Bible Verses About Cultural Customs

Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God.

For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you:

When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.

As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.

Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.

It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the Lord your God.

Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.

And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

And ye shall know that I am the Lord: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you.

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:

One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.

But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;

In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.

Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.