¹⁵ “See, ^(A)I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, ¹⁶ in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, ^18 (B)I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. ^19 (C)I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that ^(D)I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; ²⁰ that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your ^(E)life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Fellowship with Him and One Another

^5 (A)This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that ^(B)God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ^6 (C)If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we ^(D)walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^(E)the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we ^(F)confess our sins, He is ^(G)faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to ^(H)cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we ^(I)make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

The Test of Knowing Christ

2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(J)we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ² And ^(K)He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(L)also for the whole world.

The Test of Knowing Him

³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(M)liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But ^(N)whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God ^[a]is perfected ^(O)in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ^6 (P)He who says he abides in Him ^(Q)ought himself also to walk just as He walked.