Bible in 90 Days

True Wisdom

¹³ Are there those among you who are truly wise and understanding? Then they should show it by living right and doing good things with a gentleness that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, do not brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth. ¹⁵ That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God but from the world. It is not spiritual; it is from the devil. ¹⁶ Where jealousy and selfishness are, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from God is first of all pure, then peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. It is always fair and honest. ¹⁸ People who work for peace in a peaceful way plant a good crop of right-living.

Give Yourselves to God

4 Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that war within you. ² You want things, but you do not have them. So you are ready to kill and are jealous of other people, but you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You do not get what you want, because you do not ask God. ³ Or when you ask, you do not receive because the reason you ask is wrong. You want things so you can use them for your own pleasures.

⁴ So, you are not loyal to God! You should know that loving the world is the same as hating God. Anyone who wants to be a friend of the world becomes God’s enemy. ⁵ Do you think the Scripture means nothing that says, “The Spirit that God made to live in us wants us for himself alone”?^{[a] 6} But God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says,

⁷ So give yourselves completely to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you. ⁸ Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You sinners, clean sin out of your lives. You who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking pure. ⁹ Be sad, cry, and weep! Change your laughter into crying and your joy into sadness. ¹⁰ Humble yourself in the Lord’s presence, and he will honor you.

You Are Not the Judge

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not tell evil lies about each other. If you speak against your fellow believers or judge them, you are judging and speaking against the law they follow. And when you are judging the law, you are no longer a follower of the law. You have become a judge. ¹² God is the only Lawmaker and Judge. He is the only One who can save and destroy. So it is not right for you to judge your neighbor.

Let God Plan Your Life

¹³ Some of you say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money.” ¹⁴ But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. ¹⁵ So you should say, “If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ But now you are proud and you brag. All of this bragging is wrong. ¹⁷ Anyone who knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, is sinning.

A Warning to the Rich

5 You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because of the troubles that are coming to you. ² Your riches have rotted, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. ³ Your gold and silver have rusted, and that rust will be a proof that you were wrong. It will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure for the last days. ⁴ The pay you did not give the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the workers have been heard by the Lord All-Powerful. ⁵ Your life on earth was full of rich living and pleasing yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready to be killed. ⁶ You have judged guilty and then murdered innocent people, who were not against you.

Be Patient

⁷ Brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord comes again. A farmer patiently waits for his valuable crop to grow from the earth and for it to receive the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You, too, must be patient. Do not give up hope, because the Lord is coming soon. ⁹ Brothers and sisters, do not complain against each other or you will be judged guilty. And the Judge is ready to come! ¹⁰ Brothers and sisters, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They suffered many hard things, but they were patient. ¹¹ We say they are happy because they did not give up. You have heard about Job’s patience, and you know the Lord’s purpose for him in the end. You know the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.

Be Careful What You Say

¹² My brothers and sisters, above all, do not use an oath when you make a promise. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only yes, and when you mean no, say only no so you will not be judged guilty.

The Power of Prayer

¹³ Anyone who is having troubles should pray. Anyone who is happy should sing praises. ¹⁴ Anyone who is sick should call the church’s elders. They should pray for and pour oil on the person^[b] in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen. ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being just like us. He prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years! ¹⁸ Then Elijah prayed again, and the rain came down from the sky, and the land produced crops again.

Saving a Soul

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if one of you wanders away from the truth, and someone helps that person come back, ²⁰ remember this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner’s soul from death and will cause many sins to be forgiven.

1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To God’s chosen people who are away from their homes and are scattered all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. ² God planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people, which is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace be yours more and more.

We Have a Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. ⁴ Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings, which cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty, are kept in heaven for you. ⁵ God’s power protects you through your faith until salvation is shown to you at the end of time. ⁶ This makes you very happy, even though now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad. ⁷ These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold, which can be proved to be pure by fire but will ruin. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is shown to you. ⁸ You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. So you are filled with a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory. ⁹ And you are receiving the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ The prophets searched carefully and tried to learn about this salvation. They prophesied about the grace that was coming to you. ¹¹ The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets, telling in advance about the sufferings of Christ and about the glory that would follow those sufferings. The prophets tried to learn about what the Spirit was showing them, when those things would happen, and what the world would be like at that time. ¹² It was shown them that their service was not for themselves but for you, when they told about the truths you have now heard. Those who preached the Good News to you told you those things with the help of the Holy Spirit who was sent from heaven—things into which angels desire to look.

A Call to Holy Living

¹³ So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ is shown to you. ¹⁴ Now that you are obedient children of God do not live as you did in the past. You did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. ¹⁵ But be holy in all you do, just as God, the One who called you, is holy. ¹⁶ It is written in the Scriptures: “You must be holy, because I am holy.”^[c]

¹⁷ You pray to God and call him Father, and he judges each person’s work equally. So while you are here on earth, you should live with respect for God. ¹⁸ You know that in the past you were living in a worthless way, a way passed down from the people who lived before you. But you were saved from that useless life. You were bought, not with something that ruins like gold or silver, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb. ²⁰ Christ was chosen before the world was made, but he was shown to the world in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through Christ you believe in God, who raised Christ from the dead and gave him glory. So your faith and your hope are in God.

²² Now that your obedience to the truth has purified your souls, you can have true love for your Christian brothers and sisters. So love each other deeply with all your heart.^{[d] 23} You have been born again, and this new life did not come from something that dies, but from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s living message that continues forever. ²⁴ The Scripture says,

And this is the word that was preached to you.

Jesus Is the Living Stone

2 So then, rid yourselves of all evil, all lying, hypocrisy, jealousy, and evil speech. ² As newborn babies want milk, you should want the pure and simple teaching. By it you can mature in your salvation, ³ because you have already examined and seen how good the Lord is.

⁴ Come to the Lord Jesus, the “stone”^[e] that lives. The people of the world did not want this stone, but he was the stone God chose, and he was precious. ⁵ You also are like living stones, so let yourselves be used to build a spiritual temple—to be holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices to God. He will accept those sacrifices through Jesus Christ. ⁶ The Scripture says:

⁷ This stone is worth much to you who believe. But to the people who do not believe,

⁸ Also, he is

They stumble because they do not obey what God says, which is what God planned to happen to them.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. You were chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ At one time you were not a people, but now you are God’s people. In the past you had never received mercy, but now you have received God’s mercy.

Live for God

¹¹ Dear friends, you are like foreigners and strangers in this world. I beg you to avoid the evil things your bodies want to do that fight against your soul. ¹² People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.

Yield to Every Human Authority

¹³ For the Lord’s sake, yield to the people who have authority in this world: the king, who is the highest authority, ¹⁴ and the leaders who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. ¹⁵ It is God’s desire that by doing good you should stop foolish people from saying stupid things about you. ¹⁶ Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Live as servants of God. ¹⁷ Show respect for all people: Love the brothers and sisters of God’s family, respect God, honor the king.

Follow Christ’s Example

¹⁸ Slaves, yield to the authority of your masters with all respect, not only those who are good and kind, but also those who are dishonest. ¹⁹ A person might have to suffer even when it is unfair, but if he thinks of God and can stand the pain, God is pleased. ²⁰ If you are beaten for doing wrong, there is no reason to praise you for being patient in your punishment. But if you suffer for doing good, and you are patient, then God is pleased. ²¹ This is what you were called to do, because Christ suffered for you and gave you an example to follow. So you should do as he did.

²³ People insulted Christ, but he did not insult them in return. Christ suffered, but he did not threaten. He let God, the One who judges rightly, take care of him. ²⁴ Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And you are healed because of his wounds. ²⁵ You were like sheep that wandered away, but now you have come back to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Wives and Husbands

3 In the same way, you wives should yield to your husbands. Then, if some husbands do not obey God’s teaching, they will be persuaded to believe without anyone’s saying a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live. ² Your husbands will see the pure lives you live with your respect for God. ³ It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. ⁴ No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God. ⁵ In this same way the holy women who lived long ago and followed God made themselves beautiful, yielding to their own husbands. ⁶ Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.

⁷ In the same way, you husbands should live with your wives in an understanding way, since they are weaker than you. But show them respect, because God gives them the same blessing he gives you—the grace that gives true life. Do this so that nothing will stop your prayers.

Suffering for Doing Right

⁸ Finally, all of you should be in agreement, understanding each other, loving each other as family, being kind and humble. ⁹ Do not do wrong to repay a wrong, and do not insult to repay an insult. But repay with a blessing, because you yourselves were called to do this so that you might receive a blessing. ¹⁰ The Scripture says,

“A person must do these things

¹³ If you are trying hard to do good, no one can really hurt you. ¹⁴ But even if you suffer for doing right, you are blessed.

¹⁵ But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have, ¹⁶ but answer in a gentle way and with respect. Keep a clear conscience so that those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed. ¹⁷ It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong if that is what God wants. ¹⁸ Christ himself suffered for sins once. He was not guilty, but he suffered for those who are guilty to bring you to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit. ¹⁹ And in the spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison ²⁰ who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people—eight in all—were saved by water. ²¹ And that water is like baptism that now saves you—not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. ²² Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side ruling over angels, authorities, and powers.

Change Your Lives

4 Since Christ suffered while he was in his body, strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in the body is finished with sin. ² Strengthen yourselves so that you will live here on earth doing what God wants, not the evil things people want. ³ In the past you wasted too much time doing what nonbelievers enjoy. You were guilty of sexual sins, evil desires, drunkenness, wild and drunken parties, and hateful idol worship. ⁴ Nonbelievers think it is strange that you do not do the many wild and wasteful things they do, so they insult you. ⁵ But they will have to explain this to God, who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this reason the Good News was preached to those who are now dead. Even though they were judged like all people, the Good News was preached to them so they could live in the spirit as God lives.

Use God’s Gifts Wisely

⁷ The time is near when all things will end. So think clearly and control yourselves so you will be able to pray. ⁸ Most importantly, love each other deeply, because love will cause people to forgive each other for many sins. ⁹ Open your homes to each other, without complaining. ¹⁰ Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace. ¹¹ Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. Anyone who serves should serve with the strength God gives so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as a Christian

¹² My friends, do not be surprised at the terrible trouble which now comes to test you. Do not think that something strange is happening to you. ¹³ But be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings so that you will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory. ¹⁴ When people insult you because you follow Christ, you are blessed, because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you. ¹⁵ Do not suffer for murder, theft, or any other crime, nor because you trouble other people. ¹⁶ But if you suffer because you are a Christian, do not be ashamed. Praise God because you wear that name. ¹⁷ It is time for judgment to begin with God’s family. And if that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?

¹⁹ So those who suffer as God wants should trust their souls to the faithful Creator as they continue to do what is right.

The Flock of God

5 Now I have something to say to the elders in your group. I also am an elder. I have seen Christ’s sufferings, and I will share in the glory that will be shown to us. I beg you to ² shepherd God’s flock, for whom you are responsible. Watch over them because you want to, not because you are forced. That is how God wants it. Do it because you are happy to serve, not because you want money. ³ Do not be like a ruler over people you are responsible for, but be good examples to them. ⁴ Then when Christ, the Chief Shepherd, comes, you will get a glorious crown that will never lose its beauty.

⁵ In the same way, younger people should be willing to be under older people. And all of you should be very humble with each other.

⁶ Be humble under God’s powerful hand so he will lift you up when the right time comes. ⁷ Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you.

⁸ Control yourselves and be careful! The devil, your enemy, goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat. ⁹ Refuse to give in to him, by standing strong in your faith. You know that your Christian family all over the world is having the same kinds of suffering.

¹⁰ And after you suffer for a short time, God, who gives all grace, will make everything right. He will make you strong and support you and keep you from falling. He called you to share in his glory in Christ, a glory that will continue forever. ¹¹ All power is his forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

¹² I wrote this short letter with the help of Silas, who I know is a faithful brother in Christ. I wrote to encourage you and to tell you that this is the true grace of God. Stand strong in that grace.

¹³ The church in Babylon, who was chosen like you, sends you greetings. Mark, my son in Christ, also greets you. ¹⁴ Give each other a kiss of Christian love when you meet.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

1 From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.

To you who have received a faith as valuable as ours, because our God and Savior Jesus Christ does what is right.

² Grace and peace be given to you more and more, because you truly know God and Jesus our Lord.

God Has Given Us Blessings

³ Jesus has the power of God, by which he has given us everything we need to live and to serve God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus called us by his glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he gave us the very great and precious promises. With these gifts you can share in God’s nature, and the world will not ruin you with its evil desires.

⁵ Because you have these blessings, do your best to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; ⁶ and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add patience; and to your patience, add service for God; ⁷ and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love. ⁸ If all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you to be useful and productive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But anyone who does not have these things cannot see clearly. He is blind and has forgotten that he was made clean from his past sins.

¹⁰ My brothers and sisters, try hard to be certain that you really are called and chosen by God. If you do all these things, you will never fall. ¹¹ And you will be given a very great welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹² You know these things, and you are very strong in the truth, but I will always help you remember them. ¹³ I think it is right for me to help you remember as long as I am in this body. ¹⁴ I know I must soon leave this body, as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. ¹⁵ I will try my best so that you may be able to remember these things even after I am gone.

We Saw Christ’s Glory

¹⁶ When we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were not telling just clever stories that someone invented. But we saw the greatness of Jesus with our own eyes. ¹⁷ Jesus heard the voice of God, the Greatest Glory, when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice said, “This is my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with him.” ¹⁸ We heard that voice from heaven while we were with Jesus on the holy mountain.

¹⁹ This makes us more sure about the message the prophets gave. It is good for you to follow closely what they said as you would follow a light shining in a dark place, until the day begins and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Most of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation. ²¹ No prophecy ever came from what a person wanted to say, but people led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God.

False Teachers

2 There used to be false prophets among God’s people, just as you will have some false teachers in your group. They will secretly teach things that are wrong—teachings that will cause people to be lost. They will even refuse to accept the Master, Jesus, who bought their freedom. So they will bring quick ruin on themselves. ² Many will follow their evil ways and say evil things about the way of truth. ³ Those false teachers only want your money, so they will use you by telling you lies. Their judgment spoken against them long ago is still coming, and their ruin is certain.

⁴ When angels sinned, God did not let them go free without punishment. He sent them to hell and put them in caves^[g] of darkness where they are being held for judgment. ⁵ And God punished the world long ago when he brought a flood to the world that was full of people who were against him. But God saved Noah, who preached about being right with God, and seven other people with him. ⁶ And God also destroyed the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah^[h] by burning them until they were ashes. He made those cities an example of what will happen to those who are against God. ⁷ But he saved Lot from those cities. Lot, a good man, was troubled because of the filthy lives of evil people. ⁸ (Lot was a good man, but because he lived with evil people every day, his good heart was hurt by the evil things he saw and heard.) ⁹ So the Lord knows how to save those who serve him when troubles come. He will hold evil people and punish them, while waiting for the Judgment Day. ¹⁰ That punishment is especially for those who live by doing the evil things their sinful selves want and who hate authority.

These false teachers are bold and do anything they want. They are not afraid to speak against the angels. ¹¹ But even the angels, who are much stronger and more powerful than false teachers, do not accuse them with insults before^[i] the Lord. ¹² But these people speak against things they do not understand. They are like animals that act without thinking, animals born to be caught and killed. And, like animals, these false teachers will be destroyed. ¹³ They have caused many people to suffer, so they themselves will suffer. That is their pay for what they have done. They take pleasure in openly doing evil, so they are like dirty spots and stains among you. They delight in deceiving you while eating meals with you. ¹⁴ Every time they look at a woman they want her, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into the trap of sin, and they have taught their hearts to be greedy. God will punish them! ¹⁵ These false teachers left the right road and lost their way, following the way Balaam went. Balaam was the son of Beor, who loved being paid for doing wrong. ¹⁶ But a donkey, which cannot talk, told Balaam he was sinning. It spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the prophet’s crazy thinking.

¹⁷ Those false teachers are like springs without water and clouds blown by a storm. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them. ¹⁸ They brag with words that mean nothing. By their evil desires they lead people into the trap of sin—people who are just beginning to escape from others who live in error. ¹⁹ They promise them freedom, but they themselves are not free. They are slaves of things that will be destroyed. For people are slaves of anything that controls them. ²⁰ They were made free from the evil in the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But if they return to evil things and those things control them, then it is worse for them than it was before. ²¹ Yes, it would be better for them to have never known the right way than to know it and to turn away from the holy teaching that was given to them. ²² What they did is like this true saying: “A dog goes back to what it has thrown up,”^[j] and, “After a pig is washed, it goes back and rolls in the mud.”

Jesus Will Come Again

3 My friends, this is the second letter I have written you to help your honest minds remember. ² I want you to think about the words the holy prophets spoke in the past, and remember the command our Lord and Savior gave us through your apostles. ³ It is most important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live doing the evil things they want to do. ⁴ They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died, but the world continues the way it has been since it was made.” ⁵ But they do not want to remember what happened long ago. By the word of God heaven was made, and the earth was made from water and with water. ⁶ Then the world was flooded and destroyed with water. ⁷ And that same word of God is keeping heaven and earth that we now have in order to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the Judgment Day and the destruction of all who are against God.

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives.

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in them will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be exposed.^{[k] 11} In that way everything will be destroyed. So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and serve God, ¹² as you wait for and look forward to the coming of the day of God. When that day comes, the skies will be destroyed with fire, and everything in them will melt with heat. ¹³ But God made a promise to us, and we are waiting for a new heaven and a new earth where goodness lives.

¹⁴ Dear friends, since you are waiting for this to happen, do your best to be without sin and without fault. Try to be at peace with God. ¹⁵ Remember that we are saved because our Lord is patient. Our dear brother Paul told you the same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ He writes about this in all his letters. Some things in Paul’s letters are hard to understand, and people who are ignorant and weak in faith explain these things falsely. They also falsely explain the other Scriptures, but they are destroying themselves by doing this.

¹⁷ Dear friends, since you already know about this, be careful. Do not let those evil people lead you away by the wrong they do. Be careful so you will not fall from your strong faith. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him now and forever! Amen.

1 We write you now about what has always existed, which we have heard, we have seen with our own eyes, we have looked at, and we have touched with our hands. We write to you about the Word^[l] that gives life. ² He who gives life was shown to us. We saw him and can give proof about it. And now we announce to you that he has life that continues forever. He was with God the Father and was shown to us. ³ We announce to you what we have seen and heard, because we want you also to have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with God the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We write this to you so we may be full of joy.^[m]

God Forgives Our Sins

⁵ Here is the message we have heard from Christ and now announce to you: God is light,^[n] and in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ So if we say we have fellowship with God, but we continue living in darkness, we are liars and do not follow the truth. ⁷ But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin.

⁸ If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, and we do not accept God’s teaching.

Jesus Is Our Helper

2 My dear children, I write this letter to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a helper in the presence of the Father—Jesus Christ, the One who does what is right. ² He died in our place to take away our sins, and not only our sins but the sins of all people.

³ We can be sure that we know God if we obey his commands. ⁴ Anyone who says, “I know God,” but does not obey God’s commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if someone obeys God’s teaching, then in that person God’s love has truly reached its goal. This is how we can be sure we are living in God: ⁶ Whoever says that he lives in God must live as Jesus lived.

The Command to Love Others

⁷ My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you but an old command you have had from the beginning. It is the teaching you have already heard. ⁸ But also I am writing a new command to you, and you can see its truth in Jesus and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

⁹ Anyone who says, “I am in the light,”^[o] but hates a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. ¹⁰ Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light and will not cause anyone to stumble in his faith. ¹¹ But whoever hates a brother or sister is in darkness, lives in darkness, and does not know where to go, because the darkness has made that person blind.

¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. ¹⁶ These are the ways of the world: wanting to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, and being too proud of what we have. None of these come from the Father, but all of them come from the world. ¹⁷ The world and everything that people want in it are passing away, but the person who does what God wants lives forever.

Reject the Enemies of Christ

¹⁸ My dear children, these are the last days. You have heard that the enemy of Christ is coming, and now many enemies of Christ are already here. This is how we know that these are the last days. ¹⁹ These enemies of Christ were in our fellowship, but they left us. They never really belonged to us; if they had been a part of us, they would have stayed with us. But they left, and this shows that none of them really belonged to us.

²⁰ You have the gift^[p] that the Holy One gave you, so you all know the truth.^{[q] 21} I do not write to you because you do not know the truth but because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.

²² Who is the liar? It is the person who does not accept Jesus as the Christ. This is the enemy of Christ: the person who does not accept the Father and his Son. ²³ Whoever does not accept the Son does not have the Father. But whoever confesses the Son has the Father, too.

²⁴ Be sure you continue to follow the teaching you heard from the beginning. If you continue to follow what you heard from the beginning, you will stay in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵ And this is what the Son promised to us—life forever.

²⁶ I am writing this letter about those people who are trying to lead you the wrong way. ²⁷ Christ gave you a special gift that is still in you, so you do not need any other teacher. His gift teaches you about everything, and it is true, not false. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.

²⁸ Yes, my dear children, live in him so that when Christ comes back, we can be without fear and not be ashamed in his presence. ²⁹ Since you know that Christ is righteous, you know that all who do right are God’s children.

We Are God’s Children

3 The Father has loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are his children. The reason the people in the world do not know us is that they have not known him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and we have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him, because we will see him as he really is. ³ Christ is pure, and all who have this hope in Christ keep themselves pure like Christ.

⁴ The person who sins breaks God’s law. Yes, sin is living against God’s law. ⁵ You know that Christ came to take away sins and that there is no sin in Christ. ⁶ So anyone who lives in Christ does not go on sinning. Anyone who goes on sinning has never really understood Christ and has never known him.

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you the wrong way. Christ is righteous. So to be like Christ a person must do what is right. ⁸ The devil has been sinning since the beginning, so anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s work.

⁹ Those who are God’s children do not continue sinning, because the new life from God remains in them. They are not able to go on sinning, because they have become children of God. ¹⁰ So we can see who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are: Those who do not do what is right are not God’s children, and those who do not love their brothers and sisters are not God’s children.

We Must Love Each Other

¹¹ This is the teaching you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other. ¹² Do not be like Cain who belonged to the Evil One and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because the things Cain did were evil, and the things his brother did were good.

¹³ Brothers and sisters, do not be surprised when the people of the world hate you. ¹⁴ We know we have left death and have come into life because we love each other. Whoever does not love is still dead. ¹⁵ Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer,^[r] and you know that no murderers have eternal life in them. ¹⁶ This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Suppose someone has enough to live and sees a brother or sister in need, but does not help. Then God’s love is not living in that person. ¹⁸ My children, we should love people not only with words and talk, but by our actions and true caring.

¹⁹ - ²⁰ This is the way we know that we belong to the way of truth. When our hearts make us feel guilty, we can still have peace before God. God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. ²¹ My dear friends, if our hearts do not make us feel guilty, we can come without fear into God’s presence. ²² And God gives us what we ask for because we obey God’s commands and do what pleases him. ²³ This is what God commands: that we believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love each other, just as he commanded. ²⁴ The people who obey God’s commands live in God, and God lives in them. We know that God lives in us because of the Spirit God gave us.

Warning Against False Teachers

4 My dear friends, many false prophets have gone out into the world. So do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God. ² This is how you can know God’s Spirit: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ came to earth as a human is from God. ³ And every spirit who refuses to say this about Jesus is not from God. It is the spirit of the enemy of Christ, which you have heard is coming, and now he is already in the world.

⁴ My dear children, you belong to God and have defeated them; because God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world. ⁵ And they belong to the world, so what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶ But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. But those who are not from God do not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit that is true and the spirit that is false.

Love Comes from God

⁷ Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God’s child and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his one and only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. ¹⁰ This is what real love is: It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us. He sent his Son to die in our place to take away our sins.

¹¹ Dear friends, if God loved us that much we also should love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God, but if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is made perfect in us.

¹³ We know that we live in God and he lives in us, because he gave us his Spirit. ¹⁴ We have seen and can testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God has God living inside, and that person lives in God. ¹⁶ And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love.

God is love. Those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made perfect in us: that we can be without fear on the day God judges us, because in this world we are like him. ¹⁸ Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made perfect in the person who fears.

¹⁹ We love because God first loved us. ²⁰ If people say, “I love God,” but hate their brothers or sisters, they are liars. Those who do not love their brothers and sisters, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have never seen. ²¹ And God gave us this command: Those who love God must also love their brothers and sisters.

Faith in the Son of God

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is God’s child, and whoever loves the Father also loves the Father’s children. ² This is how we know we love God’s children: when we love God and obey his commands. ³ Loving God means obeying his commands. And God’s commands are not too hard for us, ⁴ because everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith. ⁵ So the one who conquers the world is the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶ Jesus Christ is the One who came by water^[s] and blood.^[t] He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit says that this is true, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ So there are three witnesses:^{[u] 8} the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three witnesses agree. ⁹ We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important, and he has told us the truth about his own Son. ¹⁰ Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the truth that God told us. Anyone who does not believe makes God a liar, because that person does not believe what God told us about his Son. ¹¹ This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life, but whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

We Have Eternal Life Now

¹³ I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God so you will know you have eternal life. ¹⁴ And this is the boldness we have in God’s presence: that if we ask God for anything that agrees with what he wants, he hears us. ¹⁵ If we know he hears us every time we ask him, we know we have what we ask from him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees a brother or sister sinning (sin that does not lead to eternal death), that person should pray, and God will give the sinner life. I am talking about people whose sin does not lead to eternal death. There is sin that leads to death. I do not mean that a person should pray about that sin. ¹⁷ Doing wrong is always sin, but there is sin that does not lead to eternal death.

¹⁸ We know that those who are God’s children do not continue to sin. The Son of God keeps them safe, and the Evil One cannot touch them. ¹⁹ We know that we belong to God, but the Evil One controls the whole world. ²⁰ We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we can know the True One. And our lives are in the True One and in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and the eternal life.

²¹ So, dear children, keep yourselves away from false gods.

¹ From the Elder.^[v]

To the chosen lady^[w] and her children:

I love all of you in the truth,^[x] and all those who know the truth love you. ² We love you because of the truth that lives in us and will be with us forever.

³ Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, will be with us in truth and love.

⁴ I was very happy to learn that some of your children are following the way of truth, as the Father commanded us. ⁵ And now, dear lady, this is not a new command but is the same command we have had from the beginning. I ask you that we all love each other. ⁶ And love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love.

⁷ Many false teachers are in the world now who do not confess that Jesus Christ came to earth as a human. Anyone who does not confess this is a false teacher and an enemy of Christ. ⁸ Be careful yourselves that you do not lose everything you^[y] have worked for, but that you receive your full reward.

⁹ Anyone who goes beyond Christ’s teaching and does not continue to follow only his teaching does not have God. But whoever continues to follow the teaching of Christ has both the Father and the Son. ¹⁰ If someone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not welcome or accept that person into your house. ¹¹ If you welcome such a person, you share in the evil work.

¹² I have many things to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face so we can be full of joy. ¹³ The children of your chosen sister^[z] greet you.

¹ From the Elder.^[aa]

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth:^[ab]

² My dear friend, I know your soul is doing fine, and I pray that you are doing well in every way and that your health is good. ³ I was very happy when some brothers and sisters came and told me about the truth in your life and how you are following the way of truth. ⁴ Nothing gives me greater joy than to hear that my children are following the way of truth.

⁵ My dear friend, it is good that you help the brothers and sisters, even those you do not know. ⁶ They told the church about your love. Please help them to continue their trip in a way worthy of God. ⁷ They started out in service to Christ, and they have been accepting nothing from nonbelievers. ⁸ So we should help such people; when we do, we share in their work for the truth.

⁹ I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be their leader, will not listen to us. ¹⁰ So if I come, I will talk about what Diotrephes is doing, about how he lies and says evil things about us. But more than that, he refuses to accept the other brothers and sisters; he even stops those who do want to accept them and puts them out of the church.

¹¹ My dear friend, do not follow what is bad; follow what is good. The one who does good belongs to God. But the one who does evil has never known God.

¹² Everyone says good things about Demetrius, and the truth agrees with what they say. We also speak well of him, and you know what we say is true.

¹³ I have many things I want to write you, but I do not want to use pen and ink. ¹⁴ I hope to see you soon and talk face to face. ¹⁵ Peace to you. The friends here greet you. Please greet each friend there by name.