My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He is the Righteous One. He defends us before God the Father. Jesus died in our place to take away our sins. And Jesus is the way that all people can have their sins taken away, too. If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we truly know God. If someone says, “I know God!” but does not obey God’s commands, then he is a liar. The truth is not in him. But if someone obeys God’s teaching, then God’s love has truly arrived at its goal in him. This is how we know that we are following God:

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.

Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.

But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: