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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 11:6

6And 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 11:4

4By 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 14:23

23But 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 20:19

19I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes, keep My ordinances, and practice them.

Leviticus 18:4

4You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 12:32

32See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.

1 Corinthians 10:31

31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.

1 Peter 4:11

11If 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 12:8

8You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.

Matthew 15:9

9They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

Exodus 20:18

18When 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.

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