51 ^d“You stiff-necked people, ^euncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^fAs your fathers did, so do you.

25 For circumcision indeed is of value ⁿif you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if ^oa man who is uncircumcised keeps ^pthe precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded¹ as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically² uncircumcised but keeps the law ^qwill condemn you who have ^rthe written code³ and circumcision but break the law. 28 For ^sno one is a Jew ^twho is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one ^uinwardly, and ^vcircumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. ^wHis praise is not from man but from God.

11 In him also ^vyou were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by ^wputting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

20 And he said, ^l“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^mmurder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, ⁿsensuality, ^oenvy, ^pslander, ^qpride, ^rfoolishness. 23 ^sAll these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

A Tree and Its Fruit

43 “For ^rno good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for ^seach tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 ^tThe good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces ^uevil, ^vfor out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build Your House on the Rock

46 ^w“Why ^xdo you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 ^yEveryone 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.¹ 49 ^zBut 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 ^athe ruin of that house was great.”