1 John 3:4-19

4Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.

5And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.

6Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

7Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.

8But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.

9Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.

10So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

11This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

12We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.

13So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.

14If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.

15Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.

16We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

17If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

18Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

19Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.