25 Bible Verses about Worldliness

Most Relevant Verses

1 John 2:15-16

Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For everything that belongs to the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Genesis 12:1-3

The Lord said to Abram:

Go out from your land,
your relatives,
and your father’s house
to the land that I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation,
I will bless you,
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
I will curse those who treat you with contempt,
and all the peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.

Genesis 15:7

He also said to him, “I am Yahweh who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

Isaiah 13:19

And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms,
the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans,
will be like Sodom and Gomorrah
when God overthrew them.

Jonah 4:11

Should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot distinguish between their right and their left, as well as many animals?”

Revelation 22:2

down the middle of the broad street of the city. The tree of life was on both sides of the river, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations,

John 8:23

“You are from below,” He told them, “I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Luke 4:5-8

So he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If You, then, will worship me, all will be Yours.” read more.
And Jesus answered him, “It is written:

Worship the Lord your God,
and serve Him only.

John 18:36

“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality, so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor, not with lustful desires, like the Gentiles who don’t know God.

1 Peter 1:14-16

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

1 Peter 4:3-4

For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the pagans choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry. So they are surprised that you don’t plunge with them into the same flood of wild living—and they slander you.

From Thematic Bible


spiritual Loss » Causes of » Worldliness

Profit and loss » Spiritual loss causes of » Worldliness

Repression of evil » Seven evils to be repressed » Worldliness

Seven » Evils to be repressed » Worldliness

Worldliness » Warnings against

Worldliness » Seen in the tendency to imitate worldly customs, etc » Unprofitable

Ecclesiastes 2:11

When I considered all that I had accomplished and what I had labored to achieve, I found everything to be futile and a pursuit of the wind. There was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Worldliness » Instances of » balaam

Jude 1:11

Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain, have abandoned themselves to the error of Balaam for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.

Worldliness » Instances of » jacob

Genesis 27:36

So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

Genesis 30:37-43

Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled [the bark], exposing white stripes on the branches. He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep-in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink. The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young. read more.
Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked and the completely dark sheep in Laban's flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn't put them with Laban's sheep. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. And the man became very rich. He had many flocks, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.

Genesis 25:31-34

Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." "Look," said Esau, "I'm about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?" Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. read more.
Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.

Worldliness » Instances of » israelites

Psalm 78:18

They deliberately tested God,
demanding the food they craved.

Numbers 11:33-34

While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord's anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague. So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved [the meat].

Psalm 78:29-31

They ate and were completely satisfied, for He gave them what they craved. Before they had satisfied their desire, while the food was still in their mouths, God's anger flared up against them, and He killed some of their best men. He struck down Israel's choice young men.

Worldliness » Perilous, some of the evil effects of » Leads to religious apostasy

James 5:5

You have lived luxuriously on the land and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.

Worldliness » Instances of » Esau

Hebrews 12:16

And make sure that there isn’t any immoral or irreverent person like Esau, who sold his birthright in exchange for one meal.

Genesis 25:30-34

He said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stuff, because I'm exhausted." That is why he was [also] named Edom. Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." "Look," said Esau, "I'm about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?" read more.
Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to Jacob and sold his birthright to him. Then Jacob gave bread and lentil stew to Esau; he ate, drank, got up, and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.

Worldliness » Perilous, some of the evil effects of » Makes earthly affections supreme

1 Corinthians 7:32-33

I want you to be without concerns. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord-how he may please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the things of the world-how he may please his wife-

Worldliness » Seen in the tendency to imitate worldly customs, etc » In false worship

Deuteronomy 12:30

be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I’ll also do the same.’

Worldliness » Seen in the tendency to imitate worldly customs, etc » In bad governmental policies

1 Samuel 8:19-20

The people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We must have a king over us. Then we'll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles."

Worldliness » Perilous, some of the evil effects of » Deludes men into a state of false security

Matthew 24:38-39

For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. They didn't know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be:

Worldliness » Seen in the tendency to imitate worldly customs, etc » In following a bad example

Matthew 23:2-3

"The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. Therefore do whatever they tell you and observe [it]. But don't do what they do, because they don't practice what they teach.

Worldliness » Seen in the tendency to imitate worldly customs, etc » In heathenish practices

2 Kings 17:15

They rejected His statutes and His covenant He had made with their ancestors and the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.

Worldliness » Perilous, some of the evil effects of » Moulds the activities and plans of life

Worldliness » Perilous, some of the evil effects of » Destroys the influence of the truth

Worldliness » Seen in the tendency to imitate worldly customs, etc » In committing popular sins

Worldliness » Instances of » Eli's sons

1 Samuel 2:12-17

Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord or for the priests' share [of the sacrifices] from the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling and plunge it into the container or kettle or caldron or cooking pot. The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh. read more.
Even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest [some] meat to roast, because he won't accept boiled meat from you-only raw." If that man said to him, "The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself," the servant would reply, "No, I insist that you hand it over right now. If you don't, I'll take it by force!" So the servants' sin was very severe in the presence of the Lord, because they treated the Lord's offering with contempt.

Worldliness » Instances of » Gehazi

2 Kings 5:21-27

So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and asked, "Is everything all right?" Gehazi said, "It's all right. My master has sent me to say, 'I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds of silver and two changes of clothes.' " But Naaman insisted, "Please, accept 150 pounds." He urged Gehazi and then packed 150 pounds of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes. Naaman gave them to two of his young men who carried them ahead of Gehazi. read more.
When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the gifts from them and stored them in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they left. Gehazi came and stood by his master. "Where did you go, Gehazi?" Elisha asked him. "Your servant didn't go anywhere," he replied. But Elisha questioned him, "Wasn't my spirit there when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to accept money and clothes, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves? Therefore, Naaman's skin disease will cling to you and your descendants forever." So Gehazi went out from his presence diseased-[white] as snow.

Worldliness » Instances of » Judah

Genesis 37:26-27

Then Judah said to his brothers, "What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our [own] flesh." His brothers agreed.

Worldliness » Instances of » Herod antipas

Matthew 14:6-7

But when Herod's birthday celebration came, Herodias' daughter danced before them and pleased Herod. So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

Worldliness » Instances of » Cretans

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