Heidelberg Catechism, Question 109
Question 109
Doth God forbid, in this command, only adultery and such like gross sins?
Since both our body and soul are temples of the Holy Ghost, he commands us to preserve them pure and holy (1 Cor. 3;16); therefore he forbids all unchaste actions, gestures, words, thoughts, desires, and whatever can entice man thereto (Matt. 5;28).
Scripture references for paragraph 1
Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.
1 Corinthians 3:1616Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 6:18-2018Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
20you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
2 Corinthians 6:1616What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
1 Corinthians 3:1717If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Matthew 5:2828But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
2 Timothy 2:2222Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
1 Thessalonians 4:44each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
1 Thessalonians 4:55not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;
1 Corinthians 15:3333Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Ephesians 5:1818Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Proverbs 23:3131Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
Proverbs 23:3333Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities.
Ephesians 4:2020But this is not the way you came to know Christ.
Ephesians 5:33But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.
Ephesians 5:44Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving.
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.
Berean Blue opens December 1, 2026 for Bible reading, study, and research. View this work in the app preview.