Build Your House on the Rock

^24 (A)“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like ^(B)a wise man who built his house on the rock.

^47 (A)Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.^{[a] 49 (B)}But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and ^(C)the ruin of that house was great.”

¹⁷ If you know these things, ^(A)blessed are you if you do them.

^10 (A)According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled^[a] master builder I laid a ^(B)foundation, and ^(C)someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a ^(D)foundation other ^(E)than that which is laid, ^(F)which is Jesus Christ.

²⁸ But he said, ^(A)“Blessed rather are those ^(B)who hear the word of God and ^(C)keep it!”

³ And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we ^(A)keep his commandments.

¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ^(A)apart from your works, and I will show you my faith ^(B)by my works. ^19 (C)You believe that God is one; you do well. Even ^(D)the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ^21 (E)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that ^(F)faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed ^(G)by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ^(H)“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a ^(I)friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way was not also ^(J)Rahab the prostitute justified by works ^(K)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

²² and ^(A)whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and ^(B)do what pleases him. ²³ And this is his commandment, ^(C)that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and ^(D)love one another, ^(E)just as he has commanded us. ^24 (F)Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,^[a] and God^[b] in him. And ^(G)by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.