Heidelberg Catechism (extended)
The Catechism
Method of Instruction in the Christian Religion
As the Same is Taught in the Reformed Churches and Schools
(with the Scripture references written out)
Note. This Catechism is fully based on the Scriptures. The references
to Scripture are indicated in parentheses with a letter. For example,
the letter (a) points to the texts (a) placed after the answer.
1. Lord's Day
Question 1.
What is thy only comfort in life and death?
Answer.
That I with body and soul,
both in life and death, (a)
am not my own, (b)
but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ; (c)
who, with his precious blood,
has fully satisfied for all my sins, (d)
and delivered me from all the power of the devil; (e)
and so preserves me (f)
that without the will of my heavenly Father,
not a hair can fall from my head; (g)
yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, (h)
and therefore, by his Holy Spirit,
He also assures me of eternal life, (i)
and makes me sincerely willing and ready,
henceforth, to live unto him. (j)
(a)
Rom.14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to
himself.
Rom.14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we
die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are
the Lord's.
(b)
1 Cor.6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy
Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
(c)
1 Cor.3:23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
Tit.2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good
works.
(d)
1 Pet.1:18 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;
1 Pet.1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot:
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin.
1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours
only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are
forgiven you for his name's sake.
(e)
Heb.2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and
blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the
devil;
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil
sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
John 8:35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the
Son abideth ever.
John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free
indeed.
(f)
John 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of
all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day.
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
2 Thess.3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep
you from evil.
1 Pet.1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
(g)
Matt.10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them
shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
Matt.10:30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Matt.10:31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many
sparrows.
Luke 21:18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
(h)
Rom.8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
(i)
2 Cor.1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him
Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
2 Cor.1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath
anointed us, is God;
2 Cor.1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the
Spirit in our hearts.
2 Cor.5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God,
who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
Eph.1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph.1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Rom.8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we
are the children of God:
(j)
Rom.8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God.
1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself,
even as he is pure.
Q. 2.
How many things are necessary for thee to know,
that thou, enjoying this comfort,
mayest live and die happily?
A.
Three; (a)
the first, how great my sins and miseries are; (b)
the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; (c)
the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such
deliverance. (d)
(a)
Matt.11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
Matt.11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Matt.11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved
Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be
preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luke 24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things.
1 Cor.6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are
sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by
the Spirit of our God.
Tit.3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient,
deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and
envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Tit.3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward
man appeared,
Tit.3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit.3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our
Saviour;
Tit.3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs
according to the hope of eternal life.
(b)
John 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no
sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
John 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had
sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
(c)
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Acts 10:43 To him (Jesus) give all the prophets witness, that through
his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
(d)
Eph.5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the
Lord: walk as children of light:
Eph.5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and
righteousness and truth;)
Eph.5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
Eph.5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them.
1 Pet.2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of
him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1 Pet.2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the
people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained
mercy.
Rom.6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace
may abound?
Rom.6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any
longer therein?
Rom.6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye
should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom.6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that
are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
The First Part - Of The Misery Of Man
2. Lord's Day
Q. 3.
Whence knowest thou thy misery?
A.
Out of the law of God. (a)
(a)
Rom.3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Q. 4.
What does the law of God require of us?
A.
Christ teaches us that briefly, Matt. 22:37-40,
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.
This is the first and the great commandment;
and the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (a)
(a)
Deut.6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Lev.19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the
children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself:
I am the LORD.
Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this is the first commandment.
Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength,
and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Q. 5.
Canst thou keep all these things perfectly?
A.
In no wise; (a)
for I am prone by nature
to hate God and my neighbour.(b)
(a)
Rom.3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom.3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom.3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and
the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and
his word is not in us.
(b)
Rom.8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Eph.2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in
the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Tit.3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient,
deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and
envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Gen.6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.
Gen.8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his
heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for
the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I
again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
Jer.17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked: who can know it?
Rom.7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law
of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is
in my members.
3. Lord's Day
Q. 6.
Did God then create man so wicked and perverse?
A.
By no means;
but God created man good, (a)
and after his own image, (b)
in true righteousness and holiness,
that he might rightly know God his Creator,
heartily love him
and live with him in eternal happiness
to glorify and praise him. (c)
(a)
Gen.1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was
very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
(b)
Gen.1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen.1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them.
(c)
Col.3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old
man with his deeds;
Col.3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him:
Eph.4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph.4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness.
2 Cor.3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to
glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Q. 7.
Whence then proceeds this depravity of human nature?
A.
From the fall and disobedience of our first parents,
Adam and Eve, in Paradise; (a)
hence our nature is become so corrupt,
that we are all conceived and born in sin. (b)
(a)
Genesis 3.
Rom.5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned:
Rom.5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men
to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift
came upon all men unto justification of life.
Rom.5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so
by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
(b)
Ps.51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother
conceive me.
Gen.5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in
his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
Q. 8.
Are we then so corrupt
that we are wholly incapable of doing any good,
and inclined to all wickedness?
A.
Indeed we are; (a)
except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. (b)
(a)
Gen.8:21 The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth;
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit.
Gen.6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.
Job 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
Job 15:14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born
of a woman, that he should be righteous?
Job 15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh
iniquity like water?
Job 15:35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their
belly prepareth deceit.
Isa.53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one
to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
(b)
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of God.
1 Cor.12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by
the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that
Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
2 Cor.3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing
as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
4. Lord's Day
Q. 9.
Does not God then do injustice to man,
by requiring from him in his law, that which he cannot perform?
A.
Not at all; (a)
for God made man capable of performing it;
but man, by the instigation of the devil, (b)
and his own wilful disobedience, (c)
deprived himself and all his posterity
of those divine gifts.
(a)
Eph.4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness.
Eccl.7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright;
but they have sought out many inventions.
(b)
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your
father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not
in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a
lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
2 Cor.11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the
simplicity that is in Christ.
Gen.3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
(c)
Gen.3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one
wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her; and he did eat.
Rom.5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned:
Gen.3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou
hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
1 Tim.2:13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
1 Tim.2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was
in the transgression.
Q. 10.
Will God suffer such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished?
A.
By no means;
but is terribly displeased (a)
with our original as well as actual sins;
and will punish them in his just judgment
temporally and eternally, (b)
as he has declared,
"Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things,
which are written in the book of the law, to do them." (c)
(a)
Gen.2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die.
Rom.5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned:
(b)
Ps.5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all
workers of iniquity.
Ps.50:21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou
thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will
reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
Nah.1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth,
and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and
he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
Exod.20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for
I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate me;
Exod.34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty;
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the
children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Rom.1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in
unrighteousness;
Eph.5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these
things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Heb.9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment:
(c)
Deut.27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law
to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Gal.3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the
curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in
all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Q. 11.
Is not God then also merciful?
A.
God is indeed merciful, (a)
but also just; (b)
therefore his justice requires,
that sin
which is committed against the most high majesty of God,
be also punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment
of body and soul.
(a)
Exod.34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD,
The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth,
Exod.34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty;
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the
children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Exod.20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and
keep my commandments.
(b)
Ps.7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but
establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
Exod.20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for
I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate me;
Exod.23:7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and
righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
Exod.34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty;
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the
children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Ps.5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all
workers of iniquity.
Ps.5:6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor
the bloody and deceitful man.
Nah.1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth,
and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and
he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
Nah.1:3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at
all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in
the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
The Second Part - Of Man's Deliverance
5. Lord's Day
Q. 12.
Since then,
by the righteous judgment of God,
we deserve temporal and eternal punishment,
is there no way by which we may escape that punishment,
and be again received into favour?
A.
God will have his justice satisfied: (a)
and therefore we must make this full satisfaction,
either by ourselves,
or by another. (b)
(a)
Gen.2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die.
Exod.20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for
I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them
that hate me;
Exod.23:7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and
righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
Ezek.18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so
also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Matt.5:26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out
thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
2 Thess.1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense
tribulation to them that trouble you;
Luke 16:2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear
this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be
no longer steward.
(b)
Rom.8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the
flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom.8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
(continued in part
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