100 Bible Verses about Being A Good Leader

Titus 1:7-14 ESV / 1,113 helpful votes

For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. ...

Proverbs 16:9 ESV / 812 helpful votes

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

1 Timothy 4:12 ESV / 588 helpful votes

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

1 Timothy 3:2 ESV / 550 helpful votes

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

Hebrews 13:7 ESV / 510 helpful votes

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

Proverbs 16:7 ESV / 448 helpful votes

When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Romans 12:8 ESV / 392 helpful votes

The one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

John 13:13-17 ESV / 361 helpful votes

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV / 342 helpful votes

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.

Mark 10:42-45 ESV / 321 helpful votes

And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 7:12 ESV / 314 helpful votes

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Hebrews 13:17 ESV / 305 helpful votes

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Philippians 4:13 ESV / 290 helpful votes

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Isaiah 41:10 ESV / 288 helpful votes

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

1 Timothy 3:13 ESV / 247 helpful votes

For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Titus 2:1-15 ESV / 198 helpful votes

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. ...

Galatians 6:9 ESV / 161 helpful votes

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Romans 8:28 ESV / 161 helpful votes

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Jeremiah 1:5 ESV / 160 helpful votes

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Matthew 23:11 ESV / 146 helpful votes

The greatest among you shall be your servant.

Psalm 37:5 ESV / 144 helpful votes

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

1 Peter 3:14 ESV / 136 helpful votes

But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,

Matthew 20:26 ESV / 134 helpful votes

It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

James 4:10 ESV / 126 helpful votes

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

James 1:12 ESV / 125 helpful votes

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

1 Timothy 4:8 ESV / 125 helpful votes

For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Philippians 2:3 ESV / 112 helpful votes

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Psalm 46:10 ESV / 103 helpful votes

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV / 100 helpful votes

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ...

1 Corinthians 10:33 ESV / 100 helpful votes

Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

John 3:30 ESV / 99 helpful votes

He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Isaiah 55:4 ESV / 99 helpful votes

Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.

John 13:34-35 ESV / 98 helpful votes

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Exodus 18:21 ESV / 95 helpful votes

Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

Isaiah 35:4 ESV / 93 helpful votes

Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

John 14:1 ESV / 91 helpful votes

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Proverbs 29:2 ESV / 90 helpful votes

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV / 89 helpful votes

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Joshua 1:1-9 ESV / 89 helpful votes

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. ...

Acts 20:28 ESV / 88 helpful votes

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

Romans 5:3 ESV / 84 helpful votes

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

Philippians 2:15 ESV / 82 helpful votes

That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Proverbs 4:23 ESV / 82 helpful votes

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 22:29 ESV / 81 helpful votes

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

1 Timothy 5:17 ESV / 80 helpful votes

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

John 17:19 ESV / 79 helpful votes

And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV / 77 helpful votes

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

Philippians 2:5 ESV / 76 helpful votes

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

James 3:1 ESV / 73 helpful votes

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Matthew 20:25-28 ESV / 70 helpful votes

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Philippians 2:4 ESV / 69 helpful votes

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Luke 6:31 ESV / 67 helpful votes

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Psalm 78:72 ESV / 66 helpful votes

With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

Leviticus 18:1-30 ESV / 63 helpful votes

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord. ...

Proverbs 17:1-28 ESV / 61 helpful votes

Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers. The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts. An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. ...

Matthew 5:37 ESV / 60 helpful votes

Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

1 Timothy 3:5 ESV / 57 helpful votes

For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

John 3:16-17 ESV / 54 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Mark 10:45 ESV / 53 helpful votes

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Proverbs 27:23-24 ESV / 53 helpful votes

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations?

Proverbs 11:14 ESV / 53 helpful votes

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

Revelation 1:1 ESV / 52 helpful votes

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

Proverbs 16:12 ESV / 52 helpful votes

It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.

Proverbs 29:14 ESV / 50 helpful votes

If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever.

Proverbs 29:4 ESV / 47 helpful votes

By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down.

1 John 1:9 ESV / 45 helpful votes

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Titus 2:7 ESV / 45 helpful votes

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity,

John 8:24 ESV / 42 helpful votes

I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

Titus 1:7-9 ESV / 40 helpful votes

For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Luke 22:26 ESV / 40 helpful votes

But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

1 Peter 5:7 ESV / 38 helpful votes

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Hebrews 12:2 ESV / 38 helpful votes

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 1:3 ESV / 36 helpful votes

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

John 21:17 ESV / 36 helpful votes

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.

John 3:16 ESV / 36 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Galatians 5:16-26 ESV / 35 helpful votes

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ...

Daniel 6:4 ESV / 35 helpful votes

Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.

Ezra 7:10 ESV / 35 helpful votes

For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

Revelation 11:18 ESV / 34 helpful votes

The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV / 32 helpful votes

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Luke 2:52 ESV / 31 helpful votes

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

2 Timothy 2:4 ESV / 30 helpful votes

No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

Galatians 5:22-23 ESV / 29 helpful votes

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Romans 1:20 ESV / 29 helpful votes

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Luke 9:48 ESV / 28 helpful votes

And said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Jeremiah 3:15 ESV / 28 helpful votes

“‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

1 Timothy 3:1-13 ESV / 27 helpful votes

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? ...

Ephesians 6:1-24 ESV / 27 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, ...

Romans 12:9-10 ESV / 27 helpful votes

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

1 Samuel 2:1-3 ESV / 27 helpful votes

And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

Luke 16:10-13 ESV / 25 helpful votes

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Luke 12:48 ESV / 25 helpful votes

But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Proverbs 20:28 ESV / 25 helpful votes

Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.

1 Timothy 4:16 ESV / 24 helpful votes

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Ephesians 1:1-23 ESV / 23 helpful votes

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ...

John 13:1-38 ESV / 23 helpful votes

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. ...

Philippians 1:5 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Mark 10:41-45 ESV / 22 helpful votes

And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Mark 10:37-40 ESV / 22 helpful votes

And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

Genesis 47:6 ESV / 22 helpful votes

The land of Egypt is before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them settle in the land of Goshen, and if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”

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