7-8 So, my dear children, don’t let anyone divert you from the truth. It’s the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil’s ways.

9-10 People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-born to practice and parade sin. Here’s how you tell the difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love brother or sister. A simple test.

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Dear children,(A) do not let anyone lead you astray.(B) The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.(C) The one who does what is sinful is of the devil,(D) because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God(E) appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.(F) No one who is born of God(G) will continue to sin,(H) because God’s seed(I) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.

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