1 Yohanes 2 (EVD)

Jesus Is Our Helper

1My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if any person sins, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He is the righteous (good) One. Jesus defends us before God the Father.

2Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And Jesus is the way that all people can have their sins taken away, too.

3If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we truly know God.

4A person says, “I know God!” But if that person does not obey God’s commands, then that person is a liar. The truth is not in him.

5But when a person obeys God’s teaching, then God’s love has truly arrived at its goal in that person. This is how we know that we are following God:

6If a person says that he lives in God, then he must live like Jesus lived.

Jesus Told Us to Love Other People

7My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. This command is the teaching you have already heard.

8But also I write this command to you as a new command. This command is true; you can see its truth in Jesus and in yourselves. The darkness (sin) is passing away and the true light is already shining.

9A person says, “I am in the light.” But if that person hates his brother or sister {in Christ}, then he is still in the darkness (sin).

10The person that loves his brothers and sisters lives in the light, and there is nothing in that person that will make him do wrong.

11But the person who hates his brother or sister is in darkness. He lives in darkness. That person does not know where he is going. Why? Because the darkness has made him blind.

12I write to you, dear children, because your sins are forgiven through Christ.

13I write to you, fathers, because you know the One who existed (lived) from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you have defeated the Evil One (the devil).

14I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know the One who existed (lived) from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong; the word of God lives in you, and you have defeated the Evil One.

15Don’t love this evil world or the things in it. If a person loves the world, the love of the Father (God) is not in that person.

16These are the {evil} things in the world: Wanting things to please our sinful selves, Wanting the sinful things we see, Being too proud of the things we have. But none of those things come from the Father (God). All of those things come from the world.

17The world is passing away. And all the things that people want in the world are passing away. But the person who does what God wants lives forever.

Don’t Follow the Enemies of Christ

18My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the Enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near.

19Those enemies of Christ were in our group. But they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, then they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.

20You have the gift that the Holy One (God or Christ) gave you. So you all know {the truth}.

21Why do I write to you? Do I write because you don’t know the truth? No! I write this letter because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.

22So who is the liar? It is the person that says Jesus is not the Christ. A person that says Jesus is not the Christ is the enemy of Christ. That person does not believe in the Father (God) or in his Son (Christ).

23If a person does not believe in the Son, then he does not have the Father. But the person who accepts the Son has the Father, too.

24Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching that you heard from the beginning. If you continue in that teaching, then you will stay in the Son (Christ) and in the Father (God).

25And this is what the Son promised to us—life forever.

26I am writing this letter about those people who are trying to lead you into the wrong way.

27Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you don’t need any person to teach you. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. This gift is true. It is not false. So continue to live in Christ, like his gift taught you.

28Yes, my dear children, live in him. If we do this, we can be without fear (have confidence) on the day when Christ comes back. We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes.

29You know that Christ is righteous (good).So you know that all people who do what is right (good) are God’s children.

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