38 Bible Verses about ethics, incentives towards

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will have praise from him. For he is God's servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is God's servant, an avenger to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.

First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,read more.
who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the supreme authority, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

For with the same judgment you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

So also my heavenly Father will do to each of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

For judgment will be without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law, justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their deeds; they are detestable and disobedient, unfit for any good deed.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts,

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live any longer in it?

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

I am not speaking this as a command, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich.

who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, zealous for good deeds.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity, nor is it made with deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Finally, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more.

and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Religion that is pure and undefiled in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

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

He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

so that you do not appear to be fasting to men, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."