Heidelberg Catechism, Question 1
Question 1
What is thy only comfort in life and death?
That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6;20); who with his precious blood hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil (1 John 1;7); and so preserves me that, without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head (John 10;28, 29); yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation (Rom. 8;28); and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life (Rom. 8;16,) and makes me sincerely willing and ready henceforth to live unto him (Phil. 2;13).
Scripture references for paragraph 1
Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.
1 Corinthians 6:2020you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
Psalms 73:2525Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You.
Psalms 73:2626My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Romans 14:77For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.
Romans 14:88If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
1 Corinthians 3:2323and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 Peter 1:1818For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
1 Peter 1:1919but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 John 3:88The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.
Hebrews 2:1414Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
Hebrews 2:1515and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Titus 2:1414He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
John 10:2828I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
John 10:2929My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
Luke 21:1818Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.
John 6:3939And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
Romans 8:2828And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:1616The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
2 Corinthians 1:2222placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.
2 Corinthians 5:55And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
Philippians 2:1313For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
Psalms 110:33Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
Romans 8:1414For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Hebrews 13:2121equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Source and edition
Heidelberg Catechism. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879. RCA English, E. R. Good & Bro., Tiffin, 1879
Public Domain (historic text); CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikisource transcription). Source transcription.
Transcription licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.
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