2 My dear friends, we are already God's children, though what we will be hasn't yet been seen. But we do know when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is.
3 This hope makes us keep ourselves holy, just as Christ is holy.
4 Everyone who sins breaks God's law, because sin is the same as breaking God's law.
5 You know Christ came to take away our sins. He isn't sinful,
6 and people who stay one in their hearts with him won't keep on sinning. If they do keep on sinning, they don't know Christ, and they have never seen him.
7 Children, don't be fooled. Anyone who does right is good, just like Christ himself.
8 Anyone who keeps on sinning belongs to the devil. He has sinned from the beginning, but the Son of God came to destroy all that he has done.