Heidelberg Catechism, Question 8
Question 8
Are we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness?
Indeed we are (Rom. 7;18); except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God (John 3;3).
Scripture references for paragraph 1
Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.
Romans 7:1818I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
2 Corinthians 3:55Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God.
Genesis 6:55Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
Job 15:1616how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
John 3:33Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
John 3:55Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
John 3:66Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit.
Jeremiah 13:2323Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Neither are you able to do good— you who are accustomed to doing evil.
Ephesians 2:44But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
Ephesians 2:55made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
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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