Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said, "Son of man, are the pieces of wood from a grapevine any better than the little branches cut from trees in the forest? Can you use that wood from a grapevine to make anything? Can you use that wood to make pegs to hang dishes on? People throw that wood into the fire. The ends burn, and the middle is scorched. If you cannot make anything from that wood before it is burned, you surely cannot make anything from that wood after it is burned!

At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, because the evil you did was against him. But now he has made you his friends again. He did this by the death Christ suffered while he was in his body. He did it so that he could present you to himself as people who are holy, blameless, and without anything that would make you guilty before him. And that is what will happen if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must remain strong and sure in your faith. You must not let anything cause you to give up the hope that became yours when you heard the Good News. That same Good News has been told to everyone on earth, and that's the work that I, Paul, was given to do.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.