Berean BlueApp preview

Heidelberg Catechism, Question 42

Question 42

Since then Christ died for us, why must we also die?

Our death is not a satisfaction for our sins, but only an abolishing of sin (Rom. 6;7); and a passage into eternal life (Phil. 1;21).

Scripture references for paragraph 1

Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.

Romans 6:7

7For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Hebrews 4:10

10For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.

Matthew 16:26

26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

1 Peter 4:1

1Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

Philippians 1:21

21For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Philippians 1:23

23I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

John 5:24

24Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

2 Corinthians 5:1

1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

Revelation 14:13

13And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”

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.