6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness,m we lie and do not live out the truth.n 7 But if we walk in the light,o as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from allb sin.p

8 If we claim to be without sin,q we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.r 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sinss and purify us from all unrighteousness.t 10 If we claim we have not sinned,u we make him out to be a liarv and his word is not in us.w

2 My dear children,x I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocatey with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,z and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.a

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

3 We knowb that we have come to know himc if we keep his commands.d 4 Whoever says, “I know him,”e but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.f 5 But if anyone obeys his word,g love for Goda is truly made complete in them.h This is how we knowi we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.j

7 Dear friends,k I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.l This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command;m its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passingn and the true lighto is already shining.p

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sisterb q is still in the darkness.r 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sisterc lives in the light,s and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.t 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sisteru is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.v They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.w