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Heidelberg Catechism, Question 60

Question 60

How art thou righteous before God?

Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3;28): so that though my conscience accuse me that I have grossly transgressed all the commands of God, and kept none of them, and am still inclined to all evil (Rom. 7;14): notwithstanding God, without any merit mine, but only of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ (Rom. 3;24): even so, as if I never had had, nor committed any sin; yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ hath accomplished for me (2 Cor. 5;21); inasmuch as I embrace such benefit with a believing heart (Rom. 10;10).

Scripture references for paragraph 1

Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.

Romans 3:28

28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Galatians 2:16

16know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Philippians 3:9

9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.

Ephesians 2:8

8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:9

9not by works, so that no one can boast.

Romans 7:14

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.

Romans 7:21-23

21So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law.

23But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me.

Romans 3:23

23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:24

24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 4:6-8

6And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7“Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

8Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

Romans 3:25

25God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.

Romans 5:18

18So then, just as one trespass brought condemnation for all men, so also one act of righteousness brought justification and life for all men.

Romans 5:19

19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Titus 3:5

5He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:5

5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

2 Corinthians 5:21

21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Isaiah 1:18

18“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.

Micah 7:19

19He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.

2 Corinthians 5:19

19that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Romans 10:10

10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

Romans 4:24

24but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.

John 3:16

16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

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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