Morality is more than just the dos and don’ts, or the rights and wrongs, in contemporary society, it is a necessity for humanity’s well-being. It is the foundation on which our actions toward life and others are based.
The Bible, for example, gave us in detail, moral absolutes that we can follow to be of good standing not just in society but with Christ Jesus. Let’s unpack a few of those in the verses below.
What is Morality According to the Bible?
Morality, according to the Bible, are the laws established by God that humans are instructed to follow. Some will say it is God’s revelation to mankind. And so a violation of these laws or commands sadly has dire consequences.
Morality is also a large part of what governs a Christian’s train of thought. And in a dog-eat-dog world, it is the code of conduct that Christians especially can use to align their lives with the will of God.
Bible Verses About Morality and Integrity
Proverbs 11:3 “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.”
It is true that when believers rely on the integrity and the moral attributes of God, it allows us to make the right choices in life. We can also learn from many biblical characters who came before us who stood their ground in the face of adversity, and who maintained their moral principles even when the odds were against them.
And we are blessed to have the Word of God to make our crooked path straight and to help us fight against the temptations of this world that are contrary to the laws of God. This righteousness will be profitable and gets us out of the way of God’s wrath.
1 Kings 9:4-5 “4And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, 5 then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.”
This was a conversation between God and Solomon. The condition that God gave Solomon was simply this, if he walked in obedience to Word, with true integrity and uprightness, he would be greatly rewarded.
This promise holds true for us as well, that when they keep the laws of God, we can expect to reign with Him in glory.
Psalms 25:21 “May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.”
One of the many people in the Bible who exhibited a strong moral character was certainly David. He was a man of God who showed great integrity, and one who, when faced with his own giant, defeated it.
But he didn’t do it on his own, David knew that once he lived a life pleasing to God and waited patiently for Him, whenever the enemy came in like a flood, God would be his conquering savior. So like David, don’t let the giants in your life make you compromise your moral principles or weaken your hope in God.
Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”
When we decide to answer the calling of God, we are no longer what we used to be, but we have been made “new” by putting away falsehood. As new beings in Christ, the Bible tells us to touch no unclean thing (2 Corinthians 6:17) or to entangle ourselves with things that are immoral.
To live as children of God, walking in His truth, and not being deceitful or dishonest with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. So today let us put away “the old self” and step into the newness of life in Christ.
1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
The Bible tells us that the love of money is what can corrupt the integrity of any man. While having money is good, it can even turn Christians into slaves of the world because they are willing to forgo their moral principles just to get it.
Also, this verse not only speaks to the love of money but it also refers to another form of immorality which is greed. It is because of this greed that man will lie, kill, and even steal just to gain wealth and power.
However, the Word tells us that wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by honest labor will increase (Proverbs 13:11). And so Paul is encouraging us not to replace holiness for the desire of the eyes because it will not profit us to gain the world and lose our souls.
Bible Verses About Morality and Ethics
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
This verse speaks to the importance of the “ Sacred Text ” for teaching, reproof, correction, and the ethics on which Godly morals are based. It was also speaking of the Old Testament principles which remained present in the New Testament as well.
God also spoke the ethics outlined in this Scripture for the edification of His children. It reveals His divine plan for humanity and highlights the pitfalls and consequences of sin.
And so in this corrupt world that we live in, God’s Word is the source of morality, it is there to guide, comfort, and teach the truth that all should follow.
John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
There is somewhat of a marriage between ethics and morality. When we speak of ethics, we can think about the Ten Commandments. These moral laws, found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, are rules of conduct laid out not just for believers but it was meant for humanity as a whole.
But as Christians, these are important guidelines that we should follow if we want to make Heaven our home.
Think of it as the mini manual which influences the ethical choice we make. As a reminder in 1 John 2:4-5 says “Anyone who says they love God and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” But whoever keeps His Word, truly God’s love is perfected in them. By this, we know that we are in Him.”
2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
The main theme in this verse is the importance of studying the Word of truth. In this, we can learn what God expects from us and warns us of the many follies of the world that can make or break our righteousness.
This verse also tells us not to be ashamed of this gospel because it is during these difficult times that our morality is tested, but we are encouraged to stay rooted and grounded in His Word. And with the plethora of information it provides and the Holy Spirit by our side, we are never alone.
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
As humans, we all deal with moral dilemmas differently. This train of thought was first demonstrated by Adam and Eve. When we use human wisdom to guide us, inevitably, life will continue to toss us left and right.
Because we all have dreams in life, and sometimes we tend to rely on our own gut feeling to see how best we can make those dreams come to pass.
And so the Book of Proverbs uses this statement to open our eyes to what happens when we solely trust in human intuitions rather than including God in our decisions. So let us make the choice today to implement wisdom of God so that He will direct our path and prevent us from making foolish and unethical choices.
Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.”
It is safe to say that those who are physically or even spiritually blind cannot walk properly in God’s way. When such a person has no vision, they become morally unstable and are susceptible to giving in to the temptation of the world.
This was made evident when the people of Israel disregarded their morals and had forgotten where God had taken them from, His laws and such it turned them into a set of corrupt people.
However, the Bible tells us that we shouldn’t loosen our grip on His laws for this is what we keep our morality in check. And blessed are those who continue to fight the good fight of faith.
Bible Verses About Morality and Character
1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
There is truth to what this famous quote says “Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.” As Christians, there are so many negative influences that we have in this world, one of which is the friends we keep.
The Bible tells us not to sit in the council of the ungodly, (Psalms 1:1), and the truth of the matter is that those include bad companies. And so the Apostle Paul is encouraging his readers not to let bad company ruin who we are as believers. To not let them destroy our morals, but to stand firm on the principles of God.
2 Peter 1:5-8 “5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible warns us in 2 Timothy 3 that in the last days, men will have a form of godliness, but will deny its power. And so there is a lesson in this verse of living a godly life and being steadfast in our commitment to the Word of God.
And once we maintain these principles, our character becomes pleasing to God, and we begin to be fruitful in our walk with our Lord Jesus Christ. And know that God does not expect perfection, but he expects us to be authentic Christian rather than part-time believers.
Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
There are various character traits that will not only destroy the good morals of a person, but will also put you in the cross arrows of the devil. Most of these traits are works of the flesh such as sexual immorality, impurity, idolatry, false witness, jealousy, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and things like these.
The Bible warns those who do such things and lean into the desires of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21) So we have to remember that those who belong to Christ Jesus have to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).” And to live a life, not by sight, but be guided by the Holy Spirit of God.
Mark 7:20-23 “20And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
What ultimately destroys a person’s character is when sin takes over that person’s heart. The Bible tells us that it doesn’t matter how rich we are, how high up the society chain we are, or how many days we go to church, if our heart is dirty, eventually all that darkness will come to light.
The Word of God also tells us that where immorality lives, corruption exists, and when a person’s heart is corrupted, it will show on the outside. So it is up to us to make sure that we are not just clean on the outside, but we are clean on the inside as well.
Titus 2:7-8 “7Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.”
Here, Paul was advising Titus on how to lead by example, and to be a model of God’s law. Paul was also instructing him to base his teaching on God’s moral standards so that others could fashion their lives on Godly living. And that by his teachings and good work others will see God in him.
This is a message for the leaders today as well. God has put you in the position of a shepherd to His sheep, and as such He expects you to be an example to those under your care, showing integrity and dignity and a character of sound doctrine.
2 Corinthians 4:2 “But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”
Maintaining a good moral character is one of the major Hallmarks of being a true believer in Christ. It is not something we were born with, but it’s what we do with the free will that we were given.
And just as Eve was tempted by the serpent’s cunning words, we too are faced with many evils that will tempt us into tampering with God’s word. But unlike what many humans of this world will try to do, in Christ, we can’t scheme our way into Heaven.
And so like Paul, we bear the mark of Christ, and as such we are to act accordingly so that others will see the gospel of God reflected in our lives.
Bible Verse About Morality and Redemption
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
When the weight of the world is on our shoulders, sometimes the easiest thing to do is to give into those pressures by giving ourselves over to the sinful world. And at that moment, we lose our moral compass.
However, the Word of God reminds us of God’s redeeming love. Just continue putting your trust in God and remain content with the faith so that instead of eternal punishment you will receive eternal life.
Ephesians 1:7 “In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
A central theme in the Bible is redemption, and as only mortal beings, this is needed because sometimes when our morals are tested, we fall short of the glory of God. So it is a good thing that we have the remedy for our sins which is through the blood of Christ.
The Bible said we were all born and shaped in iniquity, so sin is not uncommon to any of us, but the day Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we can now be saved through grace. And so when we fall into immoral acts, in our repentance, we can be redeemed.
1 Corinthians 1:30 “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.”
As believers, we bear the image of God. He called us fearfully and wonderfully made. But sometimes, because we rely on human wisdom, this allows the devil to sneak in and try to sink our faith in God, causing us to become morally bankrupt.
And so on our own we cannot be saved, but it is only when we can come to Christ and repent of our sins, we can be. Surrendering to God will then not only relieve us from instability, but we will also be sanctified in Christ Jesus.
Revelation 21:8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
It is written that there is eternal punishment in the lake of fire for those who blatantly reject the truth of God. Those who are cowardly, faithless, murderers, liars, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and others that can be added to the list, but all having the same fate.
However, God provides a way to prevent this second death, the ultimate guide to escape hell, and a promise of redemption for those who don’t lose sight of the inheritance that awaits them.
Conclusion
In a world where morality is blurred, the choices we make in life are what determine our final destination. And although sometimes our minds are swayed, the Bible covers a range of moral standards that we can and should base our decisions on.
