The Two Foundations

²⁴ “Therefore ^(A)everyone who hears these words of Mine and ^[a]acts on them, ^[b]may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the ^[c]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not ^[d]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, and the ^[e]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

^22 (A)But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his ^[a]natural face ^(B)in a mirror; ²⁴ for once he has looked at himself and gone away, ^[b]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. ²⁵ But one who looks intently at the perfect law, ^(C)the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but ^[c]an effectual doer, this man will be ^(D)blessed in ^[d]what he does.

²⁶ If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not ^[e](E)bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion ^(F)in the sight of our God and Father is this: to ^(G)visit ^(H)orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained ^[f]by ^(I)the world.