Daily Reading for Personal Growth, 40 Days with God

2 My little children, I am telling you this so that you will stay away from sin. But if you sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. His name is Jesus Christ, the one who is all that is good and who pleases God completely. ² He is the one who took God’s wrath against our sins upon himself and brought us into fellowship with God; and he is the forgiveness for our sins,^[a] and not only ours but all the world’s.

³ And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By looking within ourselves: are we really trying to do what he wants us to?

⁴ Someone may say, “I am a Christian; I am on my way to heaven; I belong to Christ.” But if he doesn’t do what Christ tells him to, he is a liar. ⁵ But those who do what Christ tells them to will learn to love God more and more. That is the way to know whether or not you are a Christian. ⁶ Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did.