In this day of religious confusion, of multiplying denominations, of contradictory beliefs and
practices it is easy to become confused on what the true practice of religion is, according to God
Himself. The answer, as outlined by God's spokesmen in the scriptures, is not only simple, but
infinitely practical.


GENESIS 18:19
"For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after
him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring
to Abraham what He has spoken to him."

JOB 31:16-23
16 "If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless may not eat of it
18 (But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother's womb I guided the
widow);
19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering;
20 If his heart has not blessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate;
22 Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket.
23 For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I could not
endure.

PSALM 72:1-4
1 Give the king Your judgements, O God, And Your righteousness to the king's Son.
2 He will judge Your people with righteousness, And your poor with justice.
3 The mountains will bring peace to the people, And the little hills, by righteousness.
4 He will bring justice to the poor of the people; he will save the children of the needy, And will
break in pieces the oppressor.

ISAIAH 1:16-17
16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My
eyes. Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, reprove the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the
widow.

ISAIAH 58:1- 59:8
1 "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They
take delight in approaching God.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and
You take no notice?' "In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your
laborers.
4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not
fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high.
5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head
like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an
acceptable day to the Lord?
6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy
burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who
are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own
flesh?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "If
you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall
dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your
bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of
many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of Streets to Dwell in.
13 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not
doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words,
14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of
the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has
spoken."
59 Behold, The Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it
cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face
from you, So that He will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken
lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.
4 No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak
lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from
that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
6 Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their
works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are
thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of peace they have not known, And their is no justice in their ways; They have made
themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

JEREMIAH 7:3-7
3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will
cause you to dwell in this place.
4 "Do not trust in these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord,
the temple of the Lord are these.'
5 "For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute
judgement between a man and his neighbor,
6 "if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent
blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt,
7 "then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and
ever.

JEREMIAH 21:12
'O house of David! Thus says the Lord: "Execute judgement in the morning; And deliver him
who is plundered Out of the hand of the oppressor, Lest My fury go out like fire And burn so that
no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.

JEREMIAH 22:3
'Thus says the Lord: "Execute judgement and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of
the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the
widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

EZEKIEL 18:4-32
4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The
soul who sins shall die.
5 But if a man is just And does what is lawful and right;
6 If he has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor's wife, Nor approached a woman during her impurity;
7 If he has not oppressed anyone, But has restored to the debtor his pledge; Has robbed no one
by violence, but has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing;
8 If he has not exacted usury Nor taken any increase, But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity
And executed true judgement between man and man;
9 If he has walked in My statutes And kept My judgements faithfully-- He is just; He shall surely
live!" Says the Lord God.
10 "If he begets a son who is a robber Or a shedder of blood, Who does any of these things
11 And does none of those duties, But has eaten on the mountains or defiled his neighbor's wife;
12 If he has oppressed the poor and needy, Robbed by violence, Not restored the pledge, Lifted
his eyes to the idols, Or committed abomination;
13 If he has exacted usury Or taken increase-- Shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has
done any of these abominations, He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him.
14 "If, however, he begets a son Who sees all the sins which his father has done, And considers
but does not do likewise;
15 Who has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor's wife;
16 Has not oppressed anyone, Nor withheld a pledge, Nor robbed by violence, But has given his
bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing;
17 Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor And not received usury or increase, But has
executed My judgements And walked in My statutes-- He shall not die for the iniquity of his
father; He shall surely live!
18 "As for his father, Because he cruelly oppressed, Robbed his brother by violence, And did
what is not good among his people, Behold, he shall die for his iniquity.
19 "Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?' Because the son has done
what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live.
20 "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear
the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness
of the wicked shall be upon himself.
21 "But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes,
and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
22 "None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him;
because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.
23 "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord God, "and not that
he should turn from his ways and live?
24 "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does
according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness
which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty
and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.
25 "Yet you say, 'The say of the Lord is not fair.' Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way
which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?
26 "When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it
is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.
27 "Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does
what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive.
28 "Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he
shall surely live; he shall not die.
29 "Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, is it not My
ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?
30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the
Lord God. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.
31 "Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a
new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord God. "Therefore turn
and live!"

HOSEA 6:6
For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

MICAH 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do
justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

ZECHARIAH 7:5-10
5 "Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: 'When you fasted and mourned in the
fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me--for Me?
6 'When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?
7 'Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the former
prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South
and the Lowland were inhabited?'"
8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying
9 "Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to
his brother.
10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil
in his heart Against his brother.'

ZECHARIAH 8:16
These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor: Give judgement in
your gates for truth, justice, and peace;

MATTHEW 9:13
"But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call
the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

MATTHEW 12:7
"But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have
condemned the guiltless.

MATTHEW 23:23
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and
cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These
you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

LUKE 11:42
"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by
justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

ROMANS 12:9-21
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.
10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one
another;
11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;
13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate
with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written,
"Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
20 "Therefore if your enemy hungers, feed him; If he thirsts, give him drink; For in so doing you
will heap coals of fire on his head."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

EPHESIANS 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of
God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk in them.

2 TIMOTHY 2:21
Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified
and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.

2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

TITUS 2:7
in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity,
reverence, incorruptibility,

TITUS 3:5,8
5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us,
through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have
believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable
to men.

HEBREWS 13:20-21
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great
Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing
in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

JAMES 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in
their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.