Heidelberg Catechism, Question 91
Question 91
But what are good works?
Only those which proceed from a true faith (Heb. 11;6); are performed according to the law of God (Ezek. 20;19), and to his glory (1 Cor. 10;31), and not such as are founded on our imaginations, or the institutions of men (Deut. 12;8).
Scripture references for paragraph 1
Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.
Hebrews 11:66And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Hebrews 11:44By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
Romans 14:2323But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.
Ezekiel 20:1919I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them.
Leviticus 18:44You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 12:3232See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.
1 Corinthians 10:3131So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.
1 Peter 4:1111If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Deuteronomy 12:88You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.
Matthew 15:99They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
Exodus 20:1818When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sounding of the ram’s horn, and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.
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.