front of you, as hypocrites do in the Synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. There, I tell you, is their reward!

We are not "commending ourselves" again to you, but rather are giving you cause for pride in us, so that you may have an answer ready for those who pride themselves on appearances and not on character.

Those who wish to appear to advantage in regard to outward observances are the very people who are trying to compel you to be circumcised; and they do it only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Jesus, the Christ.

Therefore, as I said, we do not lose heart. No, even though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. The light burden of our momentary trouble is preparing for us, in measure transcending thought, a weight of imperishable glory; We, all the while, gazing not on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is transient, but what is unseen is imperishable.

For a man who is only a Jew outwardly is not a real Jew; nor is outward bodily circumcision real circumcision. The real Jew is the man who is a Jew in soul; And the real circumcision is the circumcision of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal thing. Such a man wins praise from God, though not from men.

Yours should be, not the external adornment of the arrangement of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or the putting on of dresses, but the inner life with the imperishable beauty of a quiet and gentle spirit; for this is very precious in God's sight. It was by this that the holy women of old, who rested their hopes on God, adorned themselves; submitting to their husbands,

I also desire that women should adorn themselves with appropriate dress, worn quietly and modestly, and not with wreaths or gold ornaments for the hair, or pearls, or costly clothing, but--as is proper for women who profess to be religious--with good actions.