Heidelberg Catechism, Question 94
Question 94
What doth God enjoin in the first command?
That I, as sincerely as I desire the salvation of my own soul, avoid and flee from all idolatry, sorcery, soothsaying, superstition, invocation of saints, or any other creatures (1 Cor. 6;9, 10); and learn rightly to know the only true God, trust in him alone (John 17;3); with humility and patience submit to him, expect all good things from him only (1 Pet. 5;5); love, fear, and glorify him with my whole heart (Deut. 6;5); so that I renounce and forsake all creatures, rather than commit even the least thing contrary to his will (Matt. 10;37).
Scripture references for paragraph 1
Berean Standard Bible. Public domain text and source credits.
1 Corinthians 6:99Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
1 Corinthians 6:1010nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 10:1414Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
Leviticus 19:3131You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
Deuteronomy 18:10-1210Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,
11casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.
12For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.
Revelation 19:1010So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Matthew 4:1010“Away from Me, Satan!” Jesus declared. “For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”
Matthew 4:1616the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
John 17:33Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
Jeremiah 9:2424But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth— for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 17:55This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
Jeremiah 17:77But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
1 Peter 5:55Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Hebrews 10:3636You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
Psalms 37:55Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
James 1:1717Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
Deuteronomy 6:55And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 10:1212And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Psalms 34:99Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.
Ecclesiastes 12:33on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly,
1 Corinthians 6:2020you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
Matthew 10:3737Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
Matthew 10:2828Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Acts 5:2929But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
Luke 14:2626“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
Matthew 5:1919So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
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.