Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.

Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Reasons for Writing

I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.